Wyclef Jean calls for Port-au-Prince evacuation
Posted 1d ago | Comments 19 | Recommend 4 E-mail | Save | Print |
Share
Yahoo! Buzz
Add to Mixx
More
Subscribe
myYahoo
iGoogle
More
NEW YORK (AP) — Haitian-born musician Wyclef Jean is calling for an evacuation of his homeland's earthquake-ravaged capital and asking for international aid to help set up tent cities nearby.
The Grammy Award-winning artist called for action during a news conference Monday in New York. He envisions temporary settlements housing 100,000 people each outside Port-au-Prince.
Jean is one of Haiti's most famous sons and has been a prominent voice in relief efforts since Tuesday's earthquake. He has raised more than $2 million through his charity, The Wyclef Jean Foundation Inc. It is also known as Yele Haiti.
Despite demand, U.S. carriers flying empty planes out of Haiti
Comments 63 | Recommend 5
Buzz up!
Like this story? Share it with Yahoo! Buzz
Despite the demand from stranded travelers scrambling to leave Haiti, most planes operated by American, Spirit and other U.S. carriers are flying out of the country with no passengers on board. Even though airlines are flying supply-laden relief flights into the country, The Miami Herald reports they're not able to accept most passengers departing Haiti because of rules imposed by U.S. authorities.
The Herald writes the U.S. has "banned commercial air travel from the Port-au-Prince airport, citing the airport's inability to clear passengers for flights. That screening includes putting passengers through metal detectors and checking them against federal terrorist-watch lists."
"People are always calling us" for Haiti flights, Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson tells the Herald. "We're inundated." But changes could be on the way. The Herald reports that Spirit yesterday was able to evacuate "a few dozen college students caught in Haiti during the quake … . The flight from Port-au-Prince to Fort Lauderdale was arranged by the U.S. State Department and represented a rarity in Haiti's post-quake aviation operations."
The Herald says yesterday's Spirit flight could be "a sign that commercial airliners will soon be easing the backlog of people wanting to leave Haiti." Unidentified officials tell the paper they expect screening to come back online soon. And American officials tell the paper that the airline expects to fly passengers home on behalf of the U.S. government sometime this week.
But while commercial carriers have been restricted in their efforts to fly passengers out of Haiti, the Herald writes "private jets have enjoyed a booming business bringing relief workers, business executives and members of the media into the ravaged capital city. One carrier out of Miami said it charged $4,000 an hour for chartered Haitian flights, and a single seat sold for $1,000 one-way."
An official from Miami-based IBC Airways tells the Herald the airline is able to clear passengers flying on its small jets via satellite phone calls to U.S. authorities. Commercial carriers, however, clear passengers through computer systems, many of which have become inoperable in Haiti following the quake. Additionally, the Herald says that commercial airlines "also fly large jets -- the Spirit flight Monday had 145 seats -- that would pose a bigger risk if hijacked."
Comments 63 | Recommend 5
Buzz up!
Like this story? Share it with Yahoo! Buzz
Despite the demand from stranded travelers scrambling to leave Haiti, most planes operated by American, Spirit and other U.S. carriers are flying out of the country with no passengers on board. Even though airlines are flying supply-laden relief flights into the country, The Miami Herald reports they're not able to accept most passengers departing Haiti because of rules imposed by U.S. authorities.
The Herald writes the U.S. has "banned commercial air travel from the Port-au-Prince airport, citing the airport's inability to clear passengers for flights. That screening includes putting passengers through metal detectors and checking them against federal terrorist-watch lists."
"People are always calling us" for Haiti flights, Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson tells the Herald. "We're inundated." But changes could be on the way. The Herald reports that Spirit yesterday was able to evacuate "a few dozen college students caught in Haiti during the quake … . The flight from Port-au-Prince to Fort Lauderdale was arranged by the U.S. State Department and represented a rarity in Haiti's post-quake aviation operations."
