2008 – Page 161

US State Department and US Embassy officials met with Central Electoral Board (JCE) members to voice their concerns about identity fraud and to discuss collaboration. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs, US Dept. of State, Janice Jacobs accompanied US Ambassador to the DR Robert Fannin and Consul Mike Schimmel …

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Maximo Castillo Salas, a former president of the Chamber of Accounts, the body in charge of auditing government, says that the government has filed away seven audits that found that government had been defrauded to the tune of RD$3 billion. He listed the following audits where major cases of fraud were detected: Consorcio Somos and …

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Deputies believe that workers in the private and public sector deserve a wage increase equivalent to the percentage of purchasing power lost as a result of increased inflation. Spokesman for the PRD deputies Cristian Paredes said that the wage increase was imperative for workers. Deputies are also asking the government to make inflation cutting plans …

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PLD legislator Alejandro Montas says that the next Constitutional reform should eliminate the plethora of small political parties, on the grounds that they add to the culture of clientilism in the political arena. Montas said that while there are exceptions, at election time most of the smaller parties just choose to form alliances with the …

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Juan Pablo Gonzalez from the Dominican Integrated Development Institute (IDDI) says that the Dominican handicraft sector sells US$310 million in goods yearly, but the irony is that 80% of those goods actually come from foreign countries. He explained that in Puerto Plata alone US$40 million worth of goods is sold each year. Gonzalez says that …

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The stars are out tonight as Major League Baseball helps bid New York’s Yankee stadium a proper farewell. There is much excitement in the air, partly because of the Stadium’s farewell party and because of the collection of MLB’s best and brightest stars. Last night’s Home Run Derby was a thrilling spectacle for all baseball …

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Plaza Lama advertises carrots for RD$5.45lb, potatoes for RD$12.95lb, red onions for RD$6.95lb, cucumbers for RD$4.95lb, beets for RD$3.95lb, bell peppers for RD$16.95lb, cantaloupe for RD$16.95ea, red beans for RD$24.95lb, yucca for RD$17.95lb.  

At the V Extraordinary Summit of the Petrocaribe Nations in Venezuela yesterday, the signatories of the PetroCaribe Agreement approved Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s proposal aimed at easing the payment terms for oil imported under the terms of the agreement. President Chavez was responding to the near universal appeal for easier payment conditions in the face …

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The construction of a 10-inch, 300-kilometer gas pipeline from the Dominican Republic to Haiti was approved at the IV Ministerial Meeting of the PetroCaribe ministers yesterday. The decision could turn the Dominican Republic into a fuel distribution center for the entire Caribbean. One expert told Hoy reporters that the country has the technical know-how, the …

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The government of Venezuela will sell the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean nations 100,000 tons of urea, a major fertilizer used for agriculture. The urea will be sold at a 40% discount and with easy re-payment conditions, basically as the crops come in. Hugo Chavez, the host of the V Extraordinary Summit of the PetroCaribe …

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