2007 – Page 68

Merengue singer Domingo Antonio Concepcion Ramirez (aka Dimanchy) has been released by the authorities after his arrest on drug charges. Listin Diario reports that Dimanchy and several other men were arrested in a house with 12 packets of heroin, a 12 caliber rifle with 12 shells, a 9 millimeter rifle and military camouflage clothing, as …

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Yesterday the National Motor-Taxi Office (ONAM) was opened and will regulate more than one million motorcycle taxis that operate in the country. The new office is under the umbrella of the Technical Land Transport Office (OTTT) and the plan is to give motorcycle taxi drivers a special license. Representative of the motor-taxi drivers have asked …

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Breast cancer specialist Ruth Rivera is calling for increased breast cancer prevention efforts given the high cost of treating the disease. She told El Caribe newspaper that approximately 450 cases are detected each year in the DR, most at the advanced stages, which makes the disease untreatable or too costly for most people who are …

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Last night saw the first game in the Dominican winter baseball league and the perennial favorites Tigres del Licey lost to eternal underdogs Leones del Escogido, 7-2. The Aguilas Cibaenas beat the Gigantes 3-2 and the Azucarerors beat the Estrellas 6-5. In other baseball news, tonight sees the fifth game of the AL Championship Series, …

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The Dominican Republic learned a lesson in international diplomacy yesterday as Costa Rica easily defeated the DR’s bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council. After two resounding votes (116-72 and 119-70), which barely failed to achieve the two-thirds majority needed for election, the Dominican delegation withdrew its candidacy, and left the field …

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The Chamber of Deputies has approved an amendment covering the loan agreement with the Argo Fund Ltd., which paves the way for a restructuring of the foreign debt with the Paris Club, which is a little over US$33 million. The favorable report from the Treasury’s Permanent Senate Commission revealed that some of the bilateral restructuring …

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The president of the National Association of Private Hospitals and Clinics (ADECLIP) announced last night that the Social Security System treasury has not paid for the services provided during the first month of the Family Health Insurance program (SFS). According to Rafael Mena, the outstanding sum is in the millions of pesos. The association president …

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Minister of the Interior and Police, Franklin Almeyda, has told reporters that the latest incidents in barrios supposedly under the control of the “Barrio Seguro” program did not reflect any reduction in the program’s effectiveness. Gang shootouts over the weekend in the Santo Domingo barrio of Capotillo resulted in four deaths. In the minister’s opinion, …

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The Chamber of Deputies approved a legislative proposal to request the Executive Branch to withdraw Decree 1130-03, which authorizes the development of a cemetery on lands within the Mirador Norte National Park limits. The legislation was drafted by PLD Yuderka Ivelesse de la Rosa Guerrero, who argued that the park is a public asset and …

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The three main political parties in the Dominican Republic have rejected the set of rules that were proposed by the Central Electoral Board (JCE) as parameters for the May 2008 elections. The parties accused the JCE of overstepping its legal job description, designing a set of rules that, according to the parties, violate both the …

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