International Donors Promise $324 Million to Haiti
Foreign countries and lending institutions pledged to give Haiti $324 million as part of a two-year aid package set to stimulate the nation’s struggling economy, reports Agence France Presse. About 70 percent of the country’s population is unemployed and currently ranks as the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. The Haitian government, along with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), organized the conference, where the nation’s officials also presented their plans for the money. The plan “could generate as many as 150,000 jobs over the next two years” with infrastructure and energy projects that will make the nation more agriculturally self-sufficient, said the statement. About 20 countries and institutions came to the conference. Among the major contributors were the United States, which pledged $57 million aid money for Haiti; France, which will give $40 million this year; and the World Bank, which is set to give Haiti an extra $20 million this year and is looking to cancel out the nation’s debt. A breakdown of each nation’s contributions was not provided. The aid pledged, according to the IDB, is on top of what donors worldwide are providing the country. “This fresh assistance complements the financing previously committed by international community partners, who are currently supporting projects totaling three billion dollars in Haiti,” the group said in a statement. Haiti saw a very difficult 2008, suffering four back-to-back tropical storms, food protests and school collapses.
China Names First Black Olympic Athlete

Ding Hui, a 19-year-old volleyball player, has become the first Black athlete to be asked to play for China in the Olympics, reports London’s Daily Telegraph newspaper. The athlete was named one of 18 men on the national team’s training squad and would make his Olympic debut in London’s 2012 games. Click for more.

TAGS: China, Ding Hui, haiti, poor nation, Western Hemisphere

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