2013 – Page 120

The Roman Catholic Church in Santo Domingo has no comments on the reasons for the resignation of Apostolic Nuncio Emeritus Josef Wesolowski on 21 August 2013. Wesolowski has not been available for comment either. Diario Libre reporters who called the Apostolic Nunciature were told that Wesolowski left the country last week. The 65-year old Polish …

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Apparently Jose David Figueroa Agosto, the Puerto Rican drug lord arrested in the Dominican Republic several years ago has begun to tell the authorities just how he was able to launder money for so many years. As a result, his lawyer Ramon M. Negron Colon has been arrested by US Immigration and Customs officers (ICE) …

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President Danilo Medina, following recommendations from the Higher Police Council, ordered the dismissal, forced retirement and/or dishonorable discharge of 68 members of the National Police, including three colonels and one lieutenant colonel. The orders also included a major, 11 captains, 34 first and second lieutenants, 11 sergeant majors and sergeants, two corporals and five privates. …

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A request by the Attorney General has sent Germans Peter Brunck and Daniel Roland Brunck to stand trial for illegal possession of military grade firearms and other charges. According to El Nuevo Diario, the pair will face charges of armed rebellion and possession of illegal weapons. District Attorney for Puerto Plata, Alba Nunez Pichardo has …

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The National Meteorological Office (Onamet) says that a low-pressure trough located over the center of the country and moving slowly to the west is generating sufficient cloud cover to allow rains and thunderstorms to occur, mostly in the north, northeast, southeast, southwest, over the central mountains and along the border. The rains are forecast to …

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The Vida Azul Foundation is organizing the 6th International Coastal Cleanup Day, set for 21 September 2013. Nationwide crews of volunteers will promote awareness of keeping riverbanks and coastlines garbage-free. Fundacion Vida Azul president Oscar Oviedo says that the Dominican effort is part of a worldwide campaign spearheaded by Ocean Conservancy that in 2012 motivated …

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Ocoa Bay, a joint US-Dominican project, is being described as the first wine-tourism development in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean region. President Danilo Medina inaugurated the project yesterday, Monday 26 August. Promoters say they will be investing US$167 million, according to the government press release. The project’s area will cover 1.4 million square meters …

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President Danilo Medina has warned agricultural workers in Hondo Valle in Elias Pina province on the border with Haiti that they cannot keep cutting trees down in the mountains and said that the micro-climate in their area was the best to live in. He said that Hondo Valle was only surpassed by Constanza in terms …

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According to a Ministry of Industry and Commerce announcement, the government has agreed to give more than RD$3 billion in subsidies for diesel and Bonogas cards to public transport workers so that they do not have to increase fares. Every month, the government gives 22,000 drivers RD$3,420 each to buy liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and …

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A foundation working in low-income barrios has come up with new technology for building blocks from recycled material. The blocks are made using old newspapers and paper waste and a minimal amount of cement and sand yet they weigh only seven pounds. Studies have shown that the blocks are just as resistant as the more …

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