2012 – Page 224

William Encarnacion became the first Dominican boxer to qualify for the London Olympics yesterday, Tuesday 8 May. He defeated Cesar Diaz of Peru in the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) Americas Continental Olympic Qualifiers, staged in Rio de Janeiro. In the 56 kilos category, he won 26-7. Another Dominican, Felix Valera was eliminated, when he …

Read more…

Dominican-born basketball star Al Horford is credited with keeping the Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs fight. In only his second game after some four months on the floor for surgery, Horford scored 19 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks, three assists and three steals to lead the Hawks to defeat the Celtics 87-86 in the Tuesday …

Read more…

Following an enthusiastic reception from Dominican audiences, the National Ballet will again dance Pop at the Bellas Artes auditorium on Sunday, 13 May at 8:30pm. The performance consists of leading Dominican classical dancers moving to legendary pop hits. The show was choreographed by Isadora Bruno and Carlos Veitia and each act was performed to rapturous …

Read more…

The Ministry of Tourism has announced a special fund for the reconstruction of the Pueblo de los Pescadores on the beach in Las Terrenas. Tourism Minister Francisco Javier Garcia said that although the new structure would be more modern, it would conserve its former architectural style. A fire at around 5am on Monday, 7 May …

Read more…

The Ministry of Tourism has announced Resolution 9/2012 of the Department of Planning (DPP) that approves the application of Decree 847-09 of 14 November 2010 on the Land Use Plan for Cabarete Municipality. The ruling establishes guidelines for height and density of construction in the beach town. As reported by the Presidency, the plan gives …

Read more…

A 16% to 18% increase in ITBIS (value-added tax) and a reduction of tax-exempted categories could be coming after the 20 May 2012 presidential election, as leaked to the press. The IMF is requiring the government to balance its books, and these would be some options for filling the gaps. Journalist Soila Paniagua of Hoy …

Read more…

The National Dominican Transport Federation (Fenatrado) began its 48-hour national strike at 6am today, Tuesday, 8 May, with a proposed ending at the same time on Thursday. Fenatrado is striking to pressure the government into paying RD$300 million debt. “The strike is on (today) no matter what,” declared Blas Peralta, the Fenatrado president. Fenatrado is …

Read more…

Remittances from emigrants from the Dominican Republic to the US during 2011 totaled US$3.13 billion dollars, a 4% increase over 2010, according to the center for studies of the Inter-American Dialogue. Remittances sent to Latin America and the Caribbean saw increases of 8% compared to 2010, with Central America, Mexico and Colombia as the leading …

Read more…

The president of the chain of pharmacies Farma/Xtra is accusing the Health Risk Administrators (ARS) of discrimination and of excluding small and medium pharmacies from the sales of medications that come under the Basic Health Plan (PBS) for the affiliates of the Payroll Deduction part of the Family Health Insurance (SFS), pushing aside his clients …

Read more…

The Penn, Schoen & Berland presented its third national poll last night, Monday, 7 May. The poll gives the Danilo Medina-Margarita Cedeno ticket 51% and the Hipolito Mejia-Luis Abinader ticket 46%. In this poll 2% of respondents said they were still undecided and 2% did not answer. The poll, taken from 18 to 22 April …

Read more…