2009 – Page 288

The Youth Ministry and the National District Attorney General’s office have signed a cooperation agreement allowing college students to complete internships at the Public Ministry as paralegals. The aim of the program is to enable students to gain practical, real world experience while continuing their classroom development. The National District AG office said they would …

Read more…

Forty Dominican students will get the opportunity to study in Cuba through scholarships provided by the Cuban government. The scholarships were awarded through the Higher Education Ministry (SEESCYT). Cuban Ambassador to the DR Juan Astiasaran Ceballos and SEESCYT took part in a farewell celebration for the 40 students who are off to Cuba on Sunday. …

Read more…

The Papal Nuncio to the Dominican Republic Monsignor Josef Wesolowski would not confirm reports by Foreign Relations Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso that Pope Benedict XVI would visit the DR in 2011. The Nuncio says he hasn’t received any formal information about a planned visit. Diario Libre reports that Monsignor Benito Angeles and Monsignor Pablo Cedeno …

Read more…

Retired Colombian General Mario Montoya has been designated Colombian Ambassador to the DR, according to Diario Libre. Montoya gained international recognition during operation “Jaque,” which led to the rescue of Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt in July 2008. The mission also led to the rescue of three US citizens and 11 others who had been taken …

Read more…

Leading business organizations repeated their call to the authorities yesterday, urging them to enforce the business sector’s right to freedom of choice when using ground transport. The National Business Council (CONEP), Dominican Association of Free Zones (Adozona), National Association of Young Entrepreneurs (ANJE), Dominican Republic Association of Industries (AIRD), Exporters Association (Adoexpo), Agribusiness Board (JAD), …

Read more…

Dominican companies will undergo major structural changes this year under new Law 479-08. Companies with assets over RD$30 million are now the only ones allowed to retain the board hierarchy prevalent in the current sole business structure. New and more flexible models will be available as of June 2009 for small and medium-sized companies. Milagros …

Read more…

According to Interior and Police Minister Franklin Almeyda, the DR’s crime rate stood at 20.2% at the end of 2008. Almeyda made the announcement during the introduction of the “Ministerial Conference on Illegal Trafficking of Drugs, Trans-National Organized Crime and Terrorism as a Challenge for Security and Development in the Caribbean.” Eighteen Caribbean countries are …

Read more…

Chief of Police Rafael Guillermo Guzman Fermin says that in the next few hours several people responsible for a robbery at the Parmalat company would be detained. The accused include Jorge Luis Vargas Cuello, a major in the Dominican Armed Forces. Guzman added that known criminal Marcos Comas would also be detained in relation to …

Read more…

El Caribe is reporting that a 3.3 earthquake was registered on Isla Saona off the south east coast of the DR yesterday. Rafael Pujols from the UASD Seismology Institute said that the tremor was felt at 9:17pm last night. According to Pujols the quake was centered at latitude 18.0127 and longitude -68.5455, but was not …

Read more…

It has been a rough off-season for Dominican baseball, which took another hit this week as it was revealed that a top prospect for the Washington Nationals was not who he said he was. In fact, the player in question, Carlos Alvarez Daniel Lugo (a.k.a. Esmailyn “Smiley” Gonzalez), had changed his identity in order to …

Read more…