The Herald says yesterday's Spirit flight could be "a sign that commercial airliners will soon be easing the backlog of people wanting to leave Haiti." Unidentified officials tell the paper they expect screening to come back online soon. And American officials tell the paper that the airline expects to fly passengers home on behalf of the U.S. government sometime this week.
But while commercial carriers have been restricted in their efforts to fly passengers out of Haiti, the Herald writes "private jets have enjoyed a booming business bringing relief workers, business executives and members of the media into the ravaged capital city. One carrier out of Miami said it charged $4,000 an hour for chartered Haitian flights, and a single seat sold for $1,000 one-way."
An official from Miami-based IBC Airways tells the Herald the airline is able to clear passengers flying on its small jets via satellite phone calls to U.S. authorities. Commercial carriers, however, clear passengers through computer systems, many of which have become inoperable in Haiti following the quake. Additionally, the Herald says that commercial airlines "also fly large jets -- the Spirit flight Monday had 145 seats -- that would pose a bigger risk if hijacked."
Royal Caribbean cruise line brings tourists, supplies to Haiti port
Updated 17h 32m ago | Comments 19 | Recommend 11 E-mail | Save | Print | Reprints & Permissions |
Share
Yahoo! Buzz
Add to Mixx
Facebook
Twitter
More
Subscribe
myYahoo
iGoogle
More
By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY
Royal Caribbean(RCL) has quickly returned to Haiti, dropping tourists from cruise ships on the country's north coast about 60 miles from devastation in the earthquake-stricken capital of Port-au-Prince.
One of the world's largest cruise ships, the 3,634-passenger Independence of the Seas, made a scheduled call on Friday. The 3,114-passenger Navigator of the Seas arrived Monday. A third ship, the 3,634-pasenger Liberty of the Seas, arrives Tuesday.
FLIGHT NEWS: Our Today in the Sky community
They're docking at a resort at Labadee, where Royal Caribbean operates a private beach and tourist attractions. The Jan. 12 earthquake didn't damage the resort. Also, cruise lines don't make stops at Port-au-Prince.
Arrival of tourist ships has raised questions as to whether it's unseemly for passengers to be enjoying a resort so near the death and destruction caused by the quake.
"There were a lot of discussions about (going ahead with stops), but in the end, Labadee is critical to Haiti's recovery, and hundreds of people rely on Labadee for their livelihood," Royal Caribbean Associate Vice President John Weis wrote on a company blog.
Weis says Royal Caribbean talked with the U.N. Special Envoy of the Government of Haiti, Leslie Voltaire, before making the decision. Voltaire told the company the revenue Haiti would generate from upcoming cruise calls would be critical to its recovery, he says.
In addition to vacationers, Royal Caribbean is carrying in relief supplies loaded onto the vessels after the disaster to be distributed to affected parts of the country by Food for the Poor and other groups.
"We also have tremendous opportunities to use our ships as transport vessels for relief supplies and personnel to Haiti," Weis says. "Simply put, we cannot abandon Haiti now that they need us most."
Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez says the line delivered about 40 pallets of water, rice, dried beans and canned foods on Friday. Monday's ship delivered twice as much, she says.
"Yesterday, two more ships heading for Labadee were loaded with supplies," Martinez says. "We will continue to transport much-needed goods to Labadee on all of our ships heading to Haiti." The line also has promised at least $1 million in humanitarian relief for Haiti and says it will donate 100% of its net revenue from visits there to relief efforts.
Royal Caribbean is one of the biggest outside investors in Haiti in recent years. It says that its relationship with the country dates back more than two decades and that it employs hundreds of Haitians on ships and at the resort.
As of Monday, the line said that 10 of 50 ship crewmembers who were in Haiti at the time of last week's earthquake remained missing.
Updated 17h 32m ago | Comments 19 | Recommend 11 E-mail | Save | Print | Reprints & Permissions |
Share
Yahoo! Buzz
Add to Mixx
More
Subscribe
myYahoo
iGoogle
More
By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY
Royal Caribbean(RCL) has quickly returned to Haiti, dropping tourists from cruise ships on the country's north coast about 60 miles from devastation in the earthquake-stricken capital of Port-au-Prince.
