2008 – Page 88

President Leonel Fernandez returned from his weeklong visit to the United States yesterday. Fernandez traveled to the US to attend the 63rd United Nations General Assembly and made the most of his trip to hold meetings with several fellow heads of state. He spent most of his time, however, on meetings with academia, and met …

Read more…

Prosecutor General Radhames Jimenez has announced an innovative nationwide project aimed at converting jail inmates into farmers or assembly operators. The farms and manufacturing operations project at the jails will be implemented in 36 jails across the country. Jimenez was in Salcedo to visit the pilot project at the Juana Nunez jail. Also present were …

Read more…

Anyone not benefiting from the Solidaridad welfare card program that was distributed to the poorest families in the DR will now have to pay full price for propane gas, the most commonly used cooking fuel in the DR. With the start of the “Bonogas” program that will grant a RD$228 monthly subsidy on propane purchases, …

Read more…

Deputy Pelegrin Castillo says that President Leonel Fernandez’s proposal to increase the number of deputies to 250 members is tantamount to annulling Congress. He said that the larger the Congress is, the less influence it has. The president of the Chamber of Deputies had proposed reducing the number of legislators to 120 members, down from …

Read more…

Central Electoral Board (JCE) officials who travel abroad enjoy greater per-diem allowances and spending money than United Nations officials. As reported in Diario Libre, a JCE judge who travels to Puerto Rico, for instance, will receive US$750 -US$800 daily spending money, plus an allocation for “pocket” expenses. This is more than a UN official will …

Read more…

The director of the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (Indotel) Jose Rafael Vargas says that his department and the Police will take drastic action against any business caught illegally activating stolen cell phones. Vargas said that his department and the Police would shut down these businesses. He said that all their equipment would be confiscated, and that …

Read more…

Despite having the experience of two previous government terms, there is the generalized perception that President Leonel Fernandez’s administration fails to act when faced with multiple pressing problems. The situation is exacerbated by increased insecurity and growing pessimism, despite the optimistic outlook from the President and his economic team, who maintain that the DR will …

Read more…

Despite the optimism reflected in recent statements by President Leonel Fernandez during his trip to the US, government figures show that the Dominican economy is already hurting from the impact of the US financial crisis. President Fernandez forecast that the worst of the US crisis was over, and said that remittances were on the rise, …

Read more…

Former Agriculture Minister in the 2000-2004 PRD administration Eligio Jaquez predicts that former President Hipolito Mejia will be the party’s presidential candidate in 2012. He expresses his optimism that the constitutional reform proposal submitted by President Leonel Fernandez to Congress will make this possible. The Fernandez proposal allows for a President to run again for …

Read more…

The story of Jean Carlos de Leon, who lives in the rural town of La Yautia in the province of Monte Plata, shows again that where there is a will, there is a way, as reported in Listin Diario. Who would believe that there could be a Wi-Fi Internet connection in that remote farming region? …

Read more…