Int'l Donors to Meet in Montreal

Hanoi (VNA) – International donors are scheduled to meet in Montreal, Canada, on January 25 to discuss immediate moves for long-term reconstruction efforts for quake-devastated Haiti.

Earlier, the foreign ministers of the Bolivian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA)
gathered in Venezuela’s capital city of Caracas to seek ways to channel more
humanitarian relief into Haiti.

According to the Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, the ALBA will adopt mid- to
long-term strategies to help the Caribbean country’s rebuilding endeavours,
including the construction of hospitals, water supply facilities and foodstuff
processing plants.

The Haitian Culture and Communications Minister, Marie-Lawrence Jocelyn Lassegue, on
Jan. 24, reported that the death toll from the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit
Haiti on Jan. 12 had climbed to 150,000.

She also feared that another 200,000 people could be dead under the rubble of
wrecked buildings.

On Jan. 24, a mild earthquake measuring 4.7 in magnitude hit an area around 30 km
west of Haiti’s capital city of Port-au-Prince.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the new quake.-Enditem