US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was to leave late yesterday for Haiti and the Dominican Republic before heading to a Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.
Clinton, due to stop first in Port-au-Prince, helped rally international donors who met in Washington on Tuesday to aid the impoverished country, hit last year by food riots and a wave of devastating hurricanes.
Clinton said Washington would give Haiti US$57 million in extra aid this year — part of a US$324 million aid package announced at the conference led by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Haitian government.
Officials said in particular that Haiti needed US$125 million to fill a budget gap for this year, but the IDB said the donors committed only US$41 million for budget support.
The aid announced by Clinton was mainly for roads and other infrastructure projects needed to boost the economy as well as for food and counter-narcotics efforts.
Some US$20 million however was set aside to ease Haiti’s debt burden and free up money in the budget for other purposes.
During a meeting with Clinton on Wednesday, Haitian Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis said the aid pledges topped her expectations.
“It was not ... up to the top amount,” Pierre-Louis conceded, but added: “Considering the condition of the financial crisis in the world .... I personally was not expecting that much.”
Clinton said the US wanted in part for the donors’ conference to better coordinate “all of the aid that is already in Haiti or intended for Haiti.”
Such an approach will help “the very thoughtful recovery plan that the prime minister presented,” Clinton said.
Clinton was to meet with Haitian President Rene Preval during her visit, before traveling later in the day to the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.
In Santo Domingo, the secretary is due to meet with Dominican President Leonel Fernandez and “discuss bilateral development cooperation and efforts to combat drug trafficking,” State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.
Clinton will then join US President Barack Obama and 33 other democratically-elected leaders of the Western Hemisphere at the Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain from today until Sunday.
“The theme of the summit is securing our citizens’ future by promoting human prosperity, energy security and environmental sustainability,” Wood said.
The fifth Summit of the Americas will be Obama’s first opportunity since he was sworn in on Jan. 20 to address most members of the Organization of American States.
Cuba, toward which Obama is making cautious overtures, looks set to dominate the summit, even though it has not been invited to the gathering of 34 leaders.
An endangered baby pygmy hippopotamus that shot to social media stardom in Thailand has become a lucrative source of income for her home zoo, quadrupling its ticket sales, the institution said Thursday. Moo Deng, whose name in Thai means “bouncy pork,” has drawn tens of thousands of visitors to Khao Kheow Open Zoo this month. The two-month-old pygmy hippo went viral on TikTok and Instagram for her cheeky antics, inspiring merchandise, memes and even craft tutorials on how to make crocheted or cake-based Moo Dengs at home. A zoo spokesperson said that ticket sales from the start of September to Wednesday reached almost
TIGHTENING: Zhu Hengpeng, who worked for an influential think tank, has reportedly not been seen in public since making disparaging remarks on WeChat A leading Chinese economist at a government think tank has reportedly disappeared after being disciplined for criticizing Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in a private chat group. Zhu Hengpeng (朱恆鵬), 55, is believed to have made disparaging remarks about China’s economy, and potentially about the Chinese leader specifically, in a private WeChat group. Zhu was subsequently detained in April and put under investigation, the Wall Street Journal reported. Zhu worked for the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) for more than 20 years, most recently as the Institute of Economics deputy director and director of the Public Policy Research Center. He
CHINESE ICBM: The missile landed near the EEZ of French Polynesia, much to the surprise and concern of the president, who sent a letter of protest to Beijing Fijian President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere called for “respect for our region” and a stop to missile tests in the Pacific Ocean, after China launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). In a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Katonivere recalled the Pacific Ocean’s history as a nuclear weapons testing ground, and noted Wednesday’s rare launch by China of an ICBM. “There was a unilateral test firing of a ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean. We urge respect for our region and call for cessation of such action,” he said. The ICBM, carrying a dummy warhead, was launched by the
As violence between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, Iran is walking a tightrope by supporting Hezbollah without being dragged into a full-blown conflict and playing into its enemy’s hands. With a focus on easing its isolation and reviving its battered economy, Iran is aware that war could complicate efforts to secure relief from crippling sanctions. Cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah, sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year, has intensified, especially after last week’s sabotage on Hezbollah’s communications that killed 39 people. Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon followed, killing hundreds. Hezbollah retaliated with rocket barrages. Despite the surge in