US ends relief operations
The US military has ended major relief operations in Haiti, five months after the devastating earthquake struck, the Southern Command announced on Tuesday.
Thousands of troops were deployed in Port-au-Prince as part of Operation Unified Response after the quake, to help distribute food and keep the peace after the quake which killed over 300,000 people.
The Pentagon has been reducing the number of soldiers in Port-au-Prince in recent months.
However a 500-strong contingent of US National Guard Troops will be engaged in humanitarian assistance projects in rural Haiti through September.
Many quake survivors are still in need of shelter – a situation that threatens to get worse with the start of the hurricane season.
Summit on Haiti opens
Donor countries were meeting in the Dominican Republic yesterday for a summit on international efforts to rebuild Haiti following the January earthquake.
The meeting, dubbed ‘World Summit for the Future of Haiti’, follows a conference in New York in March, which received pledges of $10 billion.
Representatives are expected to review projected rebuilding plans and donations collected so far before setting concrete deadlines for reconstruction plans.
Aid experts say Haiti needs about $11.5 billion to finance its rebuilding, which is expected to last a decade.
Coalition talks in Suriname
The political party of Suriname’s former dictator says it is close to teaming up with another party to form a coalition government.
Desi Bouterse’s Mega Combination won 23 of the parliament’s 51 seats in last week’s election.
An agreement with the smaller party, the People’s Alliance, would give the grouping a majority, but not the two-thirds it needs to name a president.
The coalition efforts are being closely monitored because it is believed that Mr Bouterse, a convicted drug trafficker, could use his enhanced political power to make a bid for the presidency.
Holland has already said it will not welcome him as president, because he is a fugitive from Dutch justice.
