2008 – Page 204

Over the weekend, the president of the National Council on Drugs (CND), Mabel Feliz Baez said that they could do a lot more with their budget if the justice system sentenced the dealers. She said the funds could then go to rehabilitation and prevention campaigns. “The courts are slow in issuing sentences, and if we …

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During the past few months, the volume of contraband has increased along the border near Dajabon in the northwest corner of the Dominican Republic, next door to Haiti. According to local deputy Carmen Mirelys Uceta, criminal activity has also increased at the same time that legal commerce has decreased. The Congress member told Hoy reporter …

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Boston Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez joined the exclusive list of 24 Major League Baseball players to have hit 500 or more homeruns. He is also only the third (including Sammy Sosa and Alex Rodriguez. His homerun came on Saturday, 31 May at a game in Baltimore. The Red Sox won 6-3. For local comments …

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Regional leaders in El Salvador for a heads of state meeting of the Central American Integration System (SICA) have made theirs President Leonel Fernandez’s proposal on the calling of an extraordinary session of the United Nation’s General Assembly to discuss, with urgency, the looming global economic crisis based on skyrocketing fuel prices and the consequential …

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The Customs Department (DGA) has signed an agreement with the US Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP). Under this agreement the US agency will donate modern inspection equipment to the DGA in order to guarantee transparency in customs declarations. The system, which is valued at US$1 million, has been in place at the Multimodal Caucedo …

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Minister of Public Works Victor Diaz Rua has announced that the authorities will be opening the new 106km highway to Samana from Km14 in Santo Domingo this Sunday, 1 June. The road cuts driving time from the current four hours to under two hours, a considerable saving with gasoline at around RD$200/gallon. Diaz estimates that …

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Many areas in the DR are still recovering from the effects of Tropical Storms Noel and Olga, yet the 2008 hurricane season is already upon us. Weather experts forecast that a dozen hurricanes will affect the Caribbean this year. Many in the DR hope that emergency officials have learned from last year’s mistakes. During a …

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The Chamber of Deputies has approved a set of loans from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for a total of US$80 million. The money will be used to repair roads and strengthen the nation’s emergency program and statistical system. The loan designated for the statistical system is valued at US$10 million while the loan for …

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Senate President Reinaldo Pared Perez (PLD-Santo Domingo) says that the findings of the United Nations Development Program’s report, released yesterday, can’t be attributed to the current administration, but to accumulated social debt. As he continued to pass the buck, Pared said that former President Hipolito Mejia should be held responsible for much of what the …

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The official report from the Organization of American States (OAS) Electoral Observers indicates that the constant electoral process in the DR is excessive. The report indicates that campaigning every two years also places an economic burden on citizens. The report was presented by OAS mission chief Jose Octavio Bordon who says there is a concern …

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