DR News
Dominican cave specialist, Domingo Abreu Collado presented evidence that the Taino indians who inhabited the island when Christopher Columbus arrived, shared identity with Maya and Inca indians of South America. Abreu presented the evidence during the 17th Scientific Research Day held at the UASD. His presentation was on “Maya Connections to Taino Cave Art in the Dominican Republic.”
“After an individual analysis of thousands of figures and forms in the pictographic and petroglyphic evidences, located in Dominican caves, together with the verification of cave art in caves in Central America, and the search in the texts of the chroniclers who made contact with Maya, Inca and Nahua cultures in that region, has led us to the Mayan identity traces in our own rock art collections,” said Abréu Collado.
He called for revisiting archaeological and anthropological studies with new perspectives and investigative practices to further confirm the linkages between the Taino and South American and Central American indian cultures.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
Dec 20, 2018
The Ministry of Public Health says the winter flu is especially bad. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already had announced that the flu that came with the cold weather in January and February 2018 was the worst since the 2009 swine flu pandemic.
Dozens of persons are seeking medical help in Dominican hospitals for high fever and other flu symptoms. Bulletin 46 by the Epidemiological Unit of the Ministry of Public Health explains that during the past four weeks AH1N1 prevails, but Influenza B and respiratory syncytial virus are especially active, primarily affecting children under five years, according to local hospital records.
Prevention is best. Physicians recommend frequent washing of hands with warm water and soap after shaking hands or touching a surface that might be germ-covered. And carrying an alcohol-based sanitizer for times when one can’t get to a sink.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
Dec 20, 2018
Puerto Plata city Mayor Walter Musa. The project is lead by Rosa Maria Garcia, Kitty Heinsen and representatives of public and private entities, church, schools and civic societies, including Mision Joven. Garcia said the project seeks to change the way people see garbage as garbage and instead that garbage be seen as material that may be transformed into reusable goods.
“Puerto Plata is a clean city and with this project we take advantage of that and go one step further to educate on the management of waste, care for our environment and avoiding the consequences that, obviously, affect and will continue to affect our environment more and more,” said Garcia. She highlighted: “That is why we put this program today in the hands of current and future generations of our country, to turn Puerto Plata into the first province that recycles in the Dominican Republic.”
Heinsen said selective separation trials, environmental communication campaigns, debates, film forum, participatory cleaning of degraded areas, door-to-door awareness and programs in schools will be carried out.
Also taking leadership in the effort are business people Nelson Katulo, Lilian Russo, Jacqueline Guzmán, Elvis Peralta and Tery Correa.
Source: DR1
Dec 20, 2018
Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas Maldonado said the Dominican Republic would not be signing the Global Pact on Refugees on 17 December 2018, during the plenary session of the 73rd General Assembly of the United Nations in New York City. In a document explaining the Dominican position, Vargas said the country identifies with the spirit of the pact, but pulls out on grounds that it is based on conventions on stateless persons that the country has not ratified. Vargas says that all commitments taken on by the government need to comply with the Constitution and Dominican law.
Vargas argues, as stated in a press release, that in the national territory only the Dominican state can grant the condition of refugee. Nevertheless, the UN Pact seeks to provide a basis for the distribution of the burden and responsibility among UN member states that could be contrary to the national interest and Dominican law. From a practical point of view, that distribution of burdens and responsibilities could affect the capacity of the Dominican Republic to host considerable numbers of persons susceptible to be declared refugees according to the new international statutes.
Once the text of the pact became widely circulated in the media outlets throughout the country late last week, there was a crescendo of criticism. Many experts highlighted the porous Dominican border and the political, social and economic instability in neighboring Haiti as grave concerns for national security in the context of the proposed language in the pact.
The Dominican Republic in recent years is also experiencing an unprecedented influx of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants who are fleeing the economic turmoil and political unrest in their country. Contrary to the Haitians who usually are employed as unskilled laborers in the country, Venezuelans, many of whom are highly skilled and educated, are thought to be competing with professional, middle-class Dominicans for jobs in a wide range of industries and sectors.
PRSC president, Federico Antun Batlle, said that if the country signed the refugee agreement it was propitiating the destruction of the Dominican Republic. The PRSC president said that it is “unacceptable” that the Dominican government sign the Pact for Refugees after the generalized Dominican rejection of the Global Migration Compact that would have been signed in Marrakesh, Morocco on 7 December 2018. He said the Pact for Refugees puts in danger national sovereignty because it stimulates and protects undocumented Haitian immigrants who come en masse to the Dominican Republic and who have already taken over a large part of the national territory.
