A woman from Brooklyn, United States, who fell from a golf cart is suing Hard Rock Cafe & Hotel in the Dominican Republic for $500,000 (Rs 4 crore). Taylor O’Leary claimed in the complaint that she suffered several injuries after she fell out of her golf cart in July 2022 because the seat was wet and slippery, as per a report in the New York Post.

The incident happened at the Hard Rock Golf Club in Punta Cana. According to the lawsuit, the 27-year-old, who was a guest at the hotel, filed the complaint against the establishment and its corporate owner, Hard Rock Cafe International.

Celebrities like Justin Bieber, Shakira, and Mariah Carey are said to love this five-star luxury resort, which is located along Macao Beach.

Meanwhile, in June, a Disneyland employee died two days after suffering a head injury in a golf cart accident, as per a report in The Hollywood Reporter. The 60-year-old woman named Bonnye Mavis Lear was in the backstage area of the California theme park when the incident occurred.

Anaheim Police and Anaheim Fire and Rescue personnel arrived at the resort on Wednesday after they were informed about the accident. She was sitting as a passenger and struck her head after falling from the moving cart. The 60-year-old was then taken to a local hospital in grave condition.

The 60-year-old worked for 24 years at the Disneyland Resort, where she “supported membership services at Club 33,” the park’s exclusive private dining club.

Disney California Adventure Attractions cast member Rae Delgado, wrote on Facebook that Ms Lear suffered brain swelling and a fractured skull from the accident. “Bonnye was travelling on a rear-facing seat of a golf cart along with 3 passengers behind Critter Country. The driver of the vehicle was driving at least 20 mph on the route. The golf cart came in contact with a bump/dip in the road which caused Bonnye to react immediately. As she went to grab the handrail, it gave way and sent her out of the vehicle. … She was deemed unconscious when paramedics arrived.”

Despite the surgery, “it was beyond repair,” according to the employee, and Ms Lear was pronounced “brain dead”.

 

 

Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader was re-elected on May 19 for another four-year term, an endorsement of his handling of the economy and tough policies toward migration from Haiti.

The two nations share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, but the much more prosperous Dominican Republic stands in stark contrast to its poverty and gang violence-plagued neighbor.

The volatility across the border has been a key issue in the election campaign, but Mr. Abinader, 56, also boasted success in managing the economy and the Covid-19 pandemic.

As the number of ballots counted passed 21%, his main rival, former president Leonel Fernandez, conceded defeat and congratulated Mr. Abinader.

“I am and will be the president of all Dominicans,” Mr. Abinader said in a speech before hundreds of supporters at his campaign Headquarters in the capital Santo Domingo.

“The people have expressed themselves clearly… I accept the trust I have received and the obligation not to disappoint,” Mr. Abinader said shortly after his two top rivals, including Mr. Fernandez, threw in the towel.

“I will not fail them,” he told supporters, who chanted “Four more years! Four more years!”

With 25% of votes counted, Mr. Abinader was ahead with more than 59%, fully 30 points clear of Fernandez, with 27%. A win with more than 50% of the vote is required to avoid a runoff.

Mr. Abel Martinez was in third with 10.7%, while the other six candidates barely topped 3% of the total.

‘Things can improve’

Mr. Abinader is a U.S.-trained economist of Lebanese descent and multi-millionaire heir of a family tourism and construction empire.

He was elected during the Covid pandemic in 2020 on promises of restoring trust in the Government after several high-profile corruption scandals embroiling public officials in the top tourist destination.

Once in office, he began building a 164-kilometre (102-mile) concrete wall along the border with Haiti to keep out undocumented migrants.

He had more than 250,000 migrants deported in 2023.

The president enjoys domestic approval ratings of around 70% — more than when he was elected — despite international pressure for the Dominican Republic to welcome more refugees.

The migration issue has not been a divisive one in the election, with both Fernandez and Mr. Abinader backing the deportation of Haitian migrants and increased border security.

Since he came to power, Mr. Abinader has increased immigration raids and multiplied deportations, built a wall on part of the border, and closed migration from Haiti.

Voter Javier Taveras, 38, told AFP on election day that he “likes the current position of maintaining sovereignty,” though not “the abuse against our Haitian brothers.”

As for the border wall, “I don’t know how effective it is,” he said.

A Gallup poll showed 47.5% of Dominicans believe the country was “on the right path” and 40% believed the economy is doing better than before.

Maria Ramona Antonio, a 74-year-old dentist, said she believes Abinader has done well and voted for his re-election.

“Look how tourism is going, which is the best source of work for us… the roads built, those people in need who now have health insurance,” she told AFP in Santo Domingo.

Mr. Fernandez had accused the Government of manipulating growth data. The World Bank reports that the Dominican economy grew 2.5% in 2023.

“I hope for economic stability from the next government,” said voter Taveras.

Opinion polls also showed Mr. Abinader’s Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) bound for a majority in Congress. Experts agree that the party will fare well in elections for the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.

The party won 120 of 150 mayoral posts in February municipal elections, considered a litmus test ahead of the general vote.

“We are sweeping, we are on top,” voter Joney Dotel, a 38-year-old psychologist, said at the PRM Headquarters.

“The country continues with change, and it is in favor of democracy.”

Mr. Abinader rose to power on an anti-corruption platform. His minister of public works, Deligne Ascencion assured on May 19 that the elections were clean, despite complaints from opposition camps of vote-buying.

The country’s electoral commission reported it has not received any formal complaint of such irregularities.