Haiti transitional government takes power as gangs hold capital “hostage”
Port-au-Prince. Haiti Reuters Haiti’s transition council took power in a ceremony on Thursday, formalising the resignation of former Prime Minster Ariel Henry as the Caribbean country seeks to establish security after years of gang violence wreaking chaos and misery. Henry’s Finance Minister, Michel Patrick Boisvert, will be interim Prime Minister until the transition council appoints […]
Haiti transition council to be installed on Thursday, says PM office
Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters A ceremony to install a stalled presidential transition council in Haiti will take place Thursday morning on the outskirts of the capital Port-au-Prince, the office of outgoing Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced in a statement on Wednesday. The statement noted that the ceremony will be hosted at the prime minister’s official office, […]
Haiti police bolster security around palace ahead of transition
Port-au-Prince Reuters Haitian police deployed tear gas to move people back from a security perimeter around the National Palace while soldiers gripping rifles patrolled the international airport’s diplomatic entrance on Tuesday, ahead of a planned change of government. The palace has come under repeated fire from gangs that have paralysed the capital Port-au-Prince. A nine-member […]
UN warns Haiti’s capital blockaded, no aid for malnourished children
United Nations/Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters Haiti’s capital is almost completely cut off by air, sea and land blockades as gang violence intensifies, stopping aid from getting to 58,000 children with the most life-threatening form of malnutrition, the head of the UN children’s agency warned on Monday. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said two-thirds of Haiti’s children […]
Haiti’s capital under gang attacks ahead of government transition
Port-au-Prince Reuters Armed gangs launched fresh attacks on parts of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince ahead of the installation of a transitional council set to usher in a new government, local media said on Sunday, reporting arson and heavy gunfire in the city centre. The Lower Delmas area is turning into “a battlefield between police and armed […]
Haiti’s death toll rises as international support lags, UN report says
Reuters More than 2,500 people were killed or injured in gang violence in Haiti from January through March, up 53 per cent from the last three months of 2023, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) said on Friday. At least 590 were killed during police operations, BINUH said in a report. Several were […]
Haiti appoints members of transition council
Port-au-Prince Reuters Haiti’s government on Tuesday published a decree naming the members of a transitional council set to take power, inching toward stability after Prime Minister Ariel Henry left a political void when he announced his resignation last month. Haiti’s outgoing government signed off on the transition process, a long-awaited move after Henry said he […]
World Bank sounds alarm on “historical reversal” of development for poorest nations
Washington DC, US Reuters Half of the world’s 75 poorest countries are experiencing a widening income gap with the wealthiest economies for the first time this century in a historical reversal of development, the World Bank said in a report on Monday. The differential between per capita income growth in the poorest countries and the […]
Haiti decrees long-awaited transition council, but questions remain
Port-au-Prince Reuters Haiti’s government on Friday issued a decree formalising the creation of a nine-member transitional presidential council, a long-delayed move intended as the first step in restoring security to the gang-ravaged Caribbean country. The decree, however, leaves many questions unanswered. It does not name the new council members or establish a timeframe for its […]
US lawmakers, activists, urge action on migration from and firearms to Haiti
Reuters US lawmakers on Thursday called for the country to take further action to stop the flow of firearms to Haiti and to halt the forced return of migrants seeking to flee worsening street violence and shortages of essential supplies. Democratic congresswomen Ayanna Pressley, Cori Bush and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick met with human rights advocates and […]