http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0118_hance_nunezmino.html

table align=lefttrtdimg src=http://photos.mongabay.com/j/JoeNunezMinowithSolenodonthumb.jpg align=left//td/tr/tableNot many people know the solenodon and the hutia, yet for the fortunate few that have encountered them, these strange little-studied mammals—just barely holding on in the Caribbean island of Hispaniola—deserve to be stars of the animal kingdom. I could not quite believe it the first time I held a solenodon; I was in utter awe of this mesmerizing mammal. […] They have a long flexible snout which is all down to the fact that it is joined to the skull by a unique ball-and-socket joint. This makes it look as if the snout is almost independent to the rest of the animal. You can’t help but feel fascinated by the snout and inevitably it does make you smile, Dr. Jose Nunez-Mino, the Project Manager for a new initiative to study and conserve the island's last mammals, told mongabay.com in an interview.

http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1101-dominican_republic.html

A cement mine, granted under questionable circumstances, is putting one the Caribbean's most important forest parks at risk, warns a group working to stop the project.

http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1013-hance_fungi_glow.html

Classical musical genius, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, probably never expected his music to inspire mycologists, but fungi researchers have announced in the journal iMycologia/i that two new species of glowing mushroom are named after movements in the composer's Requiem: Mycena luxaeterna (eternal light) and Mycena luxperpetua (perpetual light).

http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1031-deforestation.html

table align=lefttrtdimg src=http://photos.mongabay.com/06/1031defor2.jpg align=left//td/tr/tableAvoided deforestation will be a hot point of discussion at next week's climate meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. Already a coalition of 15 rainforest nations have proposed a plan whereby industrialized nations would pay them to protect their forests to offset greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, last month Brazil -- which has the world's largest extent of tropical rainforests and the world's highest rate of forest loss -- said it promote a similar initiative at the talks. At stake: potentially billions of dollars for developing countries. When trees are cut greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere -- roughly 20 percent of annual emissions of such heat-trapping gases result from deforestation and forest degradation. Avoided deforestation is the concept where countries are paid to prevent deforestation that would otherwise occur. Policymakers and environmentalists alike find the idea attractive because it could help fight climate change at a low cost while improving living standards for some of the world's poorest people and preserving biodiversity and other ecosystem services. A number of prominent conservation biologists and development agencies including the World Bank and the U.N. have already endorsed the idea.

http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1129-rainforests.html

If a coalition of developing countries has its way, there could soon be new forests sprouting up in tropical regions. The group of ten countries, led by Papua New Guinea, has proposed that wealthy countries pay them to preserve their rainforests. The Coalition for Rainforest Nations argues that all countries should pay for the benefits -- from carbon sequestration to watershed protection -- that tropical rainforests provide.

http://www.dr1.com/index.html#1

The Ministry of Foreign Relations of Guatemala confirmed yesterday that the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would meet with the Central American presidents and the President of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernandez in Guatemala City on Friday. The meeting was coordinated by the US State Department with the governments of the region and will be held within the framework of the visit that Mrs. Clinton will make to (Guatemala) on Friday, said Guatemalan Foreign Ministry spokesman Andres Furlan.
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According to Furlan, Presidents Porfirio Lobo (Honduras), Mauricio Funes (El Salvador), Oscar Arias (Costa Rica), host Alvaro Colom and other dignitaries have confirmed their attendance. It is said that the meeting between Clinton and the heads of state will deal with issues relating to security, regional integration, climate change, immigration and the fight against poverty.
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This week, President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia also announced President Leonel Fernandez would visit Colombia shortly to mediate between himself and his colleague, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.

http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2

The Executive Branch has ordered 10,855 promotions with wage increases in the Armed Forces and the National Police, one of the largest promotions over the last decade. Diario Libre learned that the Navy has promoted 1,463 officers, according to spokesman Colonel Juan Bienvenido Crisostomo Martinez, in strict fulfillment of the regulations in the Organic Law of the Armed Forces.
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Crisostomo Martinez listed the promotions as follows: 5 were promoted to colonel, 24 to lt. colonel, 36 to major, 72 to captain and 174 to first lieutenant and 214 to Second Lieutenant. The 5 new colonels are Henry Antonio Guzman Taveras, Cesar Ricardo Reyes Ramirez, Jose Antonio Otto Hidalgo, Rafael Diaz Florian and Juan Carlos Mora Jimenez. It is one of the largest promotions ever, directed at the personnel who fulfilled the strict requirements as set forth in the Organic Law of the Armed Forces, he said.
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In the Dominican Air Force (FAD) there were 2,182 promotions. The list of promotions was published on the Armed Forces webpage. Among the officers who were promoted to Pilot Colonels are Cesar Martin Cabrera Baez, Juan Ramon Pimentel Pena, Moltimer Jose de Jesus Eusebio, Ramon Atiliano Blandino Ven, Ramon Rafael de Jesus Espinal Campos and Cesar Daniel Nunez Cortorreal. In this branch of the service there were 38 promotions to colonel, 80 to lt. colonel, 91 to major, 153 to captain, 247 to first lieutenant, 329 to second lieutenant, 368 to sergeant major, 320 to sergeant, 553 to corporal and 3 to musician.
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According to a statement on the National Police website, 4,738 members of the force who had accumulated merits in their work and participated in important services and investigations were promoted.
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In the document, signed by the chief of the National Police, Major General Rafael Guillermo Guzman Fermin, 21 were promoted to the rank of colonel, 49 to lt. colonel, 110 to major, 174 to captain, 417 to 1st lieutenant and 986 to 2nd lieutenant. Also on the promotion list, 1,096 were moved to sergeant major, 774 to sergeant, and 1,112 to corporal. The agents who were promoted are from a range of departments: Criminal Investigations, Homicide Investigations, Narcotics, Anti-Narcotics, Counterfeiting, Stolen Vehicles, Communications, Barrio Seguro, the Medical and Dental Corps, Tourist Police, Diplomatic Protection, and others. Members were also assigned to areas in the east, north, south, west, southwest, northeast and Cibao Central regions. Among those promoted to the rank of colonel were Alexander Aquino Ogando, Elvio Dario Bello Almonte Juan Antonio Bello Balaguer, Luis Maria Corporan Tejeda, Felix Franklin Figueroa, Ramon Gonzalez Reynoso, Manuel Antonio Hernandez Almanzar and Ramon Hernandez Mano.
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The President also emitted a new decree in which he retired 7 generals, 5 from the Army and 2 from the Navy. According to Decree 125-10, released yesterday afternoon by the Presidential Palace Press Office, the Executive Branch ordered the retirement with salary benefits of Brigadier Generals Cesar Segundo Concepcion Fernandez, Nicolas Medina Florintino, Erickson Alberto Lied Guerrero, Fernando Amaury Frias Rodriguez and Freddy Romeo Antonio Gonzalez Estrada. Meanwhile, in the Navy, Vice Admiral Miguel Angel Alvarez Herrand and Rear Admiral Luis Manolo Feliz Roa were retired with their salaries. To date, 17 generals from the all the armed force branches have been retired in the last 48 hours.