The Miss Universe Dominican Republic jurors chose 6-foot tall Aldy Bernard from Laguna Salada, Valverde province to represent the country in the Miss Universe contest scheduled for Bangkok, Thailand on 16 December 2018.
The 23-year old is a professional model with the Ossygeno Models Management agency, master of ceremonies and mass communications graduate, Bernard was chosen from 20 participants in the event that took place on Sunday, 26 August 2018 at the Gran Arena del Cibao in Santiago. She had also won the best face and best typical costume awards.
Other contestants receiving awards were Roxannie Rodríguez, Peravia, Best Body; Paola Hórber, Elías Piña, Most Talented and Miss Reality Show; María Celeste Vargas, La Romana, Miss Friendship; Karen Vásquez, Santo Domingo West, Miss Communication; and Emely Ruiz, Valverde, Miss Photogenic.
More than 10 days ago the disappearance of a man from Chile, 54-year old Jaime Vera Galvéz, was reported. He was a tourist in Bayahibe and the authorities have still not been able to locate him.
Carrying out the search are members of Cestur, the Dominican Air Force, the National Police and Civil Defense using helicopters and rescue dogs.
Galvez is a bank executive in Chile and entered by the International Airport of Punta Cana. He spent a couple of days in Punta Cana before moving to Bayahibe. His return ticket was for 16 August but he did not board the plane.
Last Thursday his mobile phone was tracked to Manabao in Jarabacoa, so it is thought he went to climb Pico Duarte that is normally done in a group and with a professional guide.
Over the weekend the search moved to the East National Park, to the south of La Altagracia province that is more than 400 kilometers large. At the entrance to the park a bicycle was found that was supposedly used by Galvez to get to the park and the park guard said that he did see a tourist enter the park.
Galvez left his hotel on Monday 13 August 2018 after leaving his luggage and passport and has not yet returned. His brother recently arrived in the country to join the search.
Radhamés de la Rosa, the executive director of Casa Abierta, an institution that helps those with drug addiction problems to recover, has proposed that the consumption of marijuana in the Dominican Republic be legalized. He cited the example of Uruguay, where marijuana has been legalized since 1974 and the consumption and production are controlled by the state. He said that before then, the marijuana consumer spent around US$10 a month on the drug but now that has been reduced to US$1.50, including a tax to the government.
He went on to say that currently government policies have led to the clandestine use of the drug. He maintained that marijuana is less dangerous than other drugs that are authorized, regulated and provide taxation income, such as alcohol and tobacco products.
Julio Díaz Capellán, director of Hogares Crea, another drug addict rehabilitation center, rejects that the Dominican Republic copy the Uruguayan model where the state controls the marketing, production and manufacturing of marijuana be applied here. He said here the state has not been able to control the clandestine markets of already accepted vices, such as alcohol and cigarettes. He rejected the recreational use of marijuana. Nevertheless, he approves the medicinal use of the plant.
On Sunday and Monday, 26-28 August 2018, the Claro telecom system was down for hours, making for a crisis for those who depend on the mobile and Internet telecommunications. The company has apologized but not given explanations.
Likewise, Claro is alerting its customers against fraudulent calls. In a note shared on the telecom company’s social media, the company alerts its customers to not return calls to areas with area code 375, 371, 370, 563, 255 because this could be fraud. The calls are being made to persons and then the caller makes it appear as if the call has crashed. The person usually returns the call and then is a victim of fraudulent charges of upwards of EUR30. Worse still, the system allows the hacker to steal your list of contacts and financial information. When receiving a call from any of those area codes, just let the telephone ring, says Claro.
A source told Diario Libre that the Cueva de las Maravillas Foundation seeks to privatize the Cueva de las Maravillas property so that squatters do not continue to illegally occupy the protected area. The foundation, seeking to privatize 16,540.28 tareas (1 tarea = 629 square meters), said that already 3,000 tareas have been irregularly occupied. The source says that while the property continues to be under the legal ownership of the State Sugar Council these are susceptible to illegal occupation or invasion.
“The property has continued to feed a huge appetite for people who are seeking to squat on the protected area’s land. At the moment there are more than a hundred invaders in the northern part, ” the source told Diario Libre, while complaining about the lack of action on behalf of the provincial authorities despite the irregular situation.
