Archive for December, 2018
Sundays are considered by Dominicans as days of rest and peace for many, but Sundays are actually the day when the highest number of homicides take place, according to a statistical report on the homicides in the country from January to September this year. The data was provided by the Observatory of Citizen Safety and reveals that on Sundays at least 188 murders were committed across the country, out of a total of 801.
Mondays was second in number of murders for a weekday, with 122 through September. The list follows with 112 murders on Saturday, 111 on Friday, 108 on Tuesday, 82 on Wednesday and 78 on Thursday 78.
Most crimes, 48%, were committed with firearms and 37% the assailants used knives. Some 9% of victims were attacked with heavy instruments such as pipes and baseball bats, while weapons for the remaining 6% of assaults were not specified.
Compared to the same time period in 2017, there has been a reduction in reported homicides of 145, representing a 15% decrease.
The data goes on to show that more than half of the homicides, 505, happened between people who lived together, 237 were at the hands of criminals and 58 for unknown reasons.
Looking at the sex of the victims, 86% were men and 14% woman, and by ages, the highest group was the 15 to 29 age group with 276 homicides.
Most of the crimes took place on public roads with 587. One hundred seventeen murders were committed in homes, 48 in commercial centers, 23 in farms or scrubland, 6 inside jails, 3 in hotels and 18 in unknown areas.
Source: DR1, Listindiario
Dec 4, 2018
According to the Ministry of Public Health, there has been an increase in the cases of dengue and malaria, over the last four weeks. Both tropical diseases are transmitted by mosquitoes.
In the last four weeks, health officials have registered 176 probable and confirmed case of dengue, a 21% increase over last year. The epidemiological bulletin for week 45 highlights that so far this year there have been 1,101 cases of dengue notified and in the last week, some 38 probable cases, with around half affecting minors under 10 years old.
As far as malaria is concerned, in the last four weeks there have been 15 cases confirmed, 13 within the country and two brought in from abroad. The locations of the outbreak of the disease were in La Ciénaga, in the neighborhoods of Hato Nuevo, Nigua and La Guáyiga, in Santo Domingo West.
The two cases brought into the country were a man and woman, aged 22 and 35 respectively who had arrived from Venezuela.
So far this year there have been 438 cases captured in the system, a number that is 78 more than at the same time last year.
Most of the malaria cases are coming from Santo Domingo west and Public Health is warning the population to keep water sources covered to prevent the mosquitoes from breeding.
Source: DR1, Listindirio
Dec 4, 2018
An editorial in El Dia on 28 November 2018 raises the national concern over the efforts of the Medina administration under Foreign Relations Miguel Vargas Maldonado to sign visa free travel relations with countries known for 24/7 security issues. Now, Dominicans can travel visa free to 27 countries around the world.
“Many of these are true paradises for sightseeing. Others, without the complete information being offered, present a level of violence more barbarous than in the Dominican Republic, and which translates into citizen insecurity at all hours of the day,” reads the editorial.
Since Monday, 26 November 2018, there is no need for Dominicans to have a tourist visa to go to Russia, bringing the total number of visa free countries for Dominicans to at least 27. During this year, the new countries to become visa free for Dominicans are Russia, Qatar, Uruguay, Brazil and Belize.
The other visa free countries are Korea, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Georgia, British Guyana, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Paraguay, Botswana, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Morocco, Ukraine and Vietnam.
Source: DR1, Listindiario
Dec 4, 2018
On Monday, 26 November 2018, the foreign ministers of Russia and the Dominican Republic signed an agreement for visa-free travel between both countries. The agreement was signed by Sergey Lavrov for Russia and Miguel Vargas Maldonado of the Dominican Republic at the Ministry of Foreign Relations in Moscow, Russia, as reported by the Russian news agency Tass, and the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Dominican Republic.
Upon the signing, Foreign Minister Lavroy commented that the Dominican Republic was Russia’s promising partner in Latin America and the Caribbean Basin and that they had agreed to work to extend and deepen ties between the two countries. As reported, Lavroy said that the Dominican Republic is among the most attractive recreation areas for Russian citizens. 230,000 Russians visited the country last year, up 75% compared to 2016.
Vargas said the abolishment of the visa requirement will encourage more Dominican citizens to visit Russia and will contribute to the growth of the flow of Russian tourists.
The Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Dominican Republic reported that the agreement allows those holding ordinary passports to enter, leave, transit and remain in either state without a visa for up to 60 days, every 180 days from the time of the first entry.
During the signing of the visa free travel agreement, the ministers also signed a Memorandum of Intent for Consulting in International Multilateral Forums. The Dominican Republic is a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. It had recently signed a similar consulting agreement with the People’s Republic of China.
