IMF cancels $268 million Haiti debt and provide aid

The IMF announced on Wednesday that it had  canceled Haiti’s $268 million debt and will lend the earthquake-devastated country another $60 million to help it with reconstruction plans. The decision was a part of a plan for long-term reconstruction after the Jan. 12 magnitude-7 quake, which killed as many as 300,000 people in Haiti, IMF [...]

Haiti made Debt-Free by World Bank

This Friday, the World Bank relieved Haiti of its total debt, amounting to $36 million dollars. This was done with the help of generous funding by Belgium, Italy, Ireland, Canada, France, Finland, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and Japan. Haiti had obtained a loan of $1.2 million dollars last year from the International Development Association, which is [...]

Michelle Obama makes surprise visit to quake-ravaged Haiti

First lady Michelle Obama made a surprise visit to the capital of Haiti on Tuesday, where three months after the devastating earthquake, thousands of people remain in dire need of help. Along with Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, the First lady took a helicopter tour of Port-au-Prince, where thousands of people are still homeless because [...]

Haiti schools reopen for the first time after earthquake

Since the devastating earthquake in Haiti on January 12, the schools in the capital were kept closed. However, the institutes began opening across the capital for the first time in three months on Monday. This is a step towards normality in the traumatized country, after the damage or destruction of almost 4,000 schools in the [...]

UN chief Ban Ki-moon urges support for $4bn Haiti plan

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has opened a fundraising conference on Haiti by calling for a “wholesale national renewal” of the earthquake-hit country. Mr Ban gave his support to a plan to rebuild Haiti which will require almost $4bn (£2.65bn) in initial aid payments. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told delegates the US would give [...]

Belgian taken in Haiti released by kidnappers

A Belgian businessman kidnapped in Haiti’s capital was released on Friday, a U.N. police official said. The Belgian was in good condition and had been held in captivity for almost 24 hours. Michel Martin of the U.N.’s criminal intelligence unit in Haiti said a ransom was paid for the release of the Belgian named Philippe Van Reybrouck. Reybrouck had [...]

Resurrecting razed Haiti from the dust

Haiti is already fighting one battle against Mother Nature. Now it is facing another. In just a few weeks, by the end of March, or in April, the rainy season will begin. Some 700,000 people are living out in the open, in makeshift shelters.The luckier have found old and rusty corrugated iron roofs. Others huddle [...]

UN chief Ban Ki-moon visits quake-hit Chile city

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has visited a Chilean city badly damaged by last week’s earthquake and promised aid to help the country recover. Mr Ban flew into Concepcion aboard a Chilean Air Force plane and was shown a 15-storey building that had collapsed, killing at least nine people. As the clear-up continues, doctors have warned [...]

After Shocks In Chile

An 8.8 magnitude earth quake hit Chile a few days back as a result of which many people lost their lives and many of them were injured. This earthquake also damaged a lot of buildings and homes of the people but most awful thing is that even after so many days of that disastrous moment, [...]

Haiti leader says quake toll could reach 300,000

The president of Haiti said Sunday the death toll from his country’s earthquake could reach 300,000 once all the bodies are recovered from wrecked buildings. Speaking after arriving in Mexico for regional meetings that will include discussion of Haitian aid needs, Preval gave no indication of how he reached the figure. “You have seen the pictures, you know the [...]

“We are the world” in Spanish

Many celebrities including Gloria Estefan and Emilio gathered to record “we are the world” in Spanish language to raise money and get donations for the victims of Haiti earthquake. Emilio Estefan said that idea was developed when he was talking with Quincy Jones about the importance of Spanish market. He further said that “we want [...]

8 U.S. missionaries reach home after being freed by Haitian judge

Out of the 10 missionaries charged with child kidnapping in Haiti, 8 were sent home on Thursday by the Haitian judge. The remaining 2 missionaries remain in a Haitian jail in an ordeal sparked by the group’s attempt to take 33 children out of the earthquake-stricken country. The missionaries arrived on a U.S. Air Force [...]

Fake Coupon Scam Hits Haiti Aid Effort

Another setback hit the struggling aid effort in Haiti as the UN halted deliveries to around 10,000 quake survivors after discovering that fake coupons were in operation. A disconcerted crowd waited till the afternoon at the drop-off site located near the town hall in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Petioville, and some tried to get tickets [...]

UN goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie to visit Haiti

The U.N. refugee agency has said that actress and UN goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie will be visiting Haiti with the UN refugee body to meet the earthquake victims. The Hollywood actress spoke with hospitalized Haitian survivors in the neighboring Dominican Republic on Monday. UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic said Jolie would travel to Haiti later on Tuesday. He provided no details [...]

