Haiti

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Gangs Burn Down Famous Haitian Hotel

The Grand Hotel Oloffson was inspiration for hotel in Grahame Greene novel

(Newser) - Haiti's once-illustrious Grand Hotel Oloffson, a beloved Gothic gingerbread home that inspired books, hosted parties until dawn, and attracted visitors from Mick Jagger to Haitian presidents, was burned down by gangs over the weekend. Hundreds of Haitians and foreigners mourned the news as it spread across social media, with...

In Haiti's Gang-Run Capital, Risk of 'Total Collapse'

Criminal gangs could take full control without international help, say UN officials

(Newser) - Haiti's gangs have gained "near-total control" of the capital and authorities are unable to stop escalating violence across the impoverished Caribbean nation, senior UN officials warned Wednesday. An estimated 90% of the capital Port-au-Prince is now under control of criminal groups who are expanding attacks not only into...

Report: Haiti Has Hired Blackwater Founder

Sources say Erik Prince is part of task force deploying drones to kill gang members

(Newser) - In its battle against the gangs that have plunged the country into chaos, Haiti has turned to American security contractors—including the founder of the notorious Blackwater Worldwide. The New York Times, citing security experts and Haitian and American government sources, reports that Erik Prince is among the contractors hired...

Haiti Pledges to 'Annihilate' Gang After Massacre in Slum

Leader blamed witchcraft for his son's illness, human rights group says

(Newser) - About 180 people were slaughtered by a gang in a Port-au-Prince slum over the weekend, mostly residents over 60, and Haiti's government has promised retribution. A human rights group reports that a gang leader ordered the killings in Cite Soleil on the suspicion that witchcraft had made his child...

FAA Bans US Airlines From Flying to Haiti

30-day ban issued after bullets hit Spirit Airlines, JetBlue planes

(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday that it will prohibit US airlines from flying to Haiti for 30 days after gangs shot a Spirit Airlines plane . Bullets hit the Spirit plane when it was about to land Monday in the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, injuring a flight attendant and forcing...

Passenger Describes Bullets Hitting Plane Above Haiti

A Spirit Airlines jet was hit, and then one from JetBlue

(Newser) - It turns out that two passenger planes were struck by gunfire over Haiti on Monday—first, a Spirit Airlines jet , and then a second from JetBlue. Not surprisingly, both airlines have canceled flights to and from the country for the time being, reports Reuters . American Airlines has done the same....

Gunfire Hits Airliner Over Haiti, Injuring Crew Member
Gunfire Hits Airliner Over Haiti
Nov 11, 2024 4:42 PM CST

Gunfire Hits Airliner Over Haiti

Flights are canceled, and the State Department issues an alert to Americans

(Newser) - Gunfire struck an airliner over Haiti's capital on Monday, injuring a flight attendant and prompting airlines to cancel flights to the country. Spirit Airlines said its flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Port-au-Prince was diverted to the Dominican Republic, where an inspection found damage to the plane consistent with...

More Turmoil Hits Haiti
More Turmoil Hits Haiti
Nov 11, 2024 1:00 AM CST

More Turmoil Hits Haiti

Transition council fires, replaces prime minister

(Newser) - A transitionary council created to reestablish democratic order in Haiti signed a decree Sunday firing interim Prime Minister Garry Conille and replacing him with Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, a businessman who was previously considered for the job, the AP reports. The decree, set to be published on Monday, was provided to...

Haitian Gang Opens Fire in Town at 3am, Killing 70

Prime minister decries 'odious crime'

(Newser) - At least 70 people, three of them infants, were killed in a small town in Haiti when gang members with automatic rifles opened fire on residents, United Nations officials said Friday. At least 50 others were reported to be seriously injured. The gang set dozens of houses and vehicles on...

Those Springfield Rumors Reach the UN

In speech to General Assembly, Haitian official thanks residents helping his nation's migrants

(Newser) - A strange moment in American politics emerged at the UN General Assembly on Thursday, courtesy of a top Haitian official. Edgard Leblanc Fils, the president of Haiti's transitional council, spoke to world leaders about gang violence in his country and bemoaned the large number of citizens fleeing the violence....

