2007 – Page 289

Ocean World, the DR’s leading entertainment park located in Puerto Plata, has distanced itself from accusations by Dominican environmentalists that it is complicit in the slaughter of dolphins in Japan. In a press release, Ocean World says that the Japanese have been slaughtering dolphins for food in Taiji and other villages for hundreds of years, …

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A noted developer and builder, Jaime Gonzalez, has said that the cost of housing would increase by nearly 10% due to the new tax reporting regulations. Gonzalez explained to reporters from Hoy that as a result of the latest tax increase, called a correction by government, construction companies now must pay a 16% VAT tax …

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The Association of Dominican Free Zones (Adozona) publishes a large advertisement in all today’s papers. In it, the association basically says that unless emergency measures are taken, there will be a catastrophic breakdown of the entire free zone system. One of the first suggestions is for the country to enter into the DR-CAFTA agreement without …

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National District prosecutor Jose Manuel Hernandez has taken Diandino Pena, Simon Lizardo, Haivanhoe Ng Cortinas and Noe Camacho Ovalles off the list of accused in the PEME fraud case now in the courts. Pena is in charge of the metro construction, Lizardo is Controller General, Ng is Superintendent of the Stock Exchange and businessman Camacho. …

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Police have found five children, who apparently ran away from their homes in the capital, in a shack in the Otra Banda area of Higuey. At a midnight press conference, police chief Bernardo Santana Paez reported that the children had left their homes, headed for the Basilica of La Altagracia in Higuey, and then traveled …

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A 24-year old man went and stole a car in the Peking section of Santiago de los Caballeros. The vehicle, one of the hundreds of “publicos” used to transport passengers along a fixed route, was then used by the same man to earn money for drugs. The accused thief was spotted by local residents as …

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The head of the National Drug Control Department (DNCD) has told reporters covering the installation of new detection equipment in the Las Americas Airport that the “public is unaware of the scale and severity” of the drug problem in the Dominican Republic. Major General Rafael Ramirez Ferreira said that drugs are costing the nation dearly …

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There is a marvelous supplement in today’s Diario Libre, covering different aspects of Dominican carnival festivities. The supplement deals with traditions, costs and the organizations involved in the Santiago, La Vega and Santo Domingo carnivals. The papier-mache construction of the famous masks is explained, as well as the tremendous cost associated with a really special …

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Master of the Ocean is the only triathlon that combines surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing in waves. The winner is an ironman of the ocean. It takes place in Playa Cabarete and Playa Encuentro, on the north shore of the Dominican Republic, two side by side beaches that offer prime conditions for the three sports. It …

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Dominican economic growth is based on high consumption, which is evident by the high levels of imports of goods and services, as well as raw materials and inputs, writes Esteban Delgado in an economic analysis published in today’s Diario Libre. He reports that an analysis of the Central Bank Economic Report for 2006 shows that …

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