Source: DR1, Mirex
Dec 4, 2018
A tragic accident occurred on Thanksgiving Day marring the celebration for many in Casa de Campo community. Villa owner French racecar driver 28-year old Richard Philippe and his guests, his grandfather 78-year old Louis Paul Guitay, Swiss architect Jean-Pierre Emery and Geraldine Moschovis died in a helicopter crash when making their way back from Rio San Juan on the north coast to Casa de Campo. The helicopter was commanded by 38-year old Air Force pilot Roberto Lanfranco Ureña.
Guitay was the inventor of the Endermologie treatment that is used in Europe to get rid of stubborn fat and cellulite and for skin tone. And 70-year Jean-Pierre Emery was a well-known architect from Crans-Montana in Switzerland. 46-year old Moschovis, a textiles expert, was his companion. The Swiss were Phillippe’s guests in Casa de Campo.
The five died of multiple fractures when the helicopter they were flying crashed in a field in Batey Cacata in La Romana. They were on board the US registry N124M EC20 helicopter shortly before arriving to the La Romana International Airport.
A report in El Nacional details the speculation that the accident occurred because of insufficient fuel when flying in adverse flying conditions (nighttime and weather). This is because the aircraft did not go up in flames after the crash and the pilot never notified aviation authorities he was in an emergency. The pilot had left at 5:48pm when the sunset was for 6:01pm that evening.
A commission head by Colonel Pilot Emmanuel Souffront Tamayo, president of the Commission for Investigating Aircraft Accidents of the Civil Aviation Board (JAC) was named. An autopsy is being carried out by the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF). There is speculation the pilot over trusted his flight abilities when flying from Rio San Juan to La Romana despite the late hour.
The aircraft was reported missing at 6:37pm on Thursday, 22 November 2018 when the helicopter did not arrive as per the flight plan.
Lanfranco Ureña was buried with honors by the Air Force at the Parque del Prado cemetery. He had 19 years and 9 months of service in the Air Force.
Source: DR1, Elnacional
Dec 4, 2018
An angry mob of people nearly lynched an alleged criminal in the sector of Maranatha in the tourist community of Sosua. The unfortunate individual was severely beaten after he had been trapped stealing electric wiring and cables. The thief’s identity is still unknown. After he was caught, his hands and feet were tied and he placed facedown on the pavement. His pants were lowered to uncover the gluteus maximus and with a piece of the same wiring that he had stolen minutes before he was given a serious whipping. All of this was taped by a young man with a telephone and the video was uploaded to social media. The thief was saved from a near lynching because of the intervention by a National Police patrol who took the individual to a medical facility where he received attention. So far the authorities have said nothing about the incident. It should be noted that because of the increase in robberies and the lack of security, many citizens have opted to take justice in their own hands, although they have been warned that these actions violate judicial norms in the country.
Source: DR1, Eldia
Dec 4, 2018
As of September 2018, 949 persons have died in traffic accidents related to alcoholic drink consumptions. Sunday has accounted for the greatest number of deaths, 225.
In a general sense more than 2,000 persons die each year in this country in different traffic accidents, of which 60% are caused by human error such as a lack of prudence. This places the Dominican Republic in the second place among 182 nations belonging to the United Nations in traffic accident deaths. The DR has an accident death rate of 41.7%.
Likewise, accidents are consuming nearly 60% of the budgets of the nation’s, hospitals, and in the case of the Dario Contreras Hospital this percentage equal some RD$12 million pesos a month, according to the trauma hospital’s director José Aponte.
Directors of the Alcohol Cluster at the Ministry of Public Health reject the decision by the Ministry of Interior and Police to remove the drinking restrictions imposed on alcoholic consumption during the Christmas holidays. Based on the publications of the National Statistical Office (ONE) that shows that the total alcohol-related traffic accident deaths in the Dominican Republic during 2016, 2017 and as of September 2018 total 1414, with Sundays averaging 2,019 fatalities during that period.
Elias Tejada, the representative of the cluster, said that before relaxing the restrictions on drinking hours on weekends and during the Christmas season, authorities at the ministry should consider the data that shows that just between Friday and Sunday 551 persons died from alcohol in 2016. In 2017, the number was 404 fatalities and as of September of this year there have been 459 fatalities directly related to alcoholic consumption. In total and by year, accident fatalities related to alcohol consumption totaled 1049 in 2016 of which 250 occurred on Sundays. In 2017 the statistics show a total of 788 fatalities of which 144 occurred on Sunday, and during the first nine months of 2018, alcohol has caused 949 deaths of which 225 were on a Sunday.
Source: DR1, DiairoLibre
Dec 4, 2018
The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) has committed to develop the mining of Larimar and Amber under strict environmental, social and economic sustainable criteria in order to create a chain of value that benefits the miners, the artisans and the mining communities. During the celebration of the first anniversary of the National Larimar Day, Energy and Mines Minister Antonio Isa Conde said that the mining of these stones has to be a productive activity that is capable of sustaining itself, of taking the necessary decisions to protect the environment in benefit of the productive and of the generations that will follow.
Isa Conde said: “We cannot pretend to improve this activity based on a paternalistic vision of the state. Thinking that the state is the one who has the obligation to take care of everything and the producers remain as mere passive agents or receptors of state assistance.”
