2009 – Page 191

To say that President Leonel Fernandez is a well-traveled man may just be an understatement. Since taking office in August 2008, less than one year ago, Fernandez has taken nine trips abroad. His first trip after taking office was to NY to attend the 63rd General Assembly of the United Nations. He then visited Miami, …

Read more…

The Consumer Price Index for the month of May was at 0.11%, according to Central Bank Governor Hector Valdez Albizu. He announced that during the last five months prices have increased by a “mere” 1%, which brings the annual inflation rate to 0.47%. He added that the DR’s inflation rate is lower than in many …

Read more…

Eighty percent of Dominicans have a phone, whether mobile or a LAN line. According to the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (INDOTEL) in the year 2000 there were 1.6 million phone lines. Fast-forward to 2009 and this number has increased to more than 8 million. According to the INDOTEL the DR’s telecommunications sector grew by 21.4% during …

Read more…

Instead of the quoted 6.4% electricity rate increase announced by the government, middle class consumers in the DR are suffering a 22.4% rate increase, reports El Dia. The Superintendence of Electricity says that 6.4% is an average when taking into account the different tiers of increases. Resolution 44 issued by the Superintendence establishes that the …

Read more…

Liquid propane gas station Leon Gas, the scene of a massive explosion in Santo Domingo East at 12:30am on Thursday morning was not adequately equipped to provide services and didn’t meet the proper legal requirements, investigators for the National Fire Department reported in the aftermath of the blast. The explosion caused injuries to at least …

Read more…

Ten new cases of AH1N1 have been confirmed at the new lab at the Dominican-Japanese Friendship Medical Center (Cemadoja), bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the DR to 33. The Public Health Ministry says the new cases were reported in the National District, in Samana and in the province of La Altagracia. Hoy …

Read more…

The Ministry of Public Health is warning the public that a medication used to treat the AH1N1 flu has already been falsified and has been brought into the country illegally. Minister of Public Health Bautista Rojas Gomez announced that only the Ministry has the authorized Tamiflu meds. Rojas Gomez said that no one outside of …

Read more…

Yesterday the Senate approved two loan contracts with commercial banks for the construction of the Higuey-Bavaro aqueduct. The loans for US$45 million with the Deutsche Bank and US$30 million with the Sociedad Anonima Espanola are guaranteed by an Italian export credit insurance agency. As reported in El Caribe, the Senate also passed an addendum for …

Read more…

The parents of a baby who was recovered by the authorities deny that the mother had sold the child for RD$5,000. The National Children’s Council (CONANI) has now custody over the baby and says that they will not return the child to the parents until all matters are investigated. Officials say that the suspected kidnappers …

Read more…

The Dominican government is going through the proper channels to get Dominican national Fabio Gomez taken off death row. Gomez, a former baseball player, has been convicted of the murder of 36-year old Joan Morane. According to Listin Diario, the DR’s Prosecutor General’s office is working with the Ministry of Foreign Relations on the matter. …

Read more…