One of the world's largest cruise ships, the 3,634-passenger Independence of the Seas, made a scheduled call on Friday. The 3,114-passenger Navigator of the Seas arrived Monday. A third ship, the 3,634-pasenger Liberty of the Seas, arrives Tuesday.
FLIGHT NEWS: Our Today in the Sky community
They're docking at a resort at Labadee, where Royal Caribbean operates a private beach and tourist attractions. The Jan. 12 earthquake didn't damage the resort. Also, cruise lines don't make stops at Port-au-Prince.
Arrival of tourist ships has raised questions as to whether it's unseemly for passengers to be enjoying a resort so near the death and destruction caused by the quake.
"There were a lot of discussions about (going ahead with stops), but in the end, Labadee is critical to Haiti's recovery, and hundreds of people rely on Labadee for their livelihood," Royal Caribbean Associate Vice President John Weis wrote on a company blog.
Weis says Royal Caribbean talked with the U.N. Special Envoy of the Government of Haiti, Leslie Voltaire, before making the decision. Voltaire told the company the revenue Haiti would generate from upcoming cruise calls would be critical to its recovery, he says.
In addition to vacationers, Royal Caribbean is carrying in relief supplies loaded onto the vessels after the disaster to be distributed to affected parts of the country by Food for the Poor and other groups.
"We also have tremendous opportunities to use our ships as transport vessels for relief supplies and personnel to Haiti," Weis says. "Simply put, we cannot abandon Haiti now that they need us most."
Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez says the line delivered about 40 pallets of water, rice, dried beans and canned foods on Friday. Monday's ship delivered twice as much, she says.
"Yesterday, two more ships heading for Labadee were loaded with supplies," Martinez says. "We will continue to transport much-needed goods to Labadee on all of our ships heading to Haiti." The line also has promised at least $1 million in humanitarian relief for Haiti and says it will donate 100% of its net revenue from visits there to relief efforts.
Royal Caribbean is one of the biggest outside investors in Haiti in recent years. It says that its relationship with the country dates back more than two decades and that it employs hundreds of Haitians on ships and at the resort.
As of Monday, the line said that 10 of 50 ship crewmembers who were in Haiti at the time of last week's earthquake remained missing.
U.N. approves extra troops, police for Haiti
Updated 40m ago | Comments 376 | Recommend 6 E-mail | Save | Print |
Enlarge By Ramon Espinosa, AP
A U.S. Navy helicopter takes off in front of the National Palace after members of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne land in Port-au-Prince onTuesday, Jan. 19.
TROOPS MARK SAFE ZONES FOR DROPPING SUPPLIES
Parachuting bundles of food and water into Haiti became viable for the first time Monday in part because there are enough troops there to identify a safe place to drop them, according to Air Force officers involved in planning the mission.
Airmen from the 437th Airlift Wing, based in Charleston, S.C., dropped 14,000 packaged meals and 14,000 quarts of water after troops had secured a landing zone, according to the Air Force. Troops, workers from the U.S. Agency for International Development and other aid groups distributed the food and water.
The operation required identifying a safe place outside Port-au-Prince to push 2,000-pound bundles from the C-17 cargo jet.
"It's going to kill somebody if it hits them," said Air Force Lt. Col. Shawn Goodlett of the Air Mobility Command.
The bundles of supplies are pushed out of the back of the C-17 from about 600 feet above the ground and drop at 25 feet per second.
"Collateral damage is a huge concern for us," Goodlett said.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last week that airdrops weren't tried immediately after the earthquake because of concerns that inadequate security could lead to rioting. U.S. troops started arriving in larger numbers on Friday.
It's unclear whether more airdrops will be required, said Air Force Col. John Rutkowski, who helped plan Monday's mission. Troops were able to locate and secure "safe real estate" to drop the bundles, he said. They were delivered about 5 miles northeast of the airport, he said.
