DR News
The Dominican Republic continues to be bad-mouthed abroad as other cases of tourists who have sued the Bahia Principe hotel chain are picked up by mainstream media abroad. The National Forensic Sciences revealed results of the autopsy of the three US citizens that died over two weeks at sister resorts at the Playa Nueva Romana hotel –Miranda Lynn Schaup Werner, and the couple Nathaniel Edward Holmes and Cynthia Ann Day.
The preliminary results of the autopsy of 41-year old Miranda Lynn Schaup Werner indicate she died on 25 May 2019 of pulmonary arrest after suffering a heart attack.
The preliminary results of the couple’s autopsies were:
63-year old Nathaniel Edward Holmes presented petechial hemorrhages in the pleural surface, cerebral and visceral generalized, as well as pulmonary edema, cardiomegaly, macroscopic hepatic cirrhosis, hemorrhagic gastritis, and pancreatic hemorrhage.
While 49-year old Cynthia Ann Day presented cerebral edema, petechial hemorrhages, brain, heart and lungs, pulmonary edema, cardiomegaly, besides chronic passive liver congestion, hemorrhagic gastritis, pancreatic hemorrhage, and hepatomegaly.
A Colorado couple says it has sued for suspicion of organophosphate poisoning from insecticides used in the extensive gardens of the complex.
The media reports that local investigators are assisted by officers of the FBI and CDC to close the cases.
Source: DR1, Listindiario
June 16, 2019
The Chamber of Deputies approved a bill that requests that the Ministry of Education (Minerd) make obligatory the reading of the Bible in the nation’s schools after the singing of the National Anthem. This process is contemplated under Law 44-00 that amended General Education Law 66-97, and the deputies feel that such readings would contribute to a lower rate of vandalism and other anti-social acts by young persons.
The Ministry of Education has not made the measure obligatory on the grounds that Art. 45 of the Constitution establishes freedom of conscience and religion in the Dominican Republic. The article states: “The state guarantees the freedom of conscience and religion, subject to the need for public order and respect for public morals.”
The bill says that “the Christian development of the boys and girls and adolescents helps them form criteria and behavior that are capable of stopping influences and behavior models that lead to perversity and licentiousness.” The deputies emphasized that the Dominican educational system is based on the Christian principles seen in the Gospels as evidenced on the national shield that features an open Bible and the words “God, Fatherland and Freedom.”
The bill still has to pass in the Senate to become law.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
June 16, 2019
Investigative journalist Nuria Piera asks the question that has been on many minds. What has happened to the civic movement Green March that so successfully had mobilized all classes to call for an end to government corruption impunity?
Movement leading member, former deputy Guadalupe Valdez says that the Marcha Verde is in a planning phase. Nevertheless, the analysis by Nuria Piera investigative team says the strong civic movement has fizzled out as the elections get closer. It says politician involvement, sectarianism and lengthy assemblies in which no consensus was reached have dampened the enthusiasm of followers. The last straw was when speeches were directed to motivate the resignation of President Danilo Medina.
The Medina administration covertly was concerned but chose to openly ignore and downplay the spontaneous marching of hundreds of thousands of people who had paid for their green shirts and marched on main avenues in an organized manner.
Source: DR1
June 16, 2019
President Danilo Medina cut the ribbon to the entranceway of the new Interagency Border Coordinated Management Post in Carrizal, Elias Piña on Thursday, 6 June 2019. The new installation is described as a step ahead in securing the border with Haiti. Likewise, President Medina said that the post would contribute to the economic and tourism development of the area.
The technological center is located in Carrizal, a community of the municipality of Comendador, in the Elias Piña province on the Haitian border. It has been fitted to coordinate joint operations and interagency affairs of security, intelligence and control of the border.
There are also customs controls and contraband safeguards. There is a particular interest in controlling the trans-border movement of narcotics and other smuggled goods.
Defense Minister Ruben Paulino Sem noted that officials from several government agencies would be on site, including Migration, Customs, Defense, Public Health and Agriculture. He said that before the opening of this facility, and in spite of the regulations governing the passage across the border, the entire area was considered to be a “no man’s land.” He says this will no longer be the case. The announcement comes at a time when violence is escalating in Haiti.
Source: DR1, Eldia
June 16, 2019
Employees of the Ministry of the Environment recently found a turtle while patrolling Cabarete beach. These protected turtles come to the coast during this period to lay eggs, and the environmental staff also searched for the eggs. However, they were not found and, according to Captain Roberto Martínez (Quico), it is likely that the eggs were taken away. The eggs of the turtle are seen by Dominicans and Haitians as a delicacy and very desirable. Due to destructive human activity, the sea turtle of the Dermochelyidae family is on the point of extinction and is, therefore, on the list of protected animals.
It is the largest of all sea turtles, with a length of 2.3 meters and a weight of more than 600 kilos.
Source: Sosua News
June 16, 2019
PUERTO PLATA.- The Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic ratified by free public access to the populous El Encuentro beach located in the Cabarete municipal district.
The judges of that High Court issued judgment number TC / 0106/19, dated last Thursday May 27 of the current year where ratification of sentence number 271-2018-SSEN-00588, issued by the first Chamber of the Civil Chamber and Comercial de Puerto Plata, on September 26, 2018.
This sentence of the Constitutional Court which was published on its official website, establishes the immediate reopening of the public road that gives access to El Encuentro beach, which has been closed in the district board of Cabarete and by the companies Inversiones Calpe SRL and Mesa Invesment Limited C by A.
