2014 – Page 104

In a landmark case, judges Carlos Martinez and Andys Mendoza of the Puerto Plata Labor Court of have ordered an end to the monopoly on cargo transport imposed by the truckowners union (Fenatrado). The truck union claims that a government administrative resolution obliges cargo owners to use them to transport at least 50% of the …

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Higher Education Minister Ligia Amada Melo reports that over the three-year period from 2012 to 2014, 15,082 scholarships have been issued for studies abroad. The country breakdown for the scholarships is: Spain (1,352), United States (302), Brazil (96) and France (85). Students have also been awarded scholarships to study in countries including Cuba, Mexico, Chile, …

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The director of the Center for Industrial Development and Competitiveness (Proindustria) favors the elimination of the 18% ITBIS tax on uncollected bills and the 1% on assets. Proindustria director Alexandra Izquierdo expressed her concern that local manufacturing is losing its share of GDP. Alexandra Izquierdo says that no country can develop with a declining productive …

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On Tuesday, 26 August 2014, the Chamber of Deputies passed a bill that grants national park status to Loma Miranda. The main focus of the declaration is to ban Falcondo from carrying out mining operations in the mountain. The Ministry of Environment has already rejected an environmental impact study presented by the company that had …

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The number of chikungunya cases in the Dominican Republic now stands at 429,000 as of 15 August 2014, making it by far the country with the highest number of people infected in the Western Hemisphere. Six people have died from the mosquito-borne illness in the DR. According to the latest Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) …

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The Ministry of Culture has ordered the closure of the Carlos Piantini Hall at the National Theater in order to start repairs immediately. The decision was reached after last weekend, when a performance by the Prague Ballet was affected by a heavy rainstorm that caused rainwater to leak onto the stage. As announced, all events …

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The Latin American Social Sciences Institute or Latin American School of Social Sciences (FLACSO) has appointed Dominican Ivan Ogando as its new director. Flacso is an inter-governmental autonomous organization for Latin America and the Caribbean dedicated to research, teaching and spreading of social sciences. Ogando was previously director-general of Cariforum. On the occasion of his …

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Tourism business organizations in Cabarete and Sosua are urging Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito to appeal against a decision by a court in Puerto Plata that has discharged Gabriel Mora (Canoa) and Eddy Morfe of accusations of corruption involving RD$189 million in the local government of Cabarete. During the hearing on Monday, 21 August 2014, …

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A Dominican woman was arrested on Saturday, 23 August 2014 at Punta Cana International Airport trying to bring around EUR200,000 into the country. She had arrived on a flight from Brussels and the authorities suspect that the money was intended for funding drug-dealing operations. According to the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD), she was detained …

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