WNU #1079: UN Admits—and Denies—Role in Haiti’s Cholera

Weekly News Update on the Americas
Issue #1079, May 8, 2011

1. Haiti: UN Admits--and Denies--Role in Cholera Deaths
2. Mexico: Rebels and Immigrants Join March Against “Drug War”
3. Mexico: LGBT Rights Activist Murdered in Guerrero
4. Puerto Rico: ACLU Delegation Criticizes Abuses
5. Latin America: May Day Marches Protest High Cost of Living
6. Links to alternative sources on: Latin America, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, Cuba, Haiti

ISSN#: 1084 922X. Weekly News Update on the Americas covers news from Latin America and the Caribbean, compiled and written from a progressive perspective. It has been published weekly by the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater New York since 1990. For a subscription, write to weeklynewsupdate [at] gmail.com . It is archived at http://weeklynewsupdate.blogspot.com/

*1. Haiti: UN Admits--and Denies--Role in Cholera Deaths
On May 3 a panel of four experts presented United Nations (UN) secretary general Ban Ki-moon with their report on the origin of the cholera epidemic that broke out in Haiti last October. As of Apr. 21 the disease had caused 4,575 deaths, according to the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP). Almost 300,000 people have contracted cholera, and the number is expected to rise as the rainy season starts.

The report, made public on May 4, agreed with most of the conclusions of Haitian and foreign observers who blame the outbreak on bad sanitation practices at a base operated by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), a 13,000-member military and police force that has occupied the country since June 2004 [see Update #1060]. [...]

Read the full Update:
http://weeklynewsupdate.blogspot.com/2011/05/wnu-1079-un-admitsand-deniesrole-in.html