DR News
The Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) and Huawei Technologies are joining forces to boost the technology industry in the country.
The ambassador of China Zhang Run and Emma Polanco, the rector of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD), inaugurated the first Huawei Technologies ICT Academy at the main campus of the government university in Santo Domingo.
Huawei equipped a laboratory with high-tech-tech devices for practices. The objective of the donation is to contribute to the ICT industry in the country. It is part of Huawei’s ICT Talent Development Program and includes internships, an ICT Competition and webinars.
Speaking at the event, Higher Education Minister Franklin García Fermín called the new academy an effort to create an innovation ecosystem between China and the Dominican Republic. He says the academy puts the university at the forefront with the valuable support of a Chinese technology giant, such as Huawei.
Both teachers and students will be able to strengthen their profiles with industry-standard knowledge and certifications.
“Students will have job opportunities within Huawei, with our partner ecosystem and with more companies in the IT sector,” explained Leia Taveras, channel operations manager for Central America and the Caribbean at Huawei.
Source: DR1, Hoy
Sep 29, 2021
President Luis Abinader declared of national interest the preparation, organization, survey, processing and dissemination of the X National Population and Housing Census. The Census will update the data on the Dominican population. The data is essential for setting public policies.
The Presidency issued Decree 607-21, which indicates that the X National Population and Housing Census will be carried out in 2022, according to the planning and schedule that will be submitted to the Executive Branch by the National Statistics Office (ONE).
The decree creates the National Census Commission, which will be integrated by 26 institutions, among them, the Ministry of Economy that will preside the commission, as well as the Ministry of the Presidency, Administrative of the Presidency and Hacienda.
Source: DR1, Listindiario
Sep 29, 2021
President Luis Abinader issued Decree 611-21 that declares of public interest the construction and commissioning of the Santiago cable car.
The cable car will mainly benefit about 122,894 inhabitants that live in the densely populated areas of Bella Vista sector, La Otra Banda, Peralta, La Herradura. Also those living in Yaguita del Pastor, Pueblo Nuevo, Baracoa, Centro Histórico, La Joya, La Barranquita, El Ensueño, Nibaje, Pekín and Villa Olímpica.
Source: DR1, Listindiario
Sep 29.2021
A wholesome story. Please don’t look away.
Marcel has a dream: to offer a loving house to kids who have no one else. As you know, Haiti gets struck by catastrophes way too frequently and has too many kids with no families or places to go. Marcel and his team of volunteers work every day to house them in a safe place where they can grow up as they deserve it.
This is a story about a dreamer
By building an orphanage in Haiti, Marcel wants kids to be able to grow in a safe environment, that protects them from the all-too-frequent catastrophes that hit the country. He’s a nice Haitian guy that, somehow, keeps smiling despite everything he’s seen. You´d love to meet him, he is a strong noble soul that works his best despite the utter lack of resources.
This is a story in motion and you can jump in
As of August 2021, Marcel got a piece of land donated in a safer city rather than the crime capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince. He also managed to buy and place 8 containers that will provide a sturdy building structure resistant to earthquakes. The construction of the new orphanage is already in place and moving forward as best as possible, yet materials and payment to construction workers are expensive and the building process in Haiti is really challenging. Your donation will be used to pay for construction materials which will help the kids have a new home as soon as possible.
This is a story about improving an aiming high
Marcel is not new to this dream, he and his team of 8 volunteers are already running the orphanage where kids currently live. They are 34 kids who regularly attend school, they are healthy, and, as much as possible, are happy. Building a new place will allow them, first of all, to be free of the terror of earthquakes but also save on the rent they pay for the place they live in now. What is more, they´ll be living in a much more beautiful place than the teared-down city of Port-au-Prince.
This is a story about kids having a positive opportunity in life
Kids at the orphanage neither have a family nor anyone else to rely on. And if not for Marcel and his team, they would be on their own in the poorest country in the northern hemisphere. Yet, they are receiving education and medical care, they are well-nourished and count on a loving team of volunteers taking care of them.
