2011 – Page 222

Leading telecommunications sector executives visited Hoy newspaper yesterday for an interview focusing on the companies and their key investments for 2011. Claro president Oscar Pena said that the company is planning aUS$340 million investment to expand their fiber optic network, expand 3G coverage and introduce new cable TV technology. Orange president Jean Marc Harion says …

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Speaking at the American Chamber of Commerce luncheon meeting yesterday, Free Zones Association president Fernando Capellan focused on what the country needs to do to improve the country’s positioning for competing on the domestic and international markets. He made recommendations for reducing the cost of doing business that would better position businesses to compete and …

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While a November 2010 Gallup-Hoy poll showed PRD’s 2008 presidential candidate Miguel Vargas Maldonado leading against former President Hipolito Mejia, the February follow-up survey tells a markedly different story. Gallup RD president Rafael Acevedo released results yesterday that show Mejia has 52.6% of the preferences leading into the PRD primary, compared to 41.7%. 5.8% are …

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Another finding in the February 2011 Gallup poll is that 69.8% of Dominicans reject presidential re-election, 27.1% favor it and 3.2% refused to respond to the poll. In a country marked by political patronage and where the government is the leading employer, this is a surprising finding. Fernandez has held back from announcing whether he …

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Santiago Mayor and PLD dissident Gilberto Serulle has announced he is backing the aspirations of Miguel Vargas to be chosen as the PRD candidate in the 2012 election, as reported in El Caribe. The PRD primary is set for 6 March. Serulle is a former PLD party member who switched to the PRD when the …

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The Haitian authorities have reopened the border on the highway leading from Ouanaminthe to Dajabon. The Haitian authorities had blocked all crossings in protest at the change in the bridge and the start of operations of the new Migration, Customs, and Animal and Plant Health border point. The Haitian consul in Dajabon, Jean Batiste Bien …

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For the first time, the Department of Migration has taken action against a known ring of people smugglers that sent babies and small children to key city street corners to beg. Migration director general Sigfrido Pared Perez announced the arrest of 84 illegal Haitians, 10 of whom are being accused of directing a group that …

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Finland’s leading bachata music promoter, Vesa Parkkari and Rodchata (Rodney Aquino) from San Francisco, USA, the dance instructor who was the first to organize a bachata festival in the US, are organizing the First International Bachata Festival to coincide with the final days of carnival, from 24-27 February. Parkkari was honored for his work promoting …

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The National Folklore Dance Group is presenting Folklore in Carnival, an extravaganza directed by Josefina Minino at Plaza de Espana, facing the Columbus Alcazar in Santo Domingo’s Colonial City. The show is set for 8pm on Friday, 24 February and is part of a series of events planned to celebrate the anniversary of national independence, …

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President Leonel Fernandez is asking Congress to return two construction contracts that had been sent to the legislature for approval. His request involves the contracts for the Bavaro-Sabana de la Mar and El Rio-Jarabacoa highways. The reason given by the President is that the state has not secured sufficient financing for these projects. In his …

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