Cops Hunt Man After Wife, 5 Kids Found Slain

Troubled nation starts digging for $20B fortune

(NEWSER) - What news for a nation blighted by poverty , disease , and a devastating earthquake : Haiti is home to lucrative gold mines. And copper and silver ones too. Potentially worth $20 billion, the precious metal finds are already creating hundreds of jobs and new roads, the AP reports. What's more, mining by US and Canadian firms should leave Haitians with about half the profits—an unusually high amount. But history shows there are pitfalls aplenty for Haitii to avoid. More»

United Nations, NGOs fought over water and vaccinations

(NEWSER) - A deadly cholera outbreak in Haiti has killed thousands and triggered protests outside a UN peacekeeping base that first leaked the disease into local water supplies. Now the New York Times looks inside the UN mission, its refusal to accept blame for the outbreak, and the internal bickering that stymied efforts to stop it. “This unfolded right under the noses of all those NGOs," says the co-founder of a health care NGO. "And they will ask, ‘Why didn’t they try harder? Why didn’t they throw the kitchen sink at cholera in Haiti?’" More»

Actor will serve as nation's ambassador at large

(NEWSER) - "Diplomacy" doesn't even make the list of the top million things associated with Sean Penn, but Haiti has gone ahead and named the actor its ambassador at large anyway. Penn, who has long labored for Haitian relief in the wake of the devastating 2010 earthquake, was offered the job at an A-list fundraiser over the weekend by Haiti's foreign minister, reports the New York Post . “I do accept,” Penn said, adding it would be refreshing to “change being called 'hey, you (bleep)', to 'hey, Mr. Ambassador!'” More»

But some see 'progress' amid the 'distress'

(NEWSER) - The wires are awash with two-year anniversary stories about Haiti's earthquake, which pretty much run the optimism gamut from the Washington Post (Headline: "Two years after quake, signs of progress in Haiti") to the Wall Street Journal ("Two Years After Quake, Haiti Remains in Distress").

• Journal: It sees "donor fatigue" settling in and resentment rising against the government of former pop star Michel Martelly. Political infighting has held up reconstruction projects, and the US, along with charities and NGOs, are running out of patience. In the meantime, "half a million people still live in squalid tent cities and rubble remains where it fell in this ruined capital" of Port-au-Prince. Full story here .

Next stop: Hispaniola

(AP) - Hurricane Irene cut power to more than a million people in Puerto Rico, downing trees and flooding streets, before heading out over warm ocean water today on a path that could take it to the US mainland by the end of the week. There were no reports of deaths or major injuries in Puerto Rico, but Gov. Luis Fortuno declared a state of emergency and urged people to stay indoors to avoid downed power lines, flooded streets, and other hazards. More»