2007 – Page 84

The executive director of the Senior Citizen Council (CONAPE), Nathalie Maria, says that President Leonel Fernandez has allocated RD$70 million to that sector and that as of next year senior citizen centers will be converted into health service providers (PSS) under the control of CONAPE. Maria explained that 141,000 senior citizens are covered by the …

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An IMF mission currently visiting the Dominican Republic to review the country’s Stand-by arrangement says that it will study the available information it has received about the Sun Land Corporation loan scandal to see whether or not it has violated the terms of the agreement. Diario Libre writes that it contacted IMF public relations representative …

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Interior and Police Minister Franklyn Almeyda has announced that 17 new sectors in northern Santo Domingo have been included in the Barrio Seguro security plan. Almeyda explained that the Province of Santo Domingo has the highest crime rates in the entire country and that the rate is 20.9% in Santo Domingo North. Of all the …

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All Dominican police officers will be tested for drugs as a way of preventing drug use by members of the force. Police Chief Rafael Guzman Fermin explained that the testing will carried out by the National Drug Council, and would begin immediately.

As of yesterday all American citizens re-entering the US by air must present a valid passport. The new passport rule is part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) and is part of a wider national security program. The rule was originally due to enter into effect in January but the resulting huge number of …

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As another season of Major League Baseball comes to end, the Dominican presence in the sport has been consolidated even further. Pitcher Fausto Carmona of the Cleveland Indians is this year’s front-runner for the AL Cy Young Award, and he was named pitcher of the month for September. Big Papi David Ortiz was named player …

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Dominican-born writer Junot Diaz’s first novel, “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” is to be made into a film by Miramax, according to the Hollywood News. The movie rights to the book were bought by producer Scott Rudin. Junot’s novel tells the story of a Dominican immigrant to the city of Patterson, New Jersey. …

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According to all of today’s newspapers, the 24-hour general strike called for tomorrow by the Alternative Social Forum is on, unless the government adopts some of the measures demanded by the Forum. Yesterday, several business organizations and Bishop Jesus Maria de Jesus Moya from San Francisco de Macoris joined in a rejection of the protest. …

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The Alternative Social Forum’s demands are certainly nothing new. According to one reporter, they are “aged claims that have rusted away in the agendas of public officials.” Salary issues, including a call for a 30% wage increase; a government decreed reduction in the costs of medicines and foodstuffs; a one-year halt to government evictions from …

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Both the Armed Forces and the National Police have issued press releases that state their level of preparedness for tomorrow’s strike. The Minister of the Armed Forces, Ramon Aquino Garcia, warned that in case of any disturbances, anyone who violates public order would feel the weight of the Armed Forces. The general also guaranteed military …

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