2008 – Page 20

The Spanish Consulate will be holding an information meeting on Tuesday, 9 December at 7:30pm at the Casa de Espana for descendants of Spaniards in Santo Domingo who may qualify for Spanish nationality. Other meetings are scheduled for the Centro Espanol in Santiago on Wednesday, 17 December at 6pm, and the Centro Espanol in Constanza, …

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Alex Rodriguez has told Dominican fans that he will play for the Dominican team in next year’s World Baseball Classic. He told reporters, “I am 100% sure that I am going to play for the Dominican Republic.” Rodriguez was speaking at a press conference in Punta Cana, in the east of the Dominican Republic where …

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Escogido defeated Carolinas from Puerto Rico 4-3 and got closer to a play-off berth. Argenis Reyes got the hit that scored the winning run. Over in San Juan Puerto Rico, the Aguilas Cibenas divided honors with the Santurce Cangrejeros, 1-0 and 3-4 in their two inter-league games. During the second game, Victor Diaz hit his …

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Environment Minister Jaime David Fernandez claims that Dominican and Haitian farmers are being contracted to grow vegetables in Los Haitises National Park for sale in Puerto Rico. Fernandez explained that these crops can’t be farmed in Puerto Rico. Fernandez’s latest comments come as part of his ongoing bid to protect the National Park, which is …

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Environment Minister Jaime David Fernandez and Blacksmith Institute president Richard Fuller were in attendance as the clean up work, in an area called ‘God’s Paradise’ in Haina, began. God’s Paradise is listed among the top ten most polluted places in the world. Fernandez and Fuller were accompanied by community representative Sandra Castillo and Environmental Management …

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The executive director of the National Competitiveness Council, Andres Van der Horst Alvarez has criticized the decision by the new owners of the Las Americas and Puerto Plata airport management concession to double airport charges levied on Dominican exporters, as reported in Listin Diario. Van der Horst called the decision a blow to exporters, saying …

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The international financial crisis is slowly rearing its head in the DR and the private sector is asking government to tighten its belt, but Diario Libre is reporting that despite all the warning signs the government has instead increased its ‘official’ spending by 31.1% in 2008. As of 21 November, the government had disbursed RD$236.5 …

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The government is asking the Ministry of Hacienda to approve a RD$650 million loan from the government-owned BanReservas commercial bank in order to pay out the annual holiday bonuses for public employees. The bill, which was accompanied by a note from President Leonel Fernandez, states the loan will be paid off during the next 11 …

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The managing director of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss Kahn is scheduled to meet with President Leonel Fernandez and the Dominican government economic team on Monday. The IMF head will then hold a press conference with the Governor of the Central Bank, Hector Valdez Albizu.

The ruling PLD party has taken a special interest in Congress authorizing the issue of US$2 billion in bonds for the construction of two coal-fired power generators with capacity for 600MW each, as reported in Listin Diario. If construction begins in 2009, the plants would go online in 2012. The PLD presented the bill to …

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