Looking for some interesting news?

nI check an English Website here in the Dominican Republic (www.dr1.com) everyday to see what's happening here on this side of the island. Today there were some interesting stories I thought I'd share:

Cell phone thefts down
The Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (Indotel) is reporting that cell phone thefts have declined by 50% over the last few months, from 20,000 reports to 10,000 reports. Indotel has also informed that 25% of businesses that activate cell phones haven't registered with the proper authorities. Indotel President Jose Rafael Vargas said that those businesses would be given 15 days, until the 24th of the month, to register or face being closed down. Police Chief Bernardo Santana Paez has revealed that many police officers are in some way involved with the theft of cell phones, and are many times found to be in possession of the stolen merchandise. Santana is quoted in Diario Libre as saying that thieves give stolen cell phones to police officers in return for impunity. Santana says that investigations are ongoing and that anyone found in possession of stolen goods would be brought to justice.

President speaks to the nation
Under tight security measures, the President Leonel Fernandez addressed the nation from the Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo (UASD)'s last night, and in his one-and-a-half-hour speech, Fernandez stated that a new reform just made should define the Dominican Republic as a social democratic state of law. In this way, Dominican society would be protected from abuses against its citizens and from the eventual takeover by a dictatorship, said Fernandez. The reform should also include a redefinition of the concept of nationality and the broadening of rights to incorporate second and third generation prerogatives. What he said was an unprecedented move for a Dominican President, as Fernandez favors a reduction in executive powers and asked for the "destruction" of article 55 of the current constitution, which gives the President extraordinary powers. (For those of you who are unaware, the Dominican Republic suffered from a terrible dictator, Trujillo, from 1930-1960.)

Turning the music off
The National Police has created a new department responsible for controlling noise pollution. This move is in line with the recent police crackdown and excessive noise around the city of Santo Domingo, and since last Friday, 92 speakers, 2 vehicles, 61 tables, 30 crates and 666 chairs have been confiscated.