The Ministry of Education of the Dominican Republic has received 3,800 applications from potential volunteers hoping to participate in the literacy programme announced by President Danilo Medina on 10th September.

The National Literacy Plan, also known as “Quisqueya Learns With You,” declares literacy a fundamental human right for people over 14 years old, and hopes to eliminate illiteracy in the Dominican Republic, which currently stands at a rate of 9.7% (the official statistic according to the Central Bank’s National Labour Force Survey).

The consistency of this illiteracy rate over the last 30 years, according to Minister of Education Josefina Pimentel, “shows that despite many efforts, we still have not overcome as a society this social and ethical debt that we owe to 700,000 people”.

At the ceremony to announce the initiative, Medina called for at least 25,000 volunteers from social, religious, and university backgrounds that have experience in the field of literacy. So far, 3,800 have registered for the programme, which will begin on 7th January 2013 and aims to reach 725,000 Dominicans, 45.5% of whom live in urban areas and 54.5% of whom live in rural areas.

“There is nothing more liberating than when people have the opportunity to access the written word, the knowledge accumulated by humanity and the history of their own communities and people”, Medina said.

The Caribbean island nation hopes to be rid of illiteracy entirely by 8th September 2014, to coincide with World Literacy Day. Neighbouring Cuba leads the region with a literacy rate of about 99.8% according to the CIA World Factbook, a result of the Cuban Literacy Campaign implemented in 1961.

Tropical storm Isaac hit the Caribbean this weekend, leaving 19 people dead in Haiti, five in Dominican Republic, and flooding in Cuba. It is now heading towards the south of the United States, where it is expected to strengthen into a hurricane as it hits the coast of the state of Louisiana.

The Haitian government informed today that 19 people died in the country as a consequence of the tropical storm. Whilst they did not release much information about the deaths, it has been reported that some of victims died as their houses collapsed on them. Six Haitians are still missing, and 22 injured. Haiti has so far been the most affected country, as flooding and landslides are aided by massive deforestations.

In Dominican Republic, the death toll rose to five after two young men were washed away and drowned when a river burst its banks. Officials have informed that over 900 houses were destroyed by the storm.

In total, almost 30,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in Haiti and Dominican Republic, which are both located on the same island of Hispaniola.

There were no reported casualties in Cuba, which was also in Isaac’s path, though there were damages to agriculture, houses, electricity lines, and roads. The worst affected area was the city of Baracoa, in the east of the country, where 89 houses were partially or totally damaged. The storm also had a positive effect, by increasing the water levels on the island’s dams by 74.4 million m³.

Isaac is currently making its way up the Gulf of Mexico and moving towards the US state of Louisiana. US oil companies have closed down their off-shore rigs in the gulf and stopped activities in their coastal refineries. This, together with this weekend’s explosion at an oil refinery in Venezuela, has led analysts to predict a possible spike in the price of oil.

Authorities in the Dominican Republic have been carrying out a search and rescue mission over the past few days, after a boat carrying people illegally to Puerto Rico capsized Saturday night.

The bodies of a young man and woman were pulled out of the water this morning, bringing the official death toll to 20.

The boat was smuggling between 60 and 70 people from the Dominican city of Nagua to Puerto Rico when the tragedy occurred.

Official sources put the number of survivors at 14, but it is believed that the real amount could be higher as some people may be hiding in order to avoid charges. Some of the survivors are still in hospital receiving treatment for serious injuries sustained during the accident.

The United States’ Coast Guard has been working with the Dominican Navy on the rescue mission, but at this late stage the chance of finding more survivors is slim.

According to a relative of one of the survivors, the floor of the overloaded boat broke during a large swell.

“We are still investigating the cause of this tragedy,” said Civil Defense director General Luis Lana Paulino.

Dominican Republicans are reported to pay around 40,000 pesos (US$1,000) for a passage to Puerto Rico, where they enjoy much easier access to the United States mainland due to more relaxed border controls.

Every year thousands of people from the Dominican Republic attempt the trip in order to escape poverty. They travel in small, flimsy boats called yolas and due to treacherous waters, the trips often end in disaster.

In December, three people died and dozens disappeared in a similar accident.

According to Amnesty International, instances of killing and torture by members of the Dominican Republic police force have reached “alarming” levels.

The number of homicides and other abuses in the Caribbean nation have increased in the past decade, after drug trafficking has stepped up in the region.

In 2010 official statistics showed that 10% of the homicides in the country were carried out by the police. The human rights group also believes forensic evidence supports the theory that they “shoot to kill”.

Police have justified the killings by saying that their actions have come as a response to an increase of violence and drug trafficking in the country.

The Chamber of Deputies of Dominican Republic have decided that abortion was anti-constitutional. “The right to life is inviolable from conception to death” declared the proposition agreed by the assembly today.

Dominican paper El Caribe relates a strong involvement of the Church in this decision. “We feel the pressure of the Church, they have done a great work, I hope and ask God, […] that the Cardinal and the Catholic Church will be right,” said the Dominican Liberation Party deputy.

Abortion was already forbidden by the Penal Code since 1948. However, the Social and Demographic Studies Centre claims a number of about 82,000 abortions per year of which around a tenth affect ten to 15 year old girls.

Pro-abortion groups do assert that the move will create even more abortions, unwanted pregnancies and overall mortality. “This is really a backward step” says Dr Lillian Fondeur. “This decision does not represent the population, of which 73% were against the abortion ban.”

Various social organisations protested yesterday against the law. They argue that it goes against women’s right to decide on her pregnancy in case of incest or rape.

The Dominican Republic is still a strongly religious country and most of the political parties seem to follow the ideas of the Church. The Ecclesiastic hierarchy claims to follow the “miracle of the Lord and not the international disorder”.

On an international look, Amnesty International insisted that the country should not walk in the steps of Nicaragua. A recent report from the organisation revealed that the legislation in power leaded to a higher death rate of pregnant women. Abortion is still illegal in most of the South American countries. It is mostly punishable by a jail sentence. However, few nations are indulgent regarding cases of rape, life threat or malformation of the foetus

Tonight, Reinaldo Pared Pérez, president of the Senate insisted that the article accepted by the Chamber of Deputies established guarantees for women with high risk pregnancies and rejected the idea of an imposition of the Church in the Dominican Republic lower house.