THE FOLLOWING TWO ARTICLES ARE TRANSLATED VERSIONS OF ARTICLES IN LOCAL NEWSPAPERS FROM TODAY AUG 18. THE ONE ON BOXING REALLY GAVE A WORLD PERSPECTIVE THAT WE DO NOT GET IN THE USA. THE DOMINICAN GOVERNMENT PAYS FOR PEOPLE TO WIN CONTESTS IN A WORLD COMPETITION. SO IF A PERSON WINS A GOLD THEY NOT ONLY BECOME A NATIONAL HERO THEY ARE REWARDED FINANCIALLY, VERY WELL.


Diaz claims at least bronze. Light welterweight Feliz Diaz won his match (11-6) against the Iranian Morteza Sepahvandi in the quarterfinals of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and could win the DR's first medal in the Games, at least a bronze. This would be only the third in DR sports history and the second in boxing. Diaz had almost made bronze in the Athens Olympics. This time around, although Diaz started off behind in the points, little by little he came back, tiring out his opponent and scoring points. Cuban trainer Pedro Luis Diaz's strategy paid off. After two rounds Diaz had turned around the score, and in the third and fourth rounds he dominated the fight. From then on his rival was left behind and his corner yelled at him to fight smart and maintain his advantage. Diaz, according to some reports, will earn RD$3.5 million and a new car for his medal efforts. If he were to win his next fight against Frenchman Alexis Vastine, the ante will be raised to RD$5 million. Meanwhile, his family is cleaning out mud and rubbish from their shack next to the Ozama River after the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Fay. The semifinal fight is scheduled for Friday, 22 August. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/olympics/2008/results/BXM064.html


10. Tropical Storm Fay: four dead. The Center for Emergency Operations (COE) reported the death of four persons and the displacement of more than 11,000 people as Tropical Storm Fay passed south. For most of the weekend, Red Alerts were posted for the majority of southern provinces, with special interest in the areas of Azua and Pedernales and eastern provinces. According to the Hoy newspaper, Colonel Juan Manuel Mendez, the COE commander, said that 1,023 persons were refuged in government shelters and over 10,000 moved to spend the storm with family and friends. The colonel also reported over 2,300 homes affected by floodwaters, five bridges out and several highways seriously damaged nationwide. Flooding was reported to have affected traffic on the brand new Samana highway, a US$150 million investment. The highway was opened to traffic in February 2008. The president of the National Emergency Commission (CNE), General Luis Luna Paulino, announced that the CNE would accuse the driver of the pickup truck that carried three persons to their deaths. Luna Paulino told reporters from the Nuevo Diario that the driver ignored warnings not to attempt to cross the Chauchau River near Higuey. Two minors and a 34-year old woman were swept away and drowned. Other newspapers are reporting that the driver was the father of the two children. General Luna Paulino told reporters that Azua was the most affected province, according to the reports he was receiving.