2008 – Page 101

UNESCO director-general Koichiro Matsuura will designate Dominican musician Juan Luis Guerra as a “UNESCO Artist for Peace” during a ceremony today, 15 September at 6pm at the organization’s headquarters in Paris. Juan Luis Guerra will receive this designation “in recognition of his efforts for the benefit of children with disabilities and children in need, and …

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Vice President Rafael Alburquerque, who sought conciliation between tanker trucks owners and drivers and Chevron-Texaco says that that the mediation efforts had not been successful, as reported on Saturday in Diario Libre. “The case will have to be resolved in the courts,” said Alburquerque. Chevron-Texaco is insisting on its right to transport their fuel with …

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Environment Minister Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal re-launched the Green Quisqueya reforestation plan in Santiago yesterday. Fernandez implemented the program very successfully when he was Vice President during President Leonel Fernandez’s first term of office (1996-2000). With the participation of the Sociedad Ecologica del Cibao (SOECI) and the Santiago community, 3,000 native and endemic species were …

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Almost half of the subsidy the Fernandez administration has granted on electricity billings has been charged to PetroCaribe agreement, which allows the government to postpone payments for 25 years. According to statistics from the Ministry of Hacienda, between 2005 and July 2008, the government subsidized the electricity sector with RD$62.5 billion. Of that amount, RD$30.4 …

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The new president of the National Hotel & Restaurant Association, Haydee Kuret de Rainieri said, “Tourism is a game in which we all win, or we all lose”, in her inaugural speech. First Lady Margarita Cedeno represented President Leonel Fernandez at the event. Also present was the new Tourism Minister Francisco Javier Garcia. The new …

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During a conference sponsored by the Organization for Shopping Malls (ONEC), economist Carlos Asilis said that the government needed to adjust its spending so that the economy may evolve given the impact of the world global crisis that he forecast will worsen this year and next. He spoke of maintaining a surplus equal to 2.5% …

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The Dominican government agreed to a new distribution of the 100 homes in Bonao that were built with Venezuelan donations after Tropical Storms Noel and Olga. The homes had been prematurely distributed by the Governor of Bonao, leading to a protest from the Venezuelan Embassy through diplomatic channels. The homes were built for people who …

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The executive director of the Association Pro Development of Ocoa, priest Domingo Sobejko protested to journalists from Listin Diario that President Leonel Fernandez’ staff did not allow people he described as community representatives to explain the community’s problems to the President during his visit to Ocoa last week. Father Domingo said that unfortunately the way …

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Former Bani police chief, General Hilario Gonzalez wants a “face to face” confrontation with Senator Wilton Guerrero (PLD-Peravia). The senator has accused Gonzalez of being a leading protector of drug dealers in the province of Peravia. The officer has sued the senator and the case will be heard in the Supreme Court of Justice. Senator …

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According to statements made by Bani massacre survivor, 38-year old Nicaraguan Orin Clinton Gomez Halford and watchman Emilio Basilio Victoria to Peravia province prosecutors, the killers arrived in white and black SUVs and came looking for a missing drug shipment. In the statement compiled by the prosecutors, Gomez identifies former police major Frederick Medina Abud …

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