2010 – Page 320

It was a good holiday season, according to spokespersons for the country’s leading shopping malls. Pedro Perez, president of the National Trade Organization (ONEC) says that overall sales were up 12-20% compared to the Christmas holidays in 2008. He said the recovery was reflected by an improvement of sales this Christmas. “We are beginning to …

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Several minibuses from Haiti arrive 2 or 3 times per week to drop off 9 or 10 pregnant women at the Nuestra Senora de la Altagracia Maternity Hospital in Santo Domingo, the country’s leading maternity hospital. Hoy says that the regular nature of the drop-offs indicate this is part of an organized illicit business operation. …

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Presidential narcotics advisor Marino Vinicio Castillo commented yesterday on complicity in the DR and the US (Puerto Rico) that allowed fugitive drug trafficker Jose Figueroa Agosto to freely run his business in the DR. Figueroa came to the DR escaping from the Rio Piedras jail in Puerto Rico where he was serving a 209-year jail …

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The National Drug Control Department has suspended its director of planning and operations, Colonel Miguel Sanchez Martinez, and the head of DNCD services at La Romana Airport, Colonel Manuel Diaz Medina, following initial investigations into their links to the murder of former Police colonel Jose Amado Gonzalez Gonzalez. Gonzalez Gonzalez was murdered on 24 December …

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Diario Libre reports that license plate OL00234 recovered from the vehicle that was used by the murderers of former police colonel Jose Amado Gonzalez Gonzalez on 24 December had been assigned to former Army chief Tommy Fernandez Alarcon, in his capacity as a retired high-ranking officer. Jose Amado Gonzalez Gonzalez was under investigation for his …

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Licey was running behind by 4 runs in the seventh inning of last night’s game at the Quisqueya Ballpark, but managed to come from behind and defeat the Escogido 7-6 to stay alive in the round robin. Licey lost the 5 consecutive previous games. In another game last night, the Gigantes defeated the Toros 9-2 …

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Contrary to what was published in our Tuesday 29 December news digest, DR1 News did not resume services yesterday. It had escaped the DR1 News Team’s usually alert attention that Monday, 4 January was an official public holiday in the DR, to mark the Three Kings Day celebration, which was moved from its traditional date …

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President Leonel Fernandez has declared 2010 as the “Year of National Economic Reactivation”. In Decree No. 933-09 he calls on all sectors to join forces with the government in order to seek economic recovery. Responding to the call, the president of the Dominican Republic Association of Industries (AIRD), Manuel Diez Cabral expressed his hopes that …

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President Fernandez signed the National Budget Bill on 29 December 2009. The budget is for RD$378.9 billion, 50 billion pesos more than 2009. The budget consists of RD$263,032.9 million in domestically generated revenues and RD$115,964.6 million in borrowed funds.

President Leonel Fernandez has ordered the State Electricity Corporation (CDEEE) to lead and coordinate all the state electricity companies’ strategies, objectives and performances. The government is the owner of the power distribution companies and hydroelectric power generation companies. Decree 923-09 establishes that the CDEEE, through its board of directors, will prepare and approve the Integrated …

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