Rick Perera, a spokesman for CARE in Haiti, agreed with the need for security on the ground before dropping supplies.
"Airdropping on the ground with nobody to receive it can cause violence or even death and should be discouraged," he said.
U.S. military aircraft and helicopters have airlifted 130,000 humanitarian daily rations, 70,000 bottles of water and 117 tents into Port-au-Prince since the earthquake devastated the country Jan. 12.
About 550,000 more daily rations are scheduled to be delivered in coming days, according to U.S. Southern Command.
Since Air Force personnel started coordinating the airport, it has handled about 100 flights a day, three times more than its normal capacity, the command said.
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
Contributing: Oren Dorell in McLean, Va.
Share
Yahoo! Buzz
Add to Mixx
Facebook
Twitter
More
Subscribe
myYahoo
iGoogle
More
From staff and wire reports
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — One week after a magnitude-7 earthquake in Haiti, killing an estimated 200,000 people, scores of U.S. troops landed on the lawn of the shattered presidential palace to the cheers of quake victims.
Haitians jammed the fence around the palace grounds to gawk and cheer as U.S. troops emerged from six Navy helicopters. "We are happy that they are coming, because we have so many problems," said Fede Felissaint, a hairdresser.
The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved 3,500 extra troops and police officers to beef up security in Haiti and ensure that desperately needed aid gets to earthquake victims.
The resolution adopted Tuesday by the United Nations' most powerful body will add 2,000 troops to the 7,000 military peacekeepers in the country and 1,500 police to the 2,100-strong international police force.
U.N. peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said the extra soldiers are essential because of the "tremendous" number of requests to escort humanitarian convoys. He said the United Nations needs extra troops to secure the routes and for "a reserve force" in case security deteriorates further.
Le Roy said the additional international police are needed at every point where food and water are distributed.
Four blocks from the U.S. troop landing at the palace, hundreds of looters rampaged through downtown.
"That is how it is. There is nothing we can do," said Haitian police officer Arina Bence, who tried to keep civilians out of the looting zone for their own safety.
Monday, the U.S. Air Force airdropped more than 14,000 packaged meals and water supplies into Haiti's capital in an attempt to overcome severe supply bottlenecks, including a lack of fuel, that plague relief efforts.
The Pentagon had hesitated to use airdrops because they could start riots among people suffering from hunger since last week's earthquake. Congestion at the Port-au-Prince airport prompted the reversal, said Lt. Col. Shawn Goodlett of the Air Force Air Mobility Command.
"There is no other way" to effectively distribute aid right now, said Agron Ferati of the International Medical Corps, a medical aid agency.
HAITI: Faucet of humanitarian aid opens
RECOVERY: Haiti's health crisis deepens
MEDICAL AID: Docs, nurses 'just keep going'
ORPHANAGE: Supplies and water are scarce
COMFORT: Churches offer solace and hope
Maj. Gen. Daniel Allyn, deputy commander of the U.S. military's relief operation in Haiti, said Tuesday a second airport in Haiti will be opened for relief flights within 24 hours. The airstrip at Jacmel will be able to accommodate C-130 cargo planes, which can land on rough runways.
The airport, about 30 miles southeast of Port-au-Prince, will initially assist with Canadian relief efforts, Allyn told reporters at the Pentagon. Another airport in San Isidro, in the the neighboring country of the Dominican Republic, will be opened to relief flights as well, he said.
"We are obviously very conscious of the need to have multiple points of entry," Allyn said.
He said there will be be additional parachute drops of supplies into Haiti. The military needed to have enough troops on the ground to provide a safe place to drop the supplies and to ensure that there wasn't rioting over their distribution, Allyn said.
U.S. soldiers continued to work to unload pallets of food and water at the airport, and Army medics treated injured Haitians at clinics.
"The trickle (of aid) from a few days ago ... is about to be a fire hose," said Maj. Brian Fickel, a military spokesman.
