Clinton Named UN Special Envoy to Haiti

Quake will delay but must not stop ongoing development efforts

(NEWSER) - Before “one of the great humanitarian emergencies in the history of the Americas” struck, Haiti had a "bright future," Bill Clinton writes. The 42nd president is a UN special envoy to the perennially troubled nation, where he has helped spearhead development efforts. Today, “what Haiti needs most is money for water, food, shelter and basic medical supplies to bring immediate relief to those who are homeless, hungry and hurt.” But the “plan for long-term development” cannot “be abandoned.” More»

(NEWSER) - Bill Clinton will be named the United Nation’s special envoy to Haiti this week, Foreign Policy reports. Clinton’s popularity in the deeply impoverished nation remains high from his presidential tenure, when he intervened to restore Jean-Bertrand Aristide to the presidency after his 1994 ouster. The announcement, expected tomorrow, follows Hillary Clinton’s recent pledge of $57 million in US aid for Haiti. More»

Force aims to help keep the peace, aid relief effort

(NEWSER) - Some 10,000 new US troops are heading to Haiti to aid relief efforts and help calm a desperate nation spinning out of control. Ransacking of Port-au-Prince stores and homes mounted as looters were being lynched by crowds and shot dead by police. "Haitians are taking things into their own hands," said a witness. "There are no jails, the criminal are running free." President Rene Preval said the 2,000 city police officers were overwhelmed by 3,000 "bandits" who had escaped from prison. "This gives you an idea of how bad the situation is," he said. More»

Mission leader among missing workers feared dead

(NEWSER) - About 150 United Nations staffers, including the Haiti mission leader, are feared dead below the rubble of Port-au-Prince in what appears to be the UN's greatest-ever loss of life in a single incident. The deaths of 16 UN workers in Tuesday's massive earthquake have already been confirmed, and "It's clear a high number" of those still missing "might be dead," a top UN official told the Washington Post . More»

Opposition doubts government restraint, though truce seems to largely hold

(NEWSER) - Syria's fragile ceasefire seems to be largely holding, as renewed protests today put it to its first real test. But one Hama protester was shot dead by security forces as thousands of protesters again took to the streets, reports the BBC, while the New York Times notes that clashes had broken out in scattered areas of the country. Opposition leader Burhan Ghalioun has his doubts, saying officials have their "hand on the trigger," Reuters reports. "While we call on the Syrian people to protest strongly ... we ask them to be cautious because the regime will not respect the ceasefire and will shoot." More»