2007 – Page 265

The National Union Unity Council (CNUS) has decided that if their demand for a 25% wage increase for all workers who make up to RD$30,000 isn’t met by the business sector they would call a nationwide general strike. The decision was made during a meeting of CNUS officials yesterday afternoon. Eugenio Perez, CNUS president, said …

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Diario Libre writes that the Dominican Republic could cease being the number one exporter of bananas to the European Union if the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) nations don’t sign an Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU by 31 December this year. Caribbean nations currently export US$1.4 billion worth of products to the EU through …

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US company Tampa Energy and partners is planning to invest US$50 million in the installation of an ethanol dehydration plant in the Dominican Republic. The ethanol will be processed from sugar cane and officials say that the plant would be in operation in time for the 2008-2009 harvest. As reported in Diario Libre, Tampa Energy …

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It was an exciting and heartbreaking weekend for college basketball. Louisville star guard Edgar Sosa scored 32 points and hit every free throw he took except the final two in his team’s second round loss to Texas A&M. The young guard put Louisville on his back and carried the team throughout the game but he …

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The television series “Havana Nights” will be filmed at various locations around the DR for the next eight months following an agreement between the Dominican and Canadian Ministries of Culture. Canadian actor Dean Hamilton met with Culture Minister Jose Rafael Lantigua in order to finalize details of the agreement and to explain the details of …

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President Leonel Fernandez says that the United States has shifted its attention from the war on drugs to homeland security and the issues in Iraq. In his opening remarks at the first summit on Drugs, Security and Cooperation held in Santo Domingo last week, President Fernandez said that as a result of 9-11 and the …

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The government of Chile will be working together with the Inter-American Development Bank to support innovation in the Dominican Republic and Central American countries. President Michelle Bachelet of Chile and the president of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Alberto Moreno signed the agreement in Guatemala City yesterday. The IDB promotes technology innovation involving both the …

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The Central Electoral Board has suggested a couple of changes to the current legislation that governs elections in the Dominican Republic. According to Listin Diario, JCE chief magistrate Julio Cesar Castanos Guzman has suggested that the upcoming constitutional reform should include the creation of a Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) that will take over all cases …

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It has been years since sugar was the nation’s main foreign exchange generator and the start of the harvest would make front-page news. This year, sugar is back making headlines because several sugar mills will be producing cane for ethanol production. State Sugar Council (CEA) director general Enrique Martinez announced the start of the 2007 …

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Despite lower oil prices on the world markets, the local price of a gallon of fuel or cooking gas has increased for the seventh week in a row. A barrel of oil cost US$2.94 less this week, but the price of a gallon of regular gasoline climbed RD$0.60 and a gallon of premium rose by …

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