2008 – Page 181

Spanish telephone company Telefonica is coming to the DR and will offer phone and broadband internet service. Diario Libre quotes comments made by Dominican Telecommunications Institute (INDOTEL) director Rafael Vargas. Vargas said that Telefonica might enter into high-level negotiations with existing communications companies in the DR. No details on when exactly Telefonica would begin to …

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Trash has become the main pollutant in the DR. Environmental Minister Omar Ramirez says the DR produces 6,000 tons of trash per day on average. Ramirez made his comments during the opening of the “Waste Management Workshop” sponsored by Red Girasol and the German cooperation agency GTZ. During the conference representatives from 70 environmental groups …

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Every month the Claro-Codetel phone company loses RD$700,000 due to phone cables being stolen. Company officials estimate that every year RD$10 million worth of cables is stolen. Communications director Fernando Placeres says that 2008 hasn’t been as bad as previous years, when the company lost RD$20 million per year. Legal council for Claro-Codetel Ignacio Miranda …

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National Meteorological Office director Gloria Ceballos says that rains will continue throughout the DR for the next 24 to 48 hours. She added that the east, northeast and southern parts of the DR should prepare for any emergency situations. Ceballos continued by saying that a storm front originating in Puerto Rico could make its way …

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The Media and Advertising Agency OMD Dominicana emerged as a big winner during this year’s Cannes Lions Festival. The company won one silver and two bronze medals at this year’s event. CEO Johnny Matos explained that in all only nine companies from around the world were honored for their work out of more than 2,000 …

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The Dominican Museum of Man will honor traditional musician and spiritual leader Sixto Minier in an exhibition that opens on 1 July at 7pm. During the ceremony the Ministry of Culture will launch a CD by the “Cofradia del Espiritu Santo de los Congos de Villa Mella (Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit of the Congos …

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The Philadelphia Inquirer focuses on the entrepreneurial nature of Dominicans and the way it is reflected in the number of businesses they have opened in Philadelphia. He estimates that 1,000 bodegas in the city are Dominican owned. “While their numbers are relatively small – 4,300 to 20,000 Dominicans now live in greater Philadelphia based on …

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The World Kiteboarding Championships will begin on Cabarete beach tomorrow. A total of 115 athletes from around the world will compete in the week-long event with a US$45,000 prize for the top boarder. Event organizer Lorenzo Sancasani says the event has cost US$130,000 to put together, but represents US$700,000 in revenue for the area of …

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The Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrives in Santo Domingo today to meet with President Fernandez and his economic team. Murilo Portugal received a special invitation from the governor of the Central Bank, Hector Valdez Albizu. This evening Portugal will give a talk on “World Economic Perspectives and Challenges for the …

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The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has loaned the Dominican Republic US$35 million for three major projects, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is providing a further US$40 million for a series of projects. According to El Nuevo Diario, the funds are for highway construction, the construction of aqueducts and water treatment plants in …

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