2008 – Page 157

Dominican boxer Joan Guzman has been rated among the top 20 boxers in the world by ESPNDEPORTES.com. Guzman is ranked 17th on the list, and is topped by his rival, Filipino Manny Pacquiao. This is the first time a Dominican boxer has been included among the best in the boxing world. Experts say that if …

Read more…

The Dominican Olympic Committee has chosen Felix Sanchez, the DR’s first Olympic gold medalist as the DR’s flag-bearer at the Summer Olympics that open on August 8 in Beijing. Juan Vila, head of the Dominican Olympic mission, says that within the next few days President Leonel Fernandez will meet with the athletes and present them …

Read more…

Expectations are high for President Leonel Fernandez’s speech tonight (Thursday, 17 July) at 9pm. Hacienda Minister Vicente Bengoa said that Fernandez would focus on planned economic and social measures including energy and fuel saving initiatives, a minimum wage increase and food issues. Bengoa says that the complementary budget to implement the new plan, funded from …

Read more…

Energy expert lawyer, Marisol Vicens Bello writes today that there is little transparency in the government dealings with PetroCaribe oil financing agreement between Venezuela and the DR. She says the agreement enables the country to pay only 50% of the oil purchased, and finance the remainder to 17 or 25 years with a soft interest …

Read more…

Officials say that 102 new OMSA buses will arrive in the DR by late August or early September. The government had delayed its payment arrangements with Mercedes Benz-Brazil so they were not shipped to the DR as planned. Last week Hacienda Minister Vicente Bengoa announced that the government had approved a line of credit which …

Read more…

The Chamber of Deputies will do its bit to help conserve energy. Chamber president Julio Cesar Valentin announced that new sensors will be used to regulate the use of water as well as replacing light bulbs as ways of reducing fuel consumption. Valentin said that there was a plan to power the Chamber with solar …

Read more…

PRSC spokesman at the Chamber of Deputies Ramon Rogelio Genao has submitted a bill aimed at reducing the maximum salary of public officials to RD$300,000 within the next 24 months. Genao submitted his bill to the Chamber yesterday so it could be put on the agenda for today’s session. Genao says that this administration must …

Read more…

The Dominican Republic has Latin America’s highest tourism receipts per GDP. According to the Latin Business Chronicle (LBC), 11.1% of the country’s GDP comes from tourism. Costa Rica with 7.5% and Panama with 6.0% are two other countries with high tourism revenues. The report by LBC reveals that Panama has experienced the largest increase in …

Read more…

Representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the small-scale business sector represented by the Dominican Confederation of the Small and Medium-Sized Companies (Codopyme) and legislators reached an agreement yesterday to pass the small business bill. Industry & Commerce Minister Melanio Paredes and the board of Copdopyme visited the presidents of the Senate and Chamber …

Read more…

The ambassador in charge of Consular Affairs in the United States State Department, Janice L. Jacobs, acknowledged the contributions of Dominican immigrants to the United States, while expressing concern about continued illegal immigration. Jacobs, who was recently sworn in to her new post, said that immigration was a major issue for US citizens and the …

Read more…