In the pictures below, you can see the project for the orphanage. The construction stopped 5 years ago for lack of funds. However, now they have managed to obtain 8 containers, the land with a fence, and have started with a foundation of the project to move the children into their own property in Jacmel.
Link for donation: GoFundMe
Many thanks in advance!
Thais Herrera became the first Dominican woman to climb Mount Elbrus and place the Dominican flag there. At 5,642 meters, Mount Elbrus is the highest mountain in Europe and marks the border between Europe and Asia.
An industrial engineer, Herrera had already climbed the Aconcagua in Argentina, and mountains in Bolivia, Ecuador, and the United States. She hopes to become the first Dominican woman to climb Everest.
She explained that the ascent of Elbrus is not technically difficult, but it is physically demanding due to the altitude and the strong and frequent winds. The Dominican-Japanese, Kenji Kasahara, accompanied her. Describing the moment she reached the top of the mountain, Herrera said the day was “sunny, with cold wind and fresh snow from the storm, so we battled to achieve our goal.”
“I do mountaineering to empower people to follow their dreams, especially women since many believe they can’t and that’s not the case,” she told Diario Libre. Herrrera has a master’s degree in senior management and finance. She is the owner and main facilitator of Asertiva, a company that specializes in outdoor training and team building for companies and educational institutions. Besides mountaineering, she is a triathlete and has completed an Ironman.
“My plans are to continue advancing, climbing more mountains, and demonstrating that Dominican women can and are an example for the world,” she told Diario Libre in the interview.
Herrera began mountain climbing in 2015, organizing groups to carry out the Pico Duarte Express, which consists of running up and down, the highest mountain in the Dominican Republic.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
Sep 13, 2021
24-year old Emmy Peña, the representative of the Duarte (San Francisco de Macorís) province, was crowned as the new Miss Dominican World 2021, on Saturday, 4 September 2021 at the Bávaro Convention Center of the Barceló Grand Resort in Punta Cana. During the same pageant, Celines Santos was chosen as the Dominican representative in the Miss International pageant. They competed against 23 other candidates from around the Dominican Republic.
Emmy Peña will represent the Dominican Republic in the 70th edition of the Miss World pageant on 16 December 2021 at the Coca-Cola Music Hall in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Merengue star Miriam Cruz performed at the Saturday pageant, and there was a posthumous homage to fashion designer Jenny Polanco, Miss World Dominican Republic in 1978, and too late singer Víctor Víctor.
The judges were Leonel Lirio, Francisco Sanchis, Haidi Cruz, Sally Tejada (Miss World 2012), the producer of Despierta America, Luis Camilo, and other businessmen and special guests.
The Dominican Republic won the Miss World crown in 1982 with Mariasela Álvarez. Mariasela Alvarez is today a popular TV host.
Source: DR1, Missosology
Sep 13, 2021
The Third Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), through a change of criteria, considered that the mandatory tip provided for in Article 228 of the Labor Code should not be included in the bills for meals and beverages that are sold for consumption outside of the premises where they were purchased.
According to ruling 033-2021-SSEN-00765, the mandatory 10% gratuity shall only be applied to the bills of customers who consume meals or beverages in the stores or businesses that sell them. The ruling adds: “This regardless of whether such meals or beverages are transported by an employee of the business in question or whether the client has paid a third party, whether an individual or a legal entity, under any modality or route, whose economic activity is to transport meals or beverages produced by other businesses.”
The Third Chamber considered correct the position taken by the National Institute for the Protection of Consumer Rights (Proconsumidor) that the 10% legal tip should only be required when the act of consumption is carried out within the same establishment and not in cases of “delivery or take out”.
The resolution was issued by judges Manuel Herrera Carbuccia, Rafael Vásquez Goico and Nancy I. Salcedo Fernández.