About 2,000 newly arrived U.S. Marines were parked on ships offshore, and the Pentagon has more troops on the way. Italy and Spain also are sending ships.
Aid groups set up a tent camp on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince that could house 100,000 left homeless by the quake.
One major bottleneck has been the limited capacity of Port-au-Prince's main seaport, which was severely damaged by the quake. A Navy salvage vessel arrived Monday and began working to identify and remove obstacles blocking the shipping channel, the military said in a statement.
Rigoberto Giron, a vice president for the relief agency CARE, said his organization sends most aid using airplanes that can carry only one or two shipping containers of goods at a time. The backlog on air shipments to Haiti is about a day, he said.
FAITH & REASON: Haitians pray and praise God
U.S. AID: Relief effort ramps up
MILITARY: U.S. Air Force steps in
MISSION: Lessons of war utilized
CONDITIONS: Stench of dead bodies mounts
In contrast, Giron said, boats are capable of carrying "hundreds" of containers at once. Full use of the seaport "would make a very significant difference" in getting food, water and medicine into Haitians' hands, he said.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley answered criticism Tuesday that aid is not getting out to the Haitian people.
"I don't think you can question the speed with which we have done what we've done, it has been nothing short of remarkable," he said "The issue is, how fast can we get to a level of sustainment where we can stabilize this population. That remains a significant challenge ... we are getting there, but we're not there yet."
But Doctors Without Borders said Tuesday a cargo plane carrying 12 tons of medical equipment, including drugs, surgical supplies and two dialysis machines, was turned away three times from the Port-au-Prince airport since Sunday night, despite reassurances of its ability to land there.
"We have had five patients in Martissant health center die for lack of the medical supplies that this plane was carrying," said Loris de Filippi, coordinator of the aid group's Choscal Hospital in Cite Soleil. "I have never seen anything like this. Any time I leave the operating theater I see lots of people desperately asking to be taken for surgery. Today, there are 12 people who need lifesaving amputations at Choscal Hospital. We were forced to buy a saw in the market to continue amputations. We are running against time here."
Thousands streamed out of Port-au-Prince, crowding aboard buses headed toward countryside villages. Charlemagne Ulrick planned to stay behind after putting his three children on a truck for an all-day journey to Haiti's northwestern peninsula.
"They have to go and save themselves," said Ulrick, a dentist. "I don't know when they're coming back."
U.S. and Haitian officials warned that any efforts of Haitians to reach the USA by boat would be thwarted. Haiti's ambassador in Washington, Raymond Joseph, recorded a message in Creole to his countrymen, urging them not to leave.
"If you think you will reach the U.S. and all the doors will be wide open to you, that's not at all the case," Joseph said, according to a transcript on America.gov, a State Department website. "And they will intercept you right on the water and send you back home where you came from."
The Obama administration is allowing Haitians who were in the United States illegally on Jan. 12 to apply for temporary protected status. The status will allow Haitians to stay for 18 months and work while earthquake recovery continues in Haiti.
Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas said Tuesday applications can be filed Thursday when an official notice is published in the Federal Register.
Updated 40m ago | Comments 376 | Recommend 6 E-mail | Save | Print |
Enlarge By Ramon Espinosa, AP
A U.S. Navy helicopter takes off in front of the National Palace after members of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne land in Port-au-Prince onTuesday, Jan. 19.
TROOPS MARK SAFE ZONES FOR DROPPING SUPPLIES
Parachuting bundles of food and water into Haiti became viable for the first time Monday in part because there are enough troops there to identify a safe place to drop them, according to Air Force officers involved in planning the mission.
Airmen from the 437th Airlift Wing, based in Charleston, S.C., dropped 14,000 packaged meals and 14,000 quarts of water after troops had secured a landing zone, according to the Air Force. Troops, workers from the U.S. Agency for International Development and other aid groups distributed the food and water.