The Foundation source said that in 2014, the CEA agreed to donate the 16.540.28 tareas to the Cueva de las Maravillas Foundation. The Foundation would manage, conserve and protect the natural resources and physical structures of the Cave of Wonders anthropological reserve, the preservation of its caves, its pre-Columbian identity, flora and fauna.
The contract then passed to the National Congress for final approval. In March 2018, the Chamber of Deputies remanded to the commission of contracts the reference to the Cuevas de las Maravillas. The logic of the contract was questioned by some legislators.
Then on 20 August, the Ombudsman Zaida Medina submitted a nullity action against the act of donation before the Superior Administrative Court (TSA). The body emphasizes that it is a fundamental duty of the Ombudsman to contribute to safeguarding the fundamental rights of all the inhabitants of the country and that this includes collective and diffuse interests, such as the environment, protected areas, cultural and archaeological heritage, as well as the general interest of the State.
The appeal to stop the transfer of the property has the support of the Academy of Sciences that argues that the areas or lands that are under the protection regime of protected areas constitute an inalienable and un-attachable component of state heritage and the ownership of such property cannot be transferred to any individual or private entity.
The Central Bank announced a new one peso coin is in circulation starting Monday, 27 August 2018. The coin is dated 2017 and has the inscription “peso dominicano” under the national coat of arms. The word “dominicano” is added to the old coin that is still valid.
The president of the Dominican Numismatic Society, Isaac Rudman, explained that the adding of the word “dominicano” to the Dominican peso is to comply with Art. 299 of the 2010 Dominican Constitution. The coins now in circulation just say peso, because the name of the country, Dominican Republic, is on the same side of the coin.
Meanwhile, the coordinator of the School of Economy at the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (Intec), Rafael Espinal, criticized the minting of the new 2017 coin. He said the cost of minting the coin is more than the value of the coin itself. He said the coin is but a coin collector’s item.
The Dominican hip hop group Da Republik received enough support from the general public to advance to the semi-finals of the NBC reality show, America’s Got Talent. The group performed to “WTF (Where They From”, made known by Missy Elliott and Pharrell Williams. The dance troupe received the backing of judge Simon Cowell.
Those behind the development of women’s volleyball in the Dominican Republic can proudly say that all Dominican team players are “made in the Dominican Republic.” This is contrary to many other winners of medals in the Central American & Caribbean Sports Games that train abroad or are residents in developed countries where they are part of advanced sports systems. This is the case in track and field, artistic skating, swimming, basketball, baseball and many others sports.
The success of the Dominican women’s volleyball is the result of a project created by Cristóbal Marte, president and founder of the project that creates the conditions so that young girls can look to volleyball as a way of making a good living. The project secures high yield contracts abroad for the most outstanding players, but they keep the commitment to play for the national teams, at the most important events.
A report in Listin Diario explains that the project that began in 1997 makes it possible for all national women’s team players to come up through the ranks of the local program. The Dominican Republic women’s team is ranked 9th in the world. The Dominican Republic team has won four Pan American Cups (2008, 2010, 2014 and 2016, and three Norceca championships (2009, 2010 and 2017). Likewise, it has won the gold medal in the past five Central American & Caribbean Games. It also has made it to the Athens (2004) and London (2012) Olympic Games. In 2003, the Dominican team won the gold medal in the Pan American Games.
The National Teams Project since 2008 has been coached by Brazilian Marcos Kwiek.
On Sunday, 19 August 2018, the Dominican team won the U-23 Pan American Cup in Peru, showing the quality of the Dominican teams. This was the team’s fourth straight victory in the tournament. Likewise, in 2015, the Dominican U-20 team won the World Championship that took place in Caguas, Puerto Rico. The DR won silver in the Sub-18 World Championship in Argentina 2017, and silver in the U-23 World Championship in Turkey in 2018.
Residents and tourists alike in the Juan Dolio and San Pedro de Macoris areas will now benefit from the start of the 911 Emergency System in the province of San Pedro de Macoris. President Danilo Medina visited San Pedro to mark the start of the service. The service addresses security and health emergencies. The rapid emergency response service integrates public health facilities, fire and police stations and Ministry of Public Works offices. There is no charge for the service. As reported, a staff of 300, including eight physicians, will serve the community 24/7.
The Medina administration says that with the entry of San Pedro de Macoris into the service, the 911 Emergency System now covers 68% of the Dominican population.