UN Assesses Total Displaced by Gang Crisis

Refugees from Haiti's capital are overwhelming other provinces

(Newser) - Surging violence in Haiti from clashes with armed gangs since March has displaced nearly 580,000 people, according to a new report from the UN migration agency, a figure that underscores the magnitude of the Caribbean nation's crisis. Haiti has long faced unrest, but at the end of February,...

Finally, Haiti Has a New Prime Minister

He 'has an arduous task ahead of him,' facing rampant gang violence, deep poverty, inflation

(Newser) - UN development specialist Garry Conille was named Haiti's new prime minister Tuesday evening, nearly a month after a coalition within a fractured transitional council sought to choose someone else for the position, the AP reports. The long-awaited move comes as gangs continue to terrorize the capital of Port-au-Prince, opening...

Daughter of Missouri Lawmaker Killed in Haiti

Ben Baker's daughter Natalie Lloyd and husband Davy ambushed by gangs in Port-au-Prince

(Newser) - The UN estimates 2,500 people have been hurt or killed during the first quarter of this year amid the ongoing gang violence in Haiti, and now, a Missouri state lawmaker has received tragic news of his own out of the island nation, per KOAM . "My heart is broken...

Embattled PM of Haiti Calls It Quits
Embattled PM
of Haiti Calls It Quits
Apr 25, 2024 10:00 AM CDT

Embattled PM of Haiti Calls It Quits

Ariel Henry will step aside, clearing the way for a new government in violence-torn country

(Newser) - Ariel Henry resigned Thursday as prime minister of Haiti, clearing the way for a new government to be formed in the Caribbean country, which has been wracked by gang violence that has killed or injured more than 2,500 people from January to March. Henry presented his resignation in a...

In Haiti, 'Everything Is Crashing'
In Haiti, 'Everything Is Crashing'
Apr 24, 2024 8:29 AM CDT

In Haiti, 'Everything Is Crashing'

Health care system nears collapse as gangs attack hospitals, medical supplies dwindle

(Newser) - On a recent morning at a hospital in the heart of gang territory in Haiti's capital, a woman began convulsing as a doctor and two nurses raced to save her. They stuck electrodes to her chest and flipped on an oxygen machine while keeping their eyes on a computer...

UN: Situation in Haiti Is 'Cataclysmic'

The 'numbers are all going very much in the wrong direction, very quickly'

(Newser) - The situation in Haiti is "cataclysmic," according to a United Nations Human Rights Office report , with more than 1,500 people killed so far this year in gang violence in a country of 11.5 million people. UN human rights expert William O'Neill said Thursday that the...

Americans Flee Haiti: 'You Can Only Imagine' the Suffering

State Department starts flying US citizens out, but the Americans will have to pay for the flights

(Newser) - A charter flight carrying dozens of US citizens fleeing spiraling gang violence in Haiti landed Sunday in Miami, per the AP . Nearly 50 Americans were on the government-chartered flight, reports CBS News . The flight arrived at the Miami International Airport after the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince earlier this month urged...

4M in Haiti Need Food, Aid Groups Say

Gangs are blocking aid distribution as crowds rush shelters

(Newser) - A crowd of about 100 people tried to shove through a metal gate in Haiti's capital as a guard with a baton pushed them back, threatening to hit them. Undeterred, children and adults, some carrying babies, kept elbowing each other trying to enter. "Let us in! We're...

X Yanks 'Very Graphic' Video Posted by Elon Musk

His clip purporting to show cannibalism taking place in Haiti violated 'the X Rules'

(Newser) - A video that Elon Musk shared on the social media platform he owns was taken down, by the social media platform he owns. Per Bloomberg , Musk had spotted a story by NBC News that took him and right-wing influencers to task for spreading "propaganda" about the current crisis in...

Mitch Albom Among 10 People Evacuated From Haiti

They were taken by helicopter amid country's unrest

(Newser) - Author and Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom and nine others have been rescued by helicopter from Haiti after becoming stranded in the poverty-stricken and violence-torn Caribbean nation while visiting an orphanage. The group was forced to shelter inside the Have Faith Haiti Mission & Orphanage in Port-au-Prince for more...

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