2010 – Page 19

The production of the Integrated Textbooks from the first year to the eighth grade of primary school and the other teaching and technological materials pending delivery involve an investment of US$5,230,619 by the Ministry of Education. This is set out in a contract signed between the Minister of Education, Melanio Paredes, and the director general …

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Today marks the start of the government’s Christmas bonus payments (the so-called thirteenth salary) to the nation’s public servants, including pensioners and the military. They will also transfer the money to the decentralized institutions, according to the National Treasurer, Guaroa Guzman. Diario Libre reports that Guzman specified that central government employees would be paid RD$6.5 …

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The Ministry of the Interior and Police has announced that beginning December 22 and lasting until 2 January, curfew laws will be suspended all over the country. Minister Franklin Almeyda made the announcement, while warning about the risks of drinking and driving, and wearing side arms in public places. According to Listin Diario, he also …

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Diario Libre reports that the National Police are in the process of rounding up a large gang that preyed on foreign visitors going through Las Americas International Airport. It appears that the gang was led by one of the employees at a currency exchange house that operates at the airport. The man arrested revealed the …

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Despite the increase in the price of the fuels used in generating electricity on the international markets, the fundamental reason for the increase in the electricity rates by 11% is due to the financial deterioration in the electricity sector. The increase penalizes the users who do pay for a poor and expensive electricity service. However, …

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West Texas Intermediate, the standard for oil prices, increased by 0.21% yesterday on the commodity exchange in New York and closed at US$89.38, the highest level in more than two years. However, prices for gasoline and heating oil were down just a bit. Natural gas was slightly higher. The commodities market was listening to the …

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The Constanza Highway Trust, a group formed by Presidential decree 341-10 is preparing to install tollbooths in coordination with the Ministry of Public Works. The money collected will be used to maintain the new roadway, inaugurated just five months ago and already a target for vandalism. Along with the tollbooths, the Trust is seeking to …

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A total of 2,071 people are reported to have died in the cholera epidemic in neighboring Haiti, according to the latest information. The only department (province) of the country not to have registered any fatalities is Nippes, in the southwest of Haiti. Listin Diario says that over 91,000 patients have been treated for the disease, …

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Twenty cases of cholera have now been confirmed in the Dominican Republic. Hoy newspaper reports that four new cases were detected, three in Santiago and one in Valverde (Mao). So far, the disease has only appeared in four provinces. Only one patient is still in hospital, while all of the others are at home recovering. …

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Environmental campaigning organization Greenpeace is calling on the Dominican government to join in the fight to stop the killing of humpback whales. Over 900 of these marine mammals visit Dominican waters each year, and the International Whaling Commission has recently permitted the hunting of humpbacks after a 20-year ban. Hoy newspaper says that spokesman Milko …

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