2008 – Page 209

The Presidency’s chief information officer Rafael Nunez is warning public transport car (concho) drivers that if they go ahead and raise their fares, the government will remove the fuel subsidy on their vehicles. Nunez said that it is not fair for drivers who receive a subsidy to increase their profits at the expense of their …

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Hacienda Minister Vicente Bengoa says that the government will maintain food subsidies put in place shortly before the presidential election through August. He explained that another RD$1.4 billion has already been budgeted to keep down the prices of rice, eggs, chicken and milk. According to Bengoa, who is quoted in Hoy, the government has invested …

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Industry and Commerce Minister Melanio Paredes is not willing to put all his eggs in one basket, saying that natural gas is not a panacea. According to Paredes, natural gas is not the most efficient alternative. It is just a short-term measure to confront the inevitable energy crisis. He says that at the moment there …

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Waldo Ariel Suero, president of the Dominican Medical Association (CMD) has announced that public hospital doctors would be re-launching their campaign for higher wages. He announced another 24-hour general strike at 20 eastern region public hospitals for Thursday, 29 May. Suriel said they will also take Public Health Minister Bautista Rojas Gomez to court this …

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The DR’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 6.2% during the first quarter of the year, but the balance of trade shows imports increasing and exports dropping, as reported in Listin Diario. Reporter Esteban Delgado analyzes the most recent economic overview published by the Central Bank. Exports were down 1.5 % over the first three months …

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David Jessop, executive director of the Caribbean Council, says that the DR stands to gain from the provision in the European Partnership Agreement that opens inter-Caribbean trade. Once the European Partnership Agreement (EPA) is signed in July, he says Dominican business community will benefit from the stipulation that any trade preference granted by one Caricom …

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Not even three weeks after the 2008 presidential elections and the PRD campaign machinery is already gearing up for the 2012 elections, according to a report in Hoy. Hoy reports that the PRD has begun the search for its 2012 candidate. The party is considering Miguel Vargas Maldonado (who was defeated by President Leonel Fernandez …

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Drug officials in the DR are investigating a haul of 46 kilos of cocaine found at the Punta Cana International Airport. The drugs were found in containers that were to be shipped to Canada via Air Canada. The containers appeared to be empty, but a search showed they had a secret compartment for hiding the …

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The DR’s second set of sextuplets celebrated their first birthday in great health yesterday, and well-wishers helped cut a large cake at the Maternidad Nuestra Senora de la Altagracia where they were born, as reported in Listin Diario. The mother, Magdalena Rodriguez, calls her family, “the army.” The family also commemorated the death of one …

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Spanish tenor Placido Domingo will delight Dominican audiences singing Rafael Solano’s “Por Amor” and Manuel Sanchez Acosta’s “Paraiso Sonado” during his Friday, 20 June performance at Altos de Chavon, the 5,000-seat amphitheater in La Romana. This will be Domingo’s second appearance in the Dominican Republic. On the first occasion, in 2002, he performed at the …

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