2009 – Page 302

Cemex Dominicana says that sales have dropped 25%. They reduced their workforce by 20% (160 workers) in December. Listin Diario reports that Cemex has closed one of its six lines of production and cut production on a national level. Cemex Dominicana’s parent company has announced it would cut back its worldwide operations by 16%.

The youth unemployment rate is double the national unemployment rate in the DR. According to International Labor Organization (ILO), 30% of 15 to 24 year olds in the DR are unemployed compared to 15.6% for all age groups. While 45% of Latin America’s unemployed are located in the DR, Panama and Central America, the DR …

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Search and rescue officials are combing the waters north of Puerto Rico hoping to find a small plane, its five passengers and pilot, that fell after departing from the Casa de Campo International Airport (LRM) in La Romana. The plane was a Cesna 206 with registration N118ME. According to US Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad, …

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The Dominican Civil Aviation Institute has suspended pilot Maximo Gomez’s aviation license for a period of six months. Gomez is accused of illegally renting out two of his planes to Caribair. According to IDAC, Gomez purchased both planes but never had them registered with any commercial airline. Despite this, he would irregularly operate his own …

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Three people are dead and two missing after strong rains pummeled the Cibao region over the weekend. Carmelo Almonte, Dinelda Katula Cabrera Trejo and her daughter Yanilsa Martinez Trejo were the reported victims while Sara Rodriguez Dominguez and Alcibiades Cespedes are still missing. The Center for Emergency Operations (COE) is reporting that 50 communities are …

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All seemed good for Major League slugger Alex Rodriguez only 72 hours ago. Rodriguez was in the DR, practicing with members of the Dominican team that would play in the World Baseball Classic, his name had slowly become absent from the Page 6 gossip columns and he was still the richest player in baseball, and …

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Yesterday, President Leonel Fernandez received the reports from the seven work groups at the National Summit. Fernandez is expected to incorporate some of the observations during his 27 February Independence Day speech to Congress. Among approvals that met with a consensus and that could be accepted by the government are that the Ministry of Education, …

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The pharmaceutical industry is complaining that the Ministry of Public Health has not done enough to remove fake medicines from the market, despite the department’s current efforts to confiscate fake Human Gamma Globulin from pharmacy shelves. Today it was announced that the Ministry had closed ten pharmaceutical distribution businesses that were selling fake meds. Ninoska, …

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According to AES Dominicana president Marco de la Rosa, the DR’s energy sector will need a cash infusion of US$3.4 billion over the next five years. De la Rosa said that US$2.2 billion needs to be spent on updating the current energy grid and on energy generation. An added US$300 million must be invested in …

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Hacienda Minister Vicente Bengoa is defending the pay increases announced for employees at the Ministry of Environment (SEMARENA). The new income levels are now comparable to other ministries. Environment Minister Jaime David Fernandez will now receive RD$200,000 a month, up from RD$85,000, and his deputy ministers will each go from RD$60,000 to RD$175,000. The main …

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