Dogs with the Spanish rescue team wait to enter Haiti after their arrival in Santo Domingo, capital of Dominican Republic, Jan. 13, 2010. (Xinhua/David de la Paz) Photo Gallery>>>

China delivers aid, rescue team to quake-hit Haiti

Members of a Chinese rescue team with sniffer dogs are ready to board a plane leaving for quake-hit Haiti, at the Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 13, 2010. A 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on Tuesday local time, collapsing a hospital and damaging government buildings in its capital city of Port-au-Prince. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- China sent an emergency rescue team Wednesday evening to quake-hit Haiti, where several thousands of lives may have been claimed.

    Chinese leadership expressed sympathy with and deep condolence to the Haitian people for their loss in the strongest ever quake in about 200 years in the Caribbean islands country, with which China has no diplomatic relations. Full story

China donates $1 mln to quake-hit Haiti

    BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Red Cross Society of China has decided to donate one million U.S. dollars of emergency aid to quake-hit Haiti, said a statement from the State Council on Wednesday.

    A 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on Tuesday local time, collapsing a hospital and damaging government buildings in its capital city of Port-au-Prince. Full story

World Bank to provide additional emergency aid to Haiti

    WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank said Wednesday it will provide an additional 100 million U.S. dollars in emergency grant funding to support recovery and reconstruction in Haiti in response to a magnitude-7.0 earthquake that caused extensive damage and casualties in the Caribbean nation on Tuesday.

    "This is a shocking event and it is crucial that the international community supports the Haitian people at this critical time," a World Bank press release quoted bank group President Robert B. Zoellick as saying. Full story

16 UN staffers confirmed dead in Haiti: Ban

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said here Wednesday that 16 UN staffers were confirmed dead in Haiti in the wake of Tuesday's devastating earthquake.

    The 16 include 11 Brazilians, one Argentine, three Jordanian police officers, and one Chadian officer, said Ban.Full story

Earthquake crushes thousands of buildings in Haiti

    SANTO DOMINGO, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- A major earthquake rocked Haiti on Tuesday, crushing thousands of buildings, including the presidential palace and the U.N. peacekeeping headquarters, and trapping untold numbers of people in the rubble of the capital city.

    The devastation from the magnitude-7.3 quake, the strongest ever recorded on the poor Caribbean island, was so complete that it seemed likely the death toll would run into the thousands, according to reports monitored here. Full story

"Scale of catastrophe in Haiti is very high," says UN peacekeeping chief   

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations deals with humanitarian crises all the time but the devastating earthquake in Haiti has stricken especially close to home, said the head of UN peacekeeping forces Alain Le Roy here Wednesday.

    With the number of fatalities among UN staff members rising, LeRoy said the emotion is "extremely high." Full story

Over 100 UN personnel trapped in collapsed headquarters in Haiti earthquake

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- A total of 100 to 150 UN personnel were trapped under the rubble of the main building of the UN mission in Port au Prince, Haiti, which collapsed in a powerful earthquake, UN officials said Wednesday.

    The UN staff members were still working at the headquarters of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) when the earthquake struck, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters at UN Headquarters. Full story