2007 – Page 87

The Discovery Channel will promote a pilot program in Dominican schools called “Discovery in the classroom.” The program will train teachers in three schools in Santo Domingo and Haina in the use of technology and how to use it to teach. The schools will receive a TV, a DVD player and the educational DVDs.  

For the first time in the DR’s history, the country has been granted a position on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The ICAO is based in Montreal, Canada and is an agency of the United Nations that has 196 member nations. Dominican Civil Aviation Institute (IDAC) director Jose Tomas Perez will represent the DR. …

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The DR is keen on establishing a diplomatic representation in Ethiopia. The Dominican government has requested accreditation for Ambassador Hans Dannenberg who is accredited to the Organization of the African Union, and to India, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. The DR is interested in establishing a resident mission in Ethiopia in the near future, …

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Spokesmen for the industrial sector are asking the government to abide by the law. Manuel Diez Cabral, president of the Dominican Association of Industries (AIRD), complained that the government seems to lack interest in applying the Anti-Dumping Law. Diez Cabral says that free trade agreements have opened up Dominican markets, and that the import of …

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The leading Santiago Savings & Loans Association, Asociacion Cibao, has announced it is lowering its mortgage interest rate to 11.9%. Its general loans to the public will now be at 13.9%. This represents an all-time low. Although it is located in Santiago, the Asociacion Cibao has attracted borrowers from all over the country. Bank president …

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According to the Central Electoral Board (JCE), there are 5,599,910 registered voters as of 16 September. This represents an increase of 230,846 voters compared to the figure for the 2006 congressional and municipal elections. Registered voters outside the DR total 83,019; 31,434 in New York, 13,457 in Madrid, 8,118 in Barcelona, 6,988 in Puerto Rico …

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Global coalition against corruption Transparency International has released a report on the perception of corruption in 180 countries, which lists the DR 99th. Of the 32 countries in the Americas, the DR is ranked 21st. During the three years of Fernandez administration, the CPI for the DR has worsened. At the change of government in …

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Several leading civil society organizations are organizing a March Against Corruption for this Saturday, 29 September, departing from the Plaza de Espana in the Colonial City at 3:30pm. The coordinators include: Dominicanos por la Integridad, Red Dominicana Anticorrupcion, Participacion Ciudadana, Fundacion Institucionalidad y Justicia (FINJUS), Consejo de Organizaciones de la Region Oriental (CORO), Asociacion Nacional …

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Money laundering has been labeled priority 1A by the National Drug Control Department (DNCD). Director Rafael Radhames Ramirez Ferreira says that a lot of people in the DR have lots of money but can’t justify how they obtained it. Ramirez also spoke about the challenges posed by the judicial system when trying drug traffickers. The …

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More than 7,500 people with HIV/AIDS have been excluded from the government’s new nationwide health plan, the SFS. Hoy explains that more troubling is that funding for anti-retroviral medicines is due to run out in 2009. Presidential AIDS Council (COPRESIDA) director Dr. Humberto Salazar explained that all HIV/AIDS patients are excluded from the program, which …

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