2014 – Page 184

President Danilo Medina was in the eastern province of La Altagracia (Higuey) for the inauguration of 11 public schools (171 classrooms) that will operate in the full-day class model. The new facilities cost RD$474.5 million. A total of 6,720 students will be enrolled at the new schools starting the new school year in August 2014. …

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On 1 April 2014, President Danilo Medina received a response to a letter he had sent US President Barack Obama. Medina sent a formal letter to Obama on 27 November 2013 warning that the Trans-Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP) under study in the US Congress would negatively impact the apparel industry in the DR-CAFTA region …

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JCE president Roberto Rosario says that 92 cases involving people attempting to obtain two identities were detected by the new system in its first days of implementation. Everyone who has an ID (cedula) in the Dominican Republic needs to replace it with the new ones that incorporate technology to prevent identity fraud. As reported, when …

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Wasteful government spending continues. Press reports reveal that the Chamber of Deputies approved an extra payment to legislators over the Mother’s Day weekend, 24-25 May. The 190 legislators reportedly received RD$176 million to be used to purchase gifts for poor mothers on Mother’s Day, which fell on Sunday 25 May. Diario Libre reported on Saturday, …

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Judges Felipe Molina Abreu, Tania Yunes Sanchez and Jose Gregorio Bautista ordered the definite filing of the criminal case against former director of the governmental agrarian institute, Jaime Rodriguez Guzman, his brother Rafael Antonio Rodriguez and his wife Reyna Margarita Martinez on grounds that the case has expired. They are accused of real estate fraud …

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Civil society group Foro Ciudadano is warning the Chamber of Deputies, President Danilo Medina and society in general about the “National Seeds Bill” that was fast-tracked in the Senate on 23 and 30 April 2014. FC says that the bill promotes the privatization and centralization of the food trade through the creation of a National …

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So far almost two thirds of the more than 30,000 cases have been concentrated in the south-central province of San Cristobal, but the hard-to-pronounce chikungunya virus is spreading to other parts of the country. Infected mosquitoes spread the disease that typically causes fever combined with arthritis-like joint pain. There is no vaccine or medication to …

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In the first game by a Dominican competing in a Grand Slam tennis tournament, 33-year old Victor Estrella Burgos (ranked 98th by ATP) was able to snatch a set to 6’8 tall Jerzy Janowicz of Poland (ranked 23rd by ATP) in the first round of the French Open on Sunday, 25 May. Estrella is the …

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The Ministry of Agriculture and the Dominican Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (IDIAF) have announced that the annual Expo Mango 2014 festival will take place from 5 to 8 June with most activities open to the general public at the Bani Central Park. According to the Agriculture Ministry, mango exports totaled more than US$11 million …

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Venus in Furs (La venus de las pieles) will be staged at the Sala Ravelo of the National Theater in Santo Domingo on 6, 7, 8 and 13, 14, 15 June. The play is directed by Mario Lebron and produced by Teo Terrero, starring Laura Lebron and Josue Guerrero. The play, based on the infamous …

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