The operation required identifying a safe place outside Port-au-Prince to push 2,000-pound bundles from the C-17 cargo jet.
"It's going to kill somebody if it hits them," said Air Force Lt. Col. Shawn Goodlett of the Air Mobility Command.
The bundles of supplies are pushed out of the back of the C-17 from about 600 feet above the ground and drop at 25 feet per second.
"Collateral damage is a huge concern for us," Goodlett said.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last week that airdrops weren't tried immediately after the earthquake because of concerns that inadequate security could lead to rioting. U.S. troops started arriving in larger numbers on Friday.
It's unclear whether more airdrops will be required, said Air Force Col. John Rutkowski, who helped plan Monday's mission. Troops were able to locate and secure "safe real estate" to drop the bundles, he said. They were delivered about 5 miles northeast of the airport, he said.
Rick Perera, a spokesman for CARE in Haiti, agreed with the need for security on the ground before dropping supplies.
"Airdropping on the ground with nobody to receive it can cause violence or even death and should be discouraged," he said.
U.S. military aircraft and helicopters have airlifted 130,000 humanitarian daily rations, 70,000 bottles of water and 117 tents into Port-au-Prince since the earthquake devastated the country Jan. 12.
About 550,000 more daily rations are scheduled to be delivered in coming days, according to U.S. Southern Command.
Since Air Force personnel started coordinating the airport, it has handled about 100 flights a day, three times more than its normal capacity, the command said.
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
Contributing: Oren Dorell in McLean, Va.
Share
Yahoo! Buzz
Add to Mixx
More
Subscribe
myYahoo
iGoogle
More
From staff and wire reports
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — One week after a magnitude-7 earthquake in Haiti, killing an estimated 200,000 people, scores of U.S. troops landed on the lawn of the shattered presidential palace to the cheers of quake victims.
Haitians jammed the fence around the palace grounds to gawk and cheer as U.S. troops emerged from six Navy helicopters. "We are happy that they are coming, because we have so many problems," said Fede Felissaint, a hairdresser.
The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved 3,500 extra troops and police officers to beef up security in Haiti and ensure that desperately needed aid gets to earthquake victims.
The resolution adopted Tuesday by the United Nations' most powerful body will add 2,000 troops to the 7,000 military peacekeepers in the country and 1,500 police to the 2,100-strong international police force.
U.N. peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said the extra soldiers are essential because of the "tremendous" number of requests to escort humanitarian convoys. He said the United Nations needs extra troops to secure the routes and for "a reserve force" in case security deteriorates further.
Le Roy said the additional international police are needed at every point where food and water are distributed.
Four blocks from the U.S. troop landing at the palace, hundreds of looters rampaged through downtown.
"That is how it is. There is nothing we can do," said Haitian police officer Arina Bence, who tried to keep civilians out of the looting zone for their own safety.
Monday, the U.S. Air Force airdropped more than 14,000 packaged meals and water supplies into Haiti's capital in an attempt to overcome severe supply bottlenecks, including a lack of fuel, that plague relief efforts.
The Pentagon had hesitated to use airdrops because they could start riots among people suffering from hunger since last week's earthquake. Congestion at the Port-au-Prince airport prompted the reversal, said Lt. Col. Shawn Goodlett of the Air Force Air Mobility Command.
"There is no other way" to effectively distribute aid right now, said Agron Ferati of the International Medical Corps, a medical aid agency.
HAITI: Faucet of humanitarian aid opens
RECOVERY: Haiti's health crisis deepens
MEDICAL AID: Docs, nurses 'just keep going'
ORPHANAGE: Supplies and water are scarce
COMFORT: Churches offer solace and hope
Maj. Gen. Daniel Allyn, deputy commander of the U.S. military's relief operation in Haiti, said Tuesday a second airport in Haiti will be opened for relief flights within 24 hours. The airstrip at Jacmel will be able to accommodate C-130 cargo planes, which can land on rough runways.