The resolution revokes the previous judgment on the matter #0030-03-2020-SSEN-00121 dated 10 July 2020.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
Sep 13, 2021
Russian tourists are not wasting time booking their vacations in the Dominican Republic. With Azur Air, Nordwind, Royal Flights, the direct flights are back. Aeroflot is expected to begin flights starting 1 October 2021.
On 5 September 2021, a Nordwind flight landed in Puerto Plata’s Gregorio Luperon International Airport filled with sun-seeking tourists. Pegas Touristik sold the tour packages for the tourists who arrived on the Russian airline flight. 430 tourists arrived on flight NWS351 from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport on the SVO-POP-SVO route. The airline required the tourists to have had a PCR to test for Covid-19 72 hours before boarding.
The Nordwind Airlines aircraft was received with the traditional baptism by two fire trucks.
Stephanie Kfouri for the Ministry of Tourism, Puerto Plata Senator Ginette Bournigal and representatives of Aerodom Carlos Rodoli, director of the Airports of Puerto Plata and Samaná and Luis José López Mena, director of corporate communication, also attended the return of the Russian flight. Russians are the third-largest source market for tourists in Puerto Plata after the United States and Canada.
Nordwind has also scheduled flights to Samana’s International Airport.
Russian tourists can also again fly direct from Moscow to Punta Cana. As of 31 August, Royal Flights reinstated its charter flights to Punta Cana. The airline is working with the Coral Travel tour operator, reports Dominican ambassador in Russia, Hans Dannenberg. Dannenberg’s efforts have been key in reinstating the Russian flights and selling the Dominican destination to Russian tourists.
The first Russian airline to reinstate flights was Azur Air that began traveling to La Romana International Airport on 9 August 2021. Dannenberg says that Aeroflot should resume in October 2021. He expects a boom in the number of new cities from where travel agents will be selling packages to the Dominican Republic this year. He highlighted the importance of the new flights for trade in general between both countries. Exporters can take advantage of the cargo facilities offered by the returning flights to send fresh tropical produce.
Source: DR1, Ministry of Tourism
Sep 13, 2021
The Migration Agency (DGM) has consolidated Migration, Customs, and new Public Health forms in one, the e-ticket. This electronic ticket is required for the entry and exit of the Dominican Republic. It is obligatory as of 1 September 2021. The form is relatively easy to fill out. Once the data is entered, a QR code is generated that the traveler can print out or save on a smartphone.
Resolution DJ-009/2021 of the Ministry of Tourism ordered the implementation of the electronic ticket. The filing of the ticket is obligatory to clear Migration. Airlines will not book passengers that have not filed the ticket.
E-Ticket
The organizers of Master of the Ocean announced the event is taking place 14-18 September 2021 at Playa Encuentro, on the western side of Cabarete Beach in Puerto Plata. The annual “Four Sports – One Champion” sports event gathers elite athletes to compete in surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, and Stand Up Paddle. The event is promoted as “an exhibition of versatility, flow, style, and power.”
Marcus Bohm created the event 18 years ago. In its 17th edition, Master of the Ocean has the backing of the ministries of Tourism, Environment, Public Health and Defense, American Airlines, and Cabarete businesses.
Competitors are coming from 12 nations. Manuel Selman, who was among the top 20 in Tokyo 2020 is participating. Also Brian Talma, Barbados’ legendary Action Man. Marius Hermann is traveling here to represent surf and windsurf athletes from Sylt, a bustling watersports city on the north coast of Germany. Valeska Scheider, a German champion, has registered to compete. From France, Audrey Meyer is enrolled. Dominicans Papito Santana, Joselito del Rosario and Carlos David will compete for the Dominican Republic.
This year, each team has four competitors, one in each specialty. There will be an exhibition of wing foiling that combines kite and windsurf.
Those who fly the highest and best surf the waves of Cabarete will take home the title: Masters of the Ocean.
AT LEAST 10,000 USD IN PRIZE MONEY!
Source: DR1, Master of the Ocean
Sep 13, 2021