A catastrophe called “Haiti”

The quake – Haiti’s worst in two centuries – struck at 1653 92153 GMT) on 12th January 2010. Phone lines to the country failed shortly afterwards. The US Geological Survey said its epicentre was 15km (10 miles) south-west of Port-au-Prince, and that it was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude. [...]

Haitian judge questions detained U.S. Baptist missionaries

A local Haitian judge further questioned the group of U.S. Baptist missionaries arrested for trying to leave Haiti with a busload of children. An orphanage director said many of the children had parents. The investigating magistrate was to meet with the five men on Wednesday, a day after he questioned the five women for several [...]

Stars gather to re-record “We are the World” for Haiti

More than 75 mega-stars gathered Monday to re-record the 1985 charity anthem “We are the World” in the same Hollywood recording studio where the original was cut 25 years ago. Pink, Celine Dion, Natalie Cole, the Jonas Brothers, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Tony Bennett, Jennifer Hudson, Akon and other musical luminaries stood shoulder to shoulder [...]

Haiti says Baptists can be tried in U.S.

Haiti’s Prime Minister Max Bellerive said on Monday that it was clear to him that the 10 U.S. Baptists who tried to take 33 children out of his quake-ravaged country without permission “knew what they were doing was wrong.” The prime minster also told The Associated Press his country is open to having the Americans [...]

Haiti detains 10 Americans taking children across border

Ten Americans were detained by the Haitian police on Saturday as they tried to bus 33 children across the border into the Dominican Republic, allegedly without proper documents. The Baptist church members from Idaho called it a “Haitian Orphan Rescue Mission,” meant to save abandoned children from the chaos following Haiti’s earthquake. Their plan was to scoop up [...]

World Economic Forum turns spotlight on rebuilding Haiti

The main focus of the World Economic forum, held on Thursday at the Swiss Alpine resort, was to restore the earthquake-ravaged Haiti and guiding Africa towards prosperity. The former U.S. President Bill Clinton will urge the 2,500 attendees of the forum to invest in Haiti. On the other hand, the South African President Jacob Zuma [...]

Travolta lands his own jet in Haiti carrying relief supplies

John Travolta landed his own jet in Haiti on Monday carrying relief supplies, Scientology ministers, and a team including doctors. The 55 year-old actor flew the Boeing 707 from Florida carrying 4 tons of rations and medical supplies for the earthquake victims of the capital of Port-au-Prince. Also accompanying Travolta was his wife, actress Kelly [...]

More than 80 million people watch Haiti aid telethon

Over 80 million people tuned in to watch last week’s all-star “Hope for Haiti Now:  A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief” telethon. The Nielsen Co. said Monday that an estimated 83 million people saw at least a brief part of the fundraiser carried Friday on 33 TV networks. The audience watching the two-hour event at [...]

Haiti telethon raises $61 million charity

Organizers for last week’s “Hoper for Haiti Now” telethon announced they had raised an estimated amount of $61 million on Monday. Backed by George Clooney and Haiti-born rapper Wyclef Jean, the two-hour telethon which aired on Friday, drew an average audience of 24 million viewers in the United States to watch celebrities performing, telling tales [...]

Haiti earthquake death toll reaches 150,000

The confirmed death toll from Haiti’s devastating earthquake had risen above 150,000 in the Port-au-Prince area alone, a government minister had said. Communications Minister Jocelyn Lassegue said the count was based on bodies collected in and around the capital by state company CNE. Many more bodies remain uncounted under rubble in the capital, including the [...]

Safety Precautions for Earthquakes

After the catastrophe that had happened to Haiti just last week because of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit the island leaving more than 110,000 people dead, devastated buildings and houses and more than 70,000 people injured, most of us are seeking for some safety measures when an earthquake is happening. These are some safety [...]

Banks reopen in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Many bank branches collapsed in the earthquake after the Haiti quake last January 12 and won’t be reopening soon, if ever. But banks that had doors to open did so Saturday, attracting long lines of anxious and sometimes desperate people in a city where ATMs haven’t been working since the earthquake. United Nations troops keep [...]

Telethon raises $57 million for Haiti

The “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon, a US telethon to help raise funds for Haiti earthquake victims, which led by George Clooney and Haiti-born rapper Wyclef Jean, has raised more than $57 million for relief to the earthquake-ravaged country, organizers said on Saturday. They called the $57 million a record for public donations in a [...]

110,000 Confirmed dead in Haiti quake

More than 110, 000 people have been confirmed dead in the Haiti earthquake which struck January 12, with Reichter scale magnitude of 7.0. Nearly twice as much as the government’s previous estimate of 75,000 killed. The government has put the death toll from the devastating earthquake at 11,499, with an estimated 193,691 people injured and [...]

“Hope for Haiti Now,” fund-raising show for Haiti

Last week a massive earthquake struck the island of Haiti, leaving a devastated capital city of Port-au-prince, thousands of dead bodies found, hundreds of homeless families and never ending need for aid such as food, medicine and shelter for victims.  The international community immediately made actions, and millions of dollars have been already raised. But [...]

Rihanna to perform in Haiti telethon

Rihanna has said that she too will be performing in the “Hope For Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief” telethon run by the MTV Networks. She is said to perform a new song called “Stranded” with rapper Jay-Z and U2’s The Edge and Bono at Friday’s “Hope for Haiti” telethon in London. During the taping [...]

“Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit For Earthquake Relief” telethon

With George Clooney’s partnership, MTV Networks has produced the ‘Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit For Earthquake Relief’ telethon which will air on Friday, January 22nd 8p.m. ET on almost every cable channel. The musical lineup for the two-hour event, hosted by George Clooney, Wyclef Jean, and Anderson Cooper, comprises of 22 of the [...]

Beyonce & Madonna join ‘Hope for Haiti Now’ telethon; DiCaprio donates $1 million

Beyonce and Madonna have joined the team of performers to Friday’s multi-network “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon, and Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and former President Bill Clinton are among the participants. A statement was released on Thursday which said that Beyonce would be performing from London, while Madonna will perform from New York [...]

Haiti rescuers still hoping to save lives

Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Still holding on hopes as they race against time and terrifying aftershocks, rescue teams scouring Haiti earthquake-hit capital are awarded with small miracles as they have found two survivors in search for possible lives almost nine days. Two children were pulled from the wreckage of collapsed buildings in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, eight full [...]

Haiti should expect more aftershocks: Scientists

Haiti is at risk for more aftershocks in the coming weeks, and while the usual pattern suggests they will become weaker and less frequent, another one as strong as Wednesday’s jolt is certainly possible, scientists say. Since the January 12th, 7.0-magnitude quake, the Caribbean state has felt more than 45 significant aftershocks. The most recent [...]

6.1 magnitude quake hits Haiti

Only eight days after the country’s capital was devastated by an earthquake, a new powerful aftershock hit Haiti on Wednesday, which shook buildings and sent people screaming into the streets. The magnitude of the quake was 6.1, making it the largest aftershock yet to the apocalyptic January 12 quake that left the capital of Haiti [...]

Credit card companies profits on Haiti

As wallets are open for Haiti donations, credit card companies take a big cut and are now profiting from clients.  Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover have now all announced they they will have waive fees for some donations related on the crisis in Haiti. As a massive human tragedy unfolds in Haiti due to [...]

Haiti earthquake orphans thousands

Over thousands of children have been orphaned by the earthquake, aid groups have reported. The number orphans is said t be so high, a number has still not been ventured. The number of children is reported to have increased as the rescue teams continue to dig under the rubble of the collapsed buildings. The chaos [...]

Americans in Haiti says it’s a never ending nightmare

Thousands of Haitians died in crumbled buildings and establishments after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake which struck the island just last week.  But there were also more than 45,000 United States citizens on the island when the catastrophe occurred, from missionaries and aid workers to businessman and tourists. At least 16 Americans have been confirmed dead [...]

‘Avatar’ & ‘Hangover’ earn top film honors at the Golden Globes

Two of the box office dominators, ‘Avatar’ and ‘The Hangover’, took home the top honors at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday. The ceremony took a somber tone after the recent earthquake in Haiti. The sci-fi blockbuster ‘Avatar’, whose 3-D effects have amazed critics and fans and helped it earn $1.6 billion at global box [...]

More U.S. military troops bound to Haiti

United States President Barrack Obama signed an executive order over the weekend allowing members of the reserves to be called up to support the relief efforts in Haiti, where the U.S. military on Sunday bolstered the flow of troops and humanitarian aid. About 5,000 U.S. military were already assisting on the ground and from ships [...]

Their stories on Haiti earthquake

This 7.0 magnitude earthquake which struck Haiti last Tuesday, January 12th, has been all over the headlines and also internet websites for less than a week now.  CNN News has compiled stories of their website readers and they told stories about how this tragedy affected their lives. SUSAN WESTWOOD, Port-au-Prince, Haiti She is a pediatric [...]

Scientists say that Haiti must prepare for more earthquakes

Scientists warned on Friday that Haiti and its neighboring areas must prepare themselves for more massive quakes after the devastating tremors this week increased pressure along a lengthy fault line. Paul Mann, a senior research scientist at the Institute for Geophysics at the University of Texas at Austin, warned that just because the rebuilding process had [...]

