2009 – Page 25

During his address to the XIX Summit of Iberoamerican Heads of State and Government, President Leonel Fernandez urged fellow regional leaders to change their attitudes towards the growing technological divide in Latin America. Fernandez encouraged fellow leaders to try to find solutions to this widening gap. Speaking at the Summit, Fernandez said that this digital …

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Legislators have finally agreed that the proclamation of the new Dominican Constitution will take place on 26 January 2010. The date has been postponed twice. The reading of the final version of the text will begin at 9am and is expected to end at 4pm. For a copy of the text of the new constitution, …

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During a conference at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), Octavio Lopez, director of Mining in the DR, speculated that there could be natural gas in Dominican territory. He said that a team of experts from the Department of Geodynamics at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid had found indications of a possible natural …

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The battle of public perception is usually the toughest to win, yet Cesar Pina Toribio is doing his best to save face in response to the finding that 52.6% of Dominicans believe that drug trafficking has penetrated the DR because of complicity between drug dealers and the authorities, and that 80.4% of those polled believe …

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Time goes by and the story of Sobeida Felix (Feliz) enters the world of folklore and myth. The housewife-turned-drug fugitive has captured the imagination and the headlines of Dominican media, and for whatever reason has overtaken the real story, which involved her alleged lover, drug kingpin Jose A. Figueroa. According to Presidential Drugs Advisor Vincho …

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The perception is that corruption is on the rise in government, according to results of a recent Gallup-Hoy poll. According to the poll, more than half the Dominican population perceives that corruption has increased over time, that there is more corruption in this government than there was under Hipolito Mejia, and that impunity is frequent. …

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According to a recent Gallup-Hoy poll, inflation (59.2%), blackouts (48%) and crime (47.8%) are the three main areas of concern for Dominicans. The lack of jobs (37.3%), drug trafficking and consumption (18.4%), administrative corruption (12.8%) and the shortage of potable water (11.2%) follow. When citizens were asked where they would invest the bulk of resources …

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For many years Dominican rum was the standard alcoholic beverage for Dominicans. Then whisky captured significant market share as a popular alternative for some. Now, according to a Mercadata and Stegic One survey, vodka has moved up, ending rum’s reign as the drink of choice, especially among younger people. Hoy, quoting the survey reports that …

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The DR received the highest marks in the Caribbean for internet connectivity and is second among all Central American nations, according to the “2008 Web America Evaluation Index.” The information was released by Juan Zavattiero, ITU Regional Office head. Among all countries on the index the DR is 10th on the list, which also includes …

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Every year in the DR 1,200 children are born to mothers with HIV, 11% of whom are also born with the virus. Listin Diario reports that 1,300 children in the DR are currently living with HIV, and some of them receive treatment from the Presidential HIV/AIDS council. COPRESIDA president Gustavo Rojas Lara said that every …

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