President Danilo Medina recently issued Decree 431-18, which orders the MEM to regulate, supervise, authorize and take care of everything relating to the exploitation, extraction, permits, processing and export of larimar and amber in a natural state or semi-processed.
Source: DR1, Elcaribe
Dec 4, 2018
A television host in the Dominican Republic is in a stable condition after she tried taking her life for the second time in as many days.
Kiara Romero was found laying outside her home in the northeastern Dominican city of San Pedro de Macoris on Thursday afternoon after she jumped from her third floor apartment.
On Tuesday, the actress had posted a cryptic caption on her Instagram account in Spanish.
‘Sometimes we believe that it may be our end or the end of something, and it is only an opportunity that God gives us to show us that we still have a lot to give, that we still have the best of us,’ Romero wrote.
‘The light is there,’ she added.
A close-circuit camera from a nearby building captures the sad moment when she came crashing to the ground, landing on the left side of her body.
Noticias Sin reported that the 29-year-old suffered fractures on both of her feet and was diagnosed with trauma to her head. A relative told TV station Antena Latina that his niece also fractured both of her hands and had injured her spine.
According to police reports her husband Carlos Paulino, 29, said that Romero had also tried cutting her veins on Wednesday.
Additional surveillance footage acquired by news outlet Agenda 56 shows the couple getting out of a white truck and the moment Paulino and other residents come to Romero’s aid.
Paulino then placed his wife in the car and then drove her to a local hospital.
Listin Diario reported Friday that Romero was scheduled to undergo an operation on both of her feet at a hospital where she had been transferred to in the capital city of Santo Domingo.
The suicide attempts come almost three months after the entertainment television presenter revealed in a birthday Instagram post that she had been sexually abused as a child by her stepfather.
Paulino, a career-minor league baseball player with the Florida Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins, told Dominican authorities on Friday that he and his brother were in the living room of the home where the couple resides when they heard a loud thud at 1.28pm.
As he walked out of an interrogation session with the Dominican National Police, Paulino said he didn’t have any problems with his wife.
MCLEAN, VA––As temperatures continue to drop, there’s never been a better time for travelers to plan their next getaway with expanded all-inclusive offerings from Hilton Hotels & Resorts. Through Hilton’s alliance with Playa Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, the company’s flagship brand, announces the addition of three beachside all-inclusive resorts to its portfolio, located in Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
“Resorts are a key component of the Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand, and we are committed to growing our portfolio in the places that matter most to our guests,” said Vera Manoukian, senior vice president and global brand head, Hilton Hotels & Resorts. “These resorts provide our more than 82 million Hilton Honors members with more ways to earn and redeem Points than ever before and allow us to further extend Hilton’s signature hospitality to guests looking for an upscale, all-inclusive vacation experience.”
The following resorts joined the Hilton Hotels & Resorts global portfolio this month:
Hilton Playa Del Carmen, an All-inclusive Resort
Overlooking the palm-lined beaches of the Caribbean Sea, this upscale, adults-only resort is steps away from Playa del Carmen’s famed Fifth Avenue and provides a wide variety of leisure offerings, including 10 restaurants and a state-of-the-art spa. Guests will enjoy the resort’s 500 modern suites, each featuring a private balcony or terrace. Perfect for weddings or romantic getaways, the resort is home to a Romance Concierge and professional wedding specialists and features 7,987 square feet of flexible event space that can accommodate up to 700 guests.
Hilton La Romana, an All-inclusive Family Resort
A next-level option for family vacations, this 412-room resort offers endless activities from tennis and beach volleyball to snorkeling and scuba diving. Kids can channel their inner-adventurer at the Explorer’s Club, which provides daily programming, including arts and crafts and big screen movies on the beach. For teenagers, the resort has a teen club, offering a variety of entertainment options and nightly events. Families will enjoy the resort’s expansive pools, pristine beach and five dining venues to suit every taste.
Hilton La Romana, an All-inclusive Adult Resort
Set on a picturesque beach, framed by a lush, tropical jungle, this 344-room, adults-only resort provides the perfect setting for relaxation. Guests can unwind in spacious suites, lounge by the resort’s four pools or book a treatment at its state-of-the-art spa. With the resort’s prime beachside location and close proximity to four champion golf courses, there are countless leisure offerings for guests to take advantage of daily. For evening entertainment, adults can visit the hotel’s casino and enjoy the lively atmosphere at any of its eight bars and lounges.
“We could not be more excited about these resorts joining the Hilton Hotels & Resorts portfolio,” said Alex Stadlin, chief operating officer, Playa Hotels & Resorts. “Upon completion, these newly remodeled and enhanced resorts will combine the strength and backing of one of the world’s most recognized and trusted brands, with prime beach-front locations, and Playa’s award-winning Service from the Heart, to excite and delight Hilton Honors members worldwide.”
Source: hotelinteractive.com
Dec 4, 2018