Extreme destruction of Haiti earthquake

Firsts reports from the epicentre of Tuesday’s 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti suggest the damage is even more dramatic than in Port-au-Prince, as said in the reports. They said the scene in Leogane, west of the capital city of Haiti, has the extreme damage more than in Port-au-Prince, with thousands left homeless and almost very [...]

Hillary Clinton lands in Haiti

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton landed in Haiti and met with Haitian President Rene Preval on Saturday, promising that U.S. quake relief efforts would be closely coordinated with local officials. Clinton’s promise depicted that a too-intrusive U.S. involvement in the aftermath of the quake would not exist, but assured the Haitians the humanitarian [...]

Haitians searching for missing loved ones

Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Haitians are desperately waiting outside crumbled schools, devastated buildings, or shattered markets, in search for their parents, children, siblings or lovers.  They stand waiting at smashed buildings asking for latest recovered dead bodies or survivors, where they thought their relatives was last known to visit or at establishments where they remembered their mothers [...]

Mia, 2, rescued by British firefighters in Haiti

UK teams rescued a two-year-old girl named Mia from the horrors of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake which hit Haiti last Tuesday, after she been trapped under a collapsed nursery for almost three days.  These workers, which were a part of a team of 61 who came from UK, used their bare hands to rip through [...]

11-year-old girl died after being saved

Port-au-Prince, Haiti “Mother, don’t let me die.” This is the last words the girl told her mother, as her uncle told on reports. Televiewers all over the world have witnessed how rescuers tried to free this 11-year-old Haitian girl from her collapsed home in Port-au-Prince on Thursday. But her story came to a tragic end [...]

Latest news on Haiti earthquake crisis

Still on massive efforts to rescue uncollected dead bodies and process of providing help for Haiti earthquake victims, which had hit last Tuesday, an strong-felt 4.5 magnitude aftershock had shaken Haiti’s capital today, interrupting great efforts to free survivors believed trapped under the Montana Hotel. They withdrew the operation when they felt the tremor this [...]

Sandra Bullock donates $1 million to Haiti earthquake relief

Famous Hollywood actress Sandra Bullock joined the bandwagon of Hollywood stars and music artists in donations on Friday as the actress donated $1 million towards the Haiti earthquake relief. Bullock’s contribution went to Doctors Without Borders’ emergency operations in Port-Au-Prince, where three of the organization’s existing facilities were damaged by the magnitude 7.0 quake. “I [...]

UK searching for Haiti earthquake survivors

The first British search and rescue workers to enter earthquake-ravaged Haiti are beginning to scour the rubble for survivors as logistical problems continue the massive international relief effort. Around 50,000 people are feared dead after Tuesday’s earthquake, with millions more injured, orphaned or homeless in the stricken Caribbean country.  Disasters Emergency Committee  (DEC) launched televisions [...]

U.S. texting raises $11 million for Haitian earthquake relief

The cell phone users of the U.S. have contributed more than $11 million to Haitian earthquake relief through text messages. The Mobile Giving Foundation calls this mobile response to a natural disaster as a ‘mobile-giving record’ for funds raised for a single cause. Donations are rising swiftly, it said, as former President Bill Clinton and [...]

UN appeals for $560 million for Haiti aid

The UN appealed for $560 million on Friday to help the three million people badly affected by the earthquake. About a third of the buildings were said to have been damaged or destroyed by the massive earthquake and help was needed for the devastated Haitians. The UN humanitarian chief John Holmes launched the emergency request [...]

Haiti donations breaking all records

As of this moment, Haiti’s tragedy donations is considered the record-breaking of all compare to the previous Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Asian tsunami. It was a 7.0-magnitude quake that struck in Haiti last Tuesday, January 12th, year 2010. It has been reported that more than 100, 000 people died and still a lot are [...]

Hollywood stars lead Haitian quake charity rally

The devastating earthquake that has killed thousands in Haiti has moved the Hollywood actors and pop music stars to lead a rally for disaster relief donations. Most of them are even paying from their own personal accounts. The first actors to reach out to Haiti was Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who donated $1 million [...]

Aid floods in as death toll rises in Haiti

Planeloads of food and medicine poured in Haiti on Thursday along with troops to help the traumatized nation hit by the massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake, which led to the collapse of government buildings, homes and countless people. Although the death toll is expected to be over 100,000, reports from the Haitian Red Cross have confirmed [...]

Major earthquake hits Haiti

A powerful earthquake hit the capital of Haiti, Port-Au-Prince on Tuesday with the most forceful tremor ever to hit the country in 200 years. The earthquake toppled everything, from simple shacks and hospitals, to the ornate National Palace and the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeepers. Thousands were buried alive under the rubble and large numbers [...]