The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (also known as MINUSTAH) has been in the country since the 2004 Haiti Rebellion.

2010 earthquake
Main article: 2010 Haiti earthquake
On January 12, 2010, at 21:53 UTC, Haiti was struck by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, the country's most severe earthquake in over 200 years.[28] The epicenter of the quake was just off the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, sparking a tsunami watch for parts of the Caribbean, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.[29]

Widespread damage resulted from the quake, with a majority of buildings collapsing due to poor structural design. The capital city was devastated. The Presidential Palace was badly damaged, with the second floor entirely collapsing onto the first floor; the Haitan Parliment building and the National Cathedral were also destroyed. The quake had a reported magnitude of 7.0, with the focus being about 6 miles (10 km) underground, according to the USGS. A tsunami watch was posted for Haiti and parts of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas, but the watch was later canceled.

The morning following the quake (January 13, 2010), Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said, in a live interview on CNN, that he estimated the death toll of the disaster to be "hundreds of thousands of people." When re-questioned by anchor Tony Harris (because it sounded like he might have said "hundreds OR thousands"), Bellerive re-stated "more than one hundred thousand dead."

The World Bank announced that its offices in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince collapsed, adding that it confirmed as safe "most" employees. Still, the Bank announced its readiness to mobilize a team to assess the damage and plan the "reconstruction" of the country.[citation needed]

The UN Building hosting the stabilization mission for Haiti (MINUSTAH) also suffered collapse, concentrating early UN rescue efforts on their own personnel. An estimated 200 UN workers are currently missing and 5 confirmed dead (January 13).[30]

The head of the UN Mission to Haiti as well as the Catholic archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Monsignor Joseph Serge Miot, have been reported to be among the dead.[31]

Doctors Without Borders confirmed that 3 of their aid centers were rendered inoperable because of the earthquake, leaving many injured Haitians without care. So far, no large foreign aid teams have arrived in Haiti, though some smaller ones have.

Based on the latest reports from the officials more than 50,000 are feared to be dead and many more injured.

Politics
Main article: Politics of Haiti
See also: Elections in Haiti, National Assembly of Haiti, President of Haiti, and Military of Haiti
The government of Haiti is a semi-presidential republic, pluriform multiparty system wherein the President of Haiti is head of state directly elected by popular elections.[citation needed] The Prime Minister acts as head of government and is appointed by the President from the majority party in the National Assembly. Executive power is exercised by the President and Prime Minister who together constitute the government.

Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the National Assembly of Haiti. The government is organized unitarily, thus the central government delegates powers to the departments without a constitutional need for consent. The current structure of Haiti's political system was set forth in the Constitution of Haiti on 29 March 1987. The current president is René Préval.

Haitian politics have been contentious. Most Haitians are aware of Haiti's history as the only country in the Western Hemisphere to undergo a successful slave revolution. On the other hand, the long history of oppression by dictators, including François Duvalier, has markedly affected the nation. France and the United States have repeatedly intervened in Haitian politics since the country's founding, sometimes at the request of one party or another. People's awareness of the threat of such intervention also permeates national life.[citation needed]

The country has a particularly high level of corruption.

end 本文章来自互联网收集，主要来自百度百科与维基百科，英语作文网为宣传之用。不涉及版权问题。