It is recalled that the first degree amparo action filed by the Association for the Protection, Development and Free Access in Playa Encuentro (APRODELAPEN), was generated due to violations of the constitutional rights of free transit, right to sport, use of the waters and the sixty (60) meters of high tide.
This legal action initiated by the lawyers José Alejandro Jiménez Almonte and José Ramón Valbuena Valdez, who represent the entity APRODELAPEN, obtained a profit of cause more than 10 months ago and now obtaining the ratification of the judgment in the first degree, acquires the power of the Irrevocably Thing Judged.
In spite of the fact that the Civil and Commercial Chamber of Puerto Plata ordered the access to El Encuentro beach in Cabarete, inexplicably said sentence could not be executed since the Public Ministry has not ordered the delivery of public force for such purposes.
Similarly, said ruling declares access to El Encuentro beach as a right fundamentally protected by the Constitution of the Dominican Republic, ordering the companies Inversiones Calpe SRL and Mesa Invesment Limited C por A, to immediately withdraw the obstacles that prevent free access to said beach.
The Municipal Council of Sosúa is also ordered, visibly marking the sixty (60) meters of high tide, while the Ministries of Environment and Tourism, the Specialized Body of Tourist Security (CESTUR) and the District Board of Cabarete, must have as many measure are necessary for the optimal preservation of the beach encounter free of obstructions.
Source: Puerto Plata Digital
June 3, 2019
The Dominican Republic needs to step up efforts to reverse marine degradation, restore damaged ecosystems and protect the area’s marine resources. A recent report by the World Bank says that so far 14 other Caribbean countries have already acted to ban single-use plastic bags and/or Styrofoam.
The report, “Marine Pollution in the Caribbean: Not a Minute to Waste,” calls for governments to ratify international conventions, such as the Cartagena Convention. The report examines how marine pollution in the Caribbean is a threat to the region’s resilience to climate change and highlights that marine resources are a vital source of food, livelihoods and jobs to millions of people dependent on tourism, fisheries and the ocean economy.
Tahseen Sayed, World Bank country director for the Caribbean stresses: “Effective management of plastics, solid waste, and wastewater are our top priorities to create a blue legacy for future generations”.
The report lays out an action plan to reverse this threat and transition towards a more sustainable “Blue Economy” that can generate growth and build resilience while preserving ocean resources.
The report highlights that marine pollution including plastics, sewage, agriculture runoff, oil and chemicals, poses a severe threat, particularly to tourism that accounts for 15% of the region’s GDP and to fisheries which provide income and food security to impoverished communities in the area. Thousands of plastic shards can often be found in Caribbean waters, representing nearly 80% of the total litter.
According to the report, more than 320,000 tons of plastic waste remains uncollected each year in the Caribbean. Coral reef degradation is also strongly linked to marine pollution and represents an estimated annual revenue loss of between US$350 million and US$870 million.
Source: DR1, youvisit
June 3, 2019
Contractors for the Santiago to Puerto Plata highway expansion (via Navarrete) have said that they expect to finish paving the stretch of roadway between Maimón and the city of Puerto Plata by August 2019. The new road stretch connects Amber Cove Cruise Ship Port to the city of Puerto Plata.
Public Works Minister Gonzalo Castillo expects this section of the expansion of the Santiago to Puerto Plata road to be inaugurated by 16 August, marking the start of the last year of the present term of President Danilo Medina. Heavy equipment can be seen along the stretch of road, working hard to ready the area for paving.
The improvement of the Navarrete-Puerto Plata highway, together with the Luperón Tourist Highway, between Santiago and La Gran Parada are two of the most demanded public works by the communities involved. Right now, about 70% of the work has been done on the Navarrete-Puerto Plata road, with difficulties encountered at critical points. Arrears in contractor payments by the government are said to have caused delays.
Work on the Santiago-Gran Parada highway, known as the “Tourist Highway” because of its stunning vistas, is said to be 75% complete. This was the first road between the two cities and dates back to the early 20th century.
Source: DR1, Elcaribe
June 3, 2019
The National Police is implementing a new integrated identification system whereby law enforcement agents have access to identify anyone in real-time by comparing a person’s fingerprints and faces against those in the Central Electoral Board (JCE) database.
Police director, Major General Ney Aldrin Bautista Almonte reports that the new tool (Sistema Integrado de Identificación Ciudadana y Depuración Biométrica) makes it possible for police to do background checks of people, their IDs, vehicles and firearms on site. In the past, people had to be arrested and taken to police posts.
The new device weighs less than a pound and consists of a camera lens, an optical scanner and a smartphone application enabled for biometric analysis and identification.
This application was developed by the National Police to make possible automated consultations to the Central Electoral Board (JCE) national system of fingerprint identification and facial recognition. The system includes a database with biometric finger and facial records of more than 10 million people, in addition to the ability of comparing and identifying faces.
Source: DR1, Hoy
June 3, 2019
Unknown people set fire again to a large area in the municipal district of Cabarete, in what is described as a new attack on the environment. The forest fire devoured dozens of nests, eggs and chicks as well as killed crabs, turtles and other species, endemic to the area.
According to Máximo Reynoso Vásquez, the fire affected a school in La Cienaga when the dense smoke caused breathing difficulties for the students and teachers as well as local residents.
Cabarete residents say they are fed up with the number of arson attacks against the environment and complain that the authorities are doing nothing. They recall that precisely a year ago, an arson attack destroyed thousands of square meters of vegetation in Islabon in Cabarete including the destruction of flora in the natural wetland in the protected area.
Environmentalist Michel Gay-Crosier says that the fires are set twice a year so that those who set them can fish, or take land to build homes, without thinking of the environmental damage.
Source: DR1, Eldia
June 3, 2019