The airport, about 30 miles southeast of Port-au-Prince, will initially assist with Canadian relief efforts, Allyn told reporters at the Pentagon. Another airport in San Isidro, in the the neighboring country of the Dominican Republic, will be opened to relief flights as well, he said.
"We are obviously very conscious of the need to have multiple points of entry," Allyn said.
He said there will be be additional parachute drops of supplies into Haiti. The military needed to have enough troops on the ground to provide a safe place to drop the supplies and to ensure that there wasn't rioting over their distribution, Allyn said.
U.S. soldiers continued to work to unload pallets of food and water at the airport, and Army medics treated injured Haitians at clinics.
"The trickle (of aid) from a few days ago ... is about to be a fire hose," said Maj. Brian Fickel, a military spokesman.
About 2,000 newly arrived U.S. Marines were parked on ships offshore, and the Pentagon has more troops on the way. Italy and Spain also are sending ships.
Aid groups set up a tent camp on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince that could house 100,000 left homeless by the quake.
One major bottleneck has been the limited capacity of Port-au-Prince's main seaport, which was severely damaged by the quake. A Navy salvage vessel arrived Monday and began working to identify and remove obstacles blocking the shipping channel, the military said in a statement.
Rigoberto Giron, a vice president for the relief agency CARE, said his organization sends most aid using airplanes that can carry only one or two shipping containers of goods at a time. The backlog on air shipments to Haiti is about a day, he said.
FAITH & REASON: Haitians pray and praise God
U.S. AID: Relief effort ramps up
MILITARY: U.S. Air Force steps in
MISSION: Lessons of war utilized
CONDITIONS: Stench of dead bodies mounts
In contrast, Giron said, boats are capable of carrying "hundreds" of containers at once. Full use of the seaport "would make a very significant difference" in getting food, water and medicine into Haitians' hands, he said.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley answered criticism Tuesday that aid is not getting out to the Haitian people.
"I don't think you can question the speed with which we have done what we've done, it has been nothing short of remarkable," he said "The issue is, how fast can we get to a level of sustainment where we can stabilize this population. That remains a significant challenge ... we are getting there, but we're not there yet."
But Doctors Without Borders said Tuesday a cargo plane carrying 12 tons of medical equipment, including drugs, surgical supplies and two dialysis machines, was turned away three times from the Port-au-Prince airport since Sunday night, despite reassurances of its ability to land there.
"We have had five patients in Martissant health center die for lack of the medical supplies that this plane was carrying," said Loris de Filippi, coordinator of the aid group's Choscal Hospital in Cite Soleil. "I have never seen anything like this. Any time I leave the operating theater I see lots of people desperately asking to be taken for surgery. Today, there are 12 people who need lifesaving amputations at Choscal Hospital. We were forced to buy a saw in the market to continue amputations. We are running against time here."
Thousands streamed out of Port-au-Prince, crowding aboard buses headed toward countryside villages. Charlemagne Ulrick planned to stay behind after putting his three children on a truck for an all-day journey to Haiti's northwestern peninsula.
"They have to go and save themselves," said Ulrick, a dentist. "I don't know when they're coming back."
U.S. and Haitian officials warned that any efforts of Haitians to reach the USA by boat would be thwarted. Haiti's ambassador in Washington, Raymond Joseph, recorded a message in Creole to his countrymen, urging them not to leave.
"If you think you will reach the U.S. and all the doors will be wide open to you, that's not at all the case," Joseph said, according to a transcript on America.gov, a State Department website. "And they will intercept you right on the water and send you back home where you came from."
The Obama administration is allowing Haitians who were in the United States illegally on Jan. 12 to apply for temporary protected status. The status will allow Haitians to stay for 18 months and work while earthquake recovery continues in Haiti.
Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas said Tuesday applications can be filed Thursday when an official notice is published in the Federal Register.