Santiago Mayor Abel Martinez spoke up forcefully to reject the Global Pact on Refugees promoted by the High Commissioner of the United Nations for Refugees. He said it would have untellable consequences for the country. He urged the government not to sign because the pact obligates those signing to guarantee the entry, stay, feeding, health services, education, documentation and nationality of the undocumented that enter.
Martinez said the country is already a victim of what he called a “passive invasion of undocumented Haitians.” Undocumented Haitians receive free medical services and free education in the Dominican Republic. “Right now the country is full of undocumented Haitians; imagine if the government signs that pact. Then we would have a greater problem when Haitians begin to enter in caravans, effectively using the Pact promoted by the United Nations as an entry permit.” He called for a comprehensive solution to the problem of immigration of undocumented Haitians into the country.
A commentary in Pagina Abierta blog written by Central Bank staff and placed on the Central Bank web site observes that the pact represents indefinite expenditures that the country is not in the capacity to absorb. The blog says it would oblige the country to provide additional commitments without taking into consideration the local labor situation, the financial and economic costs of illegal immigration. Furthermore, the author says the Pact could open a debate on the right of even the existence of a nation-state and could provoke instability in the country.
In the blog, “A economic look at the proposed migratory pact,” the writer states that the concept of an open land, free to settle on demand, refers to the origins of human history, an era characterized by violence, where, with the exception of insurmountable geographies, every frontier was drawn by battle. In this sense, the Central Bank blog summarizes that the UN could, therefore, be inducing humanity to revive the dispute process by defining territorial spaces instead of defending peace and prosperity, its central and critical mandate.
Source: DR1, Hoy
Dec 20, 2018
Kathleen Martinez, the Dominican archeologist who is on the search of the remains of Cleopatra in Egypt, announced the discovery of two mummies covered in gold ornaments at the Taposiri Magna cemetery in Egypt. Martinez has defended the theory that Cleopatra might be buried in a crumbling temple near the coastal desert town of Taposiris Magna (present-day Abu Sir), 28 miles west of Alexandria. Martinez argues that Cleopatra sought for Mark Antony and herself to be secretly buried where no one would disturb their eternal life together.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
Dec 20, 2018
The World Bank will be lending US$100 million to the Dominican government for efforts of the Ministry of Education to improve the quality of education. The funds will be used to advance a comprehensive plan of reforms underway for public education. These include the extended school day, improvements in teacher training and qualifications and the modernization of the Ministry of Education (MINERD).
The World Bank points out that improving student learning outcomes is the main challenge facing the Dominican Republic’s education system. Dominican students ranked last among the most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores, and only 27% of third grade students achieve a satisfactory level of learning in mathematics, according to a diagnostic by MINERD.
The World Bank says that the financing will be focused to further increasing the quality of teacher recruitment and training, institutionalizing the collection and use of student learning data, and decentralizing the management of public schools. The program will build on the existing Support to the National Education Pact Project, which launched a competitive selection system to raise academic standards of newly recruited teachers and improve education quality, and conducted a complete learning diagnostic of all third grade students to better inform education planning and adjust teacher training. In addition, the World Bank is providing technical assistance on strengthening statistical systems, leveraging technology to have a higher impact in learning, as well as on strengthening risk management in schools as part of the WB’s global Safe Schools Program.
Source: DR1
Dec 20, 2018
Over the last 10 years, the need to borrow to fund the National Budget has increased by 150%, which some experts see as a symbol of “poor quality in spending management.” In the recently approved National Budget of the State 2019, which amounts to RD$922 billion, there is some RD $232 billion in financing of which RD$76 billion are for net financing and RD $156 billion are for debt payment, according to a report in Diario Libre. This figure far surpasses the gross financing set aside by the National Budget Law for 2010 which was RD$116 billion of which RD$48 billion were set aside to cover the net financial deficit while just RD $68 billion were used to reduce public debt.
As reported in Diario Libre, a member of the faculty member of the Economics Department at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo said that the government is undervaluing the deficit in order to show that it is handling the finances in a proper manner, which he says “is not very realistic for 2019.”
The last budget presented by the administration of Leonel Fernandez in 2012 from, amounted to RD$430 billion with a gross deficit of RD$78 billion. Financing that year amounted to RD$22 billion and another RD$78 billion to pay public debt. At that time the net financial deficit fell to 0.9% of GDP that was less than the previous year which was pegged at 1.6% of GDP.
