SBE Breaking News

The United States has vowed to stand by the devastated nation of Haiti as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flew in seeking to overcome the hurdles bogging down a vast aid operation.

Mrs Clinton, who arrived in the devastated capital Port-au-Prince aboard a US Coast Guard plane last night, was the highest-ranking US official to visit the Caribbean nation since Tuesday’s deadly 7.0-magnitude quake.

“We are here at the invitation of your government to help you,” she told a press conference after talks with US officials organizing the relief operation and an hour-long meeting with President Rene Preval.

“As President (Barack) Obama has said, we will be here today, tomorrow and for the time ahead. I know the resilience and strength of the Haitian people. You have been severely tested. But I believe that Haiti can come back stronger and better in the future.”
Related Links

* Haiti: British firemen dig out survivors

* Obama throws full military might into aid effort

* Anarchy looms on streets of Port-au-Prince

Mr Preval, who said he had just visited a man pulled out of the rubble alive after four days by American rescuers, said Mrs Clinton’s visit “warmed our hearts.”

“But it’s also a chance for us to restate priorities and to ensure coordination with the American government and with the international community.”

The two countries were to unveil a statement later today about how they planned to cooperate together.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is also expected to visit to Haiti today, after the worst disaster in the world body’s history dealt a crippling blow to the 12,000-strong mission there.

Mr Ban will assess the Caribbean nation’s needs in the wake of Tuesday’s devastating earthquake and attempt to boost the shattered morale of the Brazilian-led United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, MINUSTAH.

He said that his one-day visit aimed “to show his solidarity with the people of Haiti and UN staff” and to “assess the humanitarian assistance effort and the scale of the disaster for himself.”

The UN chief is expected to meet Mr Preval and pledge the world body’s full support in the wake of the disaster, which could have claimed more than 100,000 lives.

On the eve of his departure, Mr Ban grimly confirmed that MINUSTAH civilian chief Hedi Hannabi, his Brazilian deputy Luiz Carlos da Costa and acting police commissioner, Doug Coates of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, were confirmed to have died after their bodies were recovered from the collapsed building.

Hopes of finding a British woman missing in Haiti alive were fading today after the bodies of her bosses were found among the rubble of the United Nation’s headquarters in the disaster-struck capital Port-au-Prince.

Relatives of UN worker Ann Barnes, 59, said they fear the worst as she has been unaccounted for since the earthquake hit Haiti on Tuesday.

No Tag

You might also like

Haiti Earthquake Update At around 21:53 Greenwich Mean Time on the day of Tues, the Caribbean nation of Republic of Haiti was...

Haiti Disaster Relief Republic of Haiti is spinning from a seven magnitude quake that hit ten miles of its sea-coast on early...

Haiti Palace 100s or more are feared dead across the Haiti aft a very mighty order of magnitude seven quake hit...

Haiti earthquake picture A powerful earthquake hits Haiti, and the capital, Port-Au-Prince, has been hit hard in the Caribbean...