Computer scammers solicit 'donations' for Haitian relief
Share
Yahoo! Buzz
Add to Mixx
Facebook
Twitter
More
Subscribe
myYahoo
iGoogle
More
By Jon Swartz, USA TODAY
SAN FRANCISCO — Scammers have descended on the Internet in an all-out effort to dupe people into sending them money intended for victims — this time, after the devastating earthquake in Haiti.
Amid warnings from the FBI and computer-security companies, a wave of dodgy e-mails and websites soliciting charitable donations has popped up.
Suspicious links to websites, for example, are up 400% in the past few days, says computer-security firm Proofpoint.
"People want to jump in and help others, and scammers take advantage of that," says Andy Hayter, anti-malware program manager at ICSA Labs.
A common swindle is e-mail that purports to come from the British Red Cross, seeking at least 250 British pounds. The e-mail includes the address of the Red Cross in London and implores that donations be wired there via Western Union. It also asks donors to reply in e-mail with details of their transaction.
But the e-mail contact for the British Red Cross is wrong, and the organization does not collect donations using Western Union, says Kevin Haley, director of Symantec Security Response.
Cybercrooks are also manipulating online searches so that results for terms such as "Haiti relief fund" and "Haiti donations" direct people to phishing sites or pages laden with malware, Haley says.
At the same time, computer-security firm F-Secure says hackers have fashioned fake donation sites that download viruses to the PCs of would-be-donors.
The FBI cautions consumers to "make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf."
E-mail security firm Goodmail Systems, meanwhile, is part of an industrywide initiative to ensure the e-mail of legitimate organizations, such as the Red Cross, isn't blocked inadvertently when security vendors filter bogus e-mail.
Online scams and disasters are not new. After hurricanes Katrina and Rita battered the Gulf Coast, so many misleading websites sprouted that the FBI joined the Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission and others in forming the Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force.
"The online Katrina scams seemed more focused on victimizing English-speaking users," says Alfred Huger, vice president of engineering at Immunet. "The Haitian disaster is attracting much broader global coverage, and we think it will also attract a larger multilingual scam effort."
Share
Yahoo! Buzz
Add to Mixx
More
Subscribe
myYahoo
iGoogle
More
By Jon Swartz, USA TODAY
SAN FRANCISCO — Scammers have descended on the Internet in an all-out effort to dupe people into sending them money intended for victims — this time, after the devastating earthquake in Haiti.
Amid warnings from the FBI and computer-security companies, a wave of dodgy e-mails and websites soliciting charitable donations has popped up.
Suspicious links to websites, for example, are up 400% in the past few days, says computer-security firm Proofpoint.
"People want to jump in and help others, and scammers take advantage of that," says Andy Hayter, anti-malware program manager at ICSA Labs.
A common swindle is e-mail that purports to come from the British Red Cross, seeking at least 250 British pounds. The e-mail includes the address of the Red Cross in London and implores that donations be wired there via Western Union. It also asks donors to reply in e-mail with details of their transaction.
But the e-mail contact for the British Red Cross is wrong, and the organization does not collect donations using Western Union, says Kevin Haley, director of Symantec Security Response.
Cybercrooks are also manipulating online searches so that results for terms such as "Haiti relief fund" and "Haiti donations" direct people to phishing sites or pages laden with malware, Haley says.
At the same time, computer-security firm F-Secure says hackers have fashioned fake donation sites that download viruses to the PCs of would-be-donors.
The FBI cautions consumers to "make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf."
E-mail security firm Goodmail Systems, meanwhile, is part of an industrywide initiative to ensure the e-mail of legitimate organizations, such as the Red Cross, isn't blocked inadvertently when security vendors filter bogus e-mail.
Online scams and disasters are not new. After hurricanes Katrina and Rita battered the Gulf Coast, so many misleading websites sprouted that the FBI joined the Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission and others in forming the Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force.
"The online Katrina scams seemed more focused on victimizing English-speaking users," says Alfred Huger, vice president of engineering at Immunet. "The Haitian disaster is attracting much broader global coverage, and we think it will also attract a larger multilingual scam effort."
Entradas
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario