PARIS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) confirmed Friday that all its 14 staff working in Haiti have survived Tuesday's major earthquake.
The UN body had earlier said eight staff members were unaccounted for. Now it turns out that those people are safe and sound.
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova called on the world community to offer urgent assistance to Haiti, saying it is time to show solidarity,
A large number of teachers and students have been injured or killed and school buildings seriously damaged in the quake, inflicting a great setback on the impoverished country, she said.
Bokova said UNESCO would mobilize all possible efforts to help Haiti reconstruct school infrastructure and restore education, noting that education is a priority in the country's reconstruction and development.
She also called on Haiti's neighboring countries and foreign universities to admit Haitian students.
Bokova said she would send special envoy Bernard Hadjadj to Haiti to evaluate quake losses and to see what could be done to facilitate relief work.
The UN body is also planning to offer psychological consultation services to Haitian teachers and students, and provide emergency assistance for local educational institutions.
The death toll from the 7.3-magnitude quake may reach 45,000, according to UN preliminary estimates.
UN seeks $562 mln to help Haiti earthquake victims
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Seven-year-old Stepanie lies injures in a makeshift hospital on a street in Port-au-Prince January 15, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations and its partners Friday appealed for 562 million U.S. dollars to help the victims of the devastating earthquake that jolted Haiti earlier this week, as the world body scales up its assistance in the wake of the disaster. Full story
UN chief to travel to Haiti Sunday: spokesman
UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel on Sunday to Haiti, which was devastated by a massive earthquake on Tuesday, his spokesman Martin Nesirky told Xinhua here Friday.
Nesirky said that the Secretary-General made the announcement during his meeting with Haitian staff at United Nations headquarters Friday to comfort them and to offer his condolences. Full story
UN chief to travel to Haiti to show solidarity with quake victims
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks to reporters at UN headquarters in New York, the United States, Jan. 15, 2010. The United Nations on Friday issued a flash appeal of 550 million U.S. dollars to provide emergency care to thousands of Haitians suffering from the fallout of Tuesday's earthquake that has devastated the country and created an epic humanitarian challenge.(Xinhua/Shen Hong)
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UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced here Friday that he will soon travel to Haiti, which was devastated by a massive earthquake earlier this week, to show solidarity with the people of the impoverished Caribbean nation. 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
Special Report: Strong Quake Rocks Haiti