Beginning in 2013 under the Medina administration the budget reached RD$455 billion with a gross financial deficit shooting up to RD$146 billion and net financing of RD$70 billion and pegged at 2.8% of GDP for that year. Debt-taking would continue to increase in the next five years of Medina administration.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
Dec 20, 2018
Sunday, December 16, students of the dance school ‘Emily Watson School of Dance’ gave a beautiful dance performances in the theater hall ‘Sosúa Bay Convention Center’. As early as half past six the audience started coming in. Guests could enjoy snacks and drinks in the foyer and outside on the terrace. The theater doors opened just past seven o’clock. Soon the theater was occupied to the last seat with an enthusiastic audience. Especially the dance show of the little ones, age 3, was rewarded with a thunderous applause. And the young people with their hip hop show also got a lot of applause. In addition to modern dance such as hip-hop and reggaeton, classical ballet dances were also demonstrated. The frail dancers gave beautiful demonstrations of their abilities.
The tap dance show was also beautiful. During the break, a lottery was held under the guidance of Carlos. The prizes for this lottery were made available by various companies in Sosúa. After the break, the spectacular dance performance continued. Eventually, the show ended with a pianist and singer Isa Hecht playing the piano. During the second song of Isa, all dancers came back to the stage with loud applause from a grateful audience. Emily now gave all the participants a diploma for participation. About 600 visitors enjoyed an unforgettable show. Emily and Carlos once again thanked all the sponsors (companies in Sosúa) for their contributions and above all, those volunteers who made this SHOW a success, helping with stage decorations and costume design.
Source: Sosua News
Dec 19, 2018
PUERTO PLATA.- The Marriott International hotel chain, which is the leading hospitality company in the world, announced that with the investment of 350 million dollars in partnership with real estate developers, it will build three luxury hotels in Cabarete, in the eastern part of Puerto Plata province.
It is specified that Marriott International and the real estate developers The Ocean Club Group, joined to establish a new standard of tourism in the Dominican Republic, for which they announced the construction of luxury hotels and a change of brand to one of their existing properties.
This will represent three hotels of the most captivating luxury brands of Marriott International: The Luxury Collection, W Hotels and Ritz-Carlton Reserve and will entail an economic investment of more than 350 million dollars which is expected to create more than 2 thousand new direct jobs.
It is already expected that these new hotels will increase the hospitality offer in the market and create a new niche for luxury tourism in the country, because the distinctive offers in each property and the stunning natural beauty of the North Coast from the Dominican Republic, they aim to establish Puerto Plata as one of the most desirable luxury destinations in the Caribbean.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring three of the most extraordinary and distinctive brands of Marriott to the Dominican Republic, and in particular, to the North Coast.” This exclusive set of properties will make the area a truly irresistible destination for visitors of all the world, “said Laurent de Kousemaeker, Development Director, Marriott International Caribbean and Latin America.
Marriott International currently operates six properties in the Dominican Republic and will offer even more options for travelers with the introduction of these three unique luxury resorts, while the Ocean Club Group has been redefining tourism in the North Coast in recent years.
“Marriott International is pleased to expand its presence in the Dominican Republic, and we look forward to the day when we can welcome guests to enjoy the natural beauty, warmth and culture of the country.” Our goal is to transform the North Coast of the Dominican Republic placing it on the map as a luxury destination, “said Ian Schembri-Sant, CEO of The Ocean Club Group.
In this regard, said: “We are happy to work together with a prestigious company such as Marriott International and see the North Coast of the Dominican Republic, especially Puerto Plata as a precious stone that, if polished, will shine extraordinarily.”
The representatives of Marriott International indicated that the virgin nature of the destination Puerto Plata and other locations on the North coast is what makes the region so special, so the three projects will focus heavily on preserving the surrounding environments of the resorts to provide guests with a true Dominican experience.
Source: Puerto Plata Digital
Dec 13, 2018
Antonio Marte of Conatra is well known for acting beyond the law at his helm of the powerful transport company. Now he has made known that he has prohibited his affiliated units to transport Haitian nationals, regardless of whether they are legal or illegally in the country.
Marte announced in his Twitter account that the measure is to “avoid inconveniences with Migraiton, the Armed Forces and the Attorney General Office. He said that over the past months, 10 of his buses have been seized by the authorities. He pointed out that his company’s bus drivers are not migration inspectors and should not be responsible to check the validity of the documents of passengers.
He wrote: “To avoid inconveniences with the soldiers, Migration and the whole world, it is forbidden to board Haitian foreigners. Excuse me, our Haitian foreigners. But we cannot continue paying the consequences. We have 10 busses held up. The buses have been kept for eight months. It would seems that the Attorney General is going to eat them up.”
Conatra is the largest beneficiary of transport routes in the country and has imposed their market share with vandalism and violations of the Constitution and Dominican laws throughout the years, with the lenience of Dominican governments.
Source: DR1, Elcaribe
Dec 13, 2018
