NPR 2010-01-19

Thousands of Haitian earthquake survivors 1 have been trying to leave Port-Au-Prince today after giving up on waiting for emergency food and water there. Most buses out are packed and some have reportedly doubled their fares. The United Nations World Food Program says it plans to distribute 200 tons of emergency food supplies in Haiti today, enough to feed 95,000 people, but hundreds of thousands are in need. Tim Callahan, who heads a US Agency for International Development Team says his group is bringing in medical kits 3 from the World Health Organization.

"We are bringing in several of those and I believe each kit 2 has enough medical supplies for approximately 10,000 people for three months."

The US ambassador to Haiti Kenneth Merten told NBC today that the security situation in Port-Au-Prince while not perfect is stable for now.

"Our troop is standing 4 by in cases where neither the Haitian police nor the UN troops can provide security, but so far in most cases the Haitian police and the UN forces have been able to, to handle the situation."

But UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked the Security Council to increase by 2,500 the number of UN Security Forces and peacekeeping troops in Haiti.

European Union nations have boosted their pledges of assistance to Haiti including an agreement to forgive some of that country's debt. Teri Schultz reports from Brussels.

The EU wants to send a message to Haiti it would not be forgotten after this first rush of assistance. The 27 member states pledged 132 million dollars in immediate 5 aid complemented 6 by triple that amount from the European Commission. But Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton who convened 7 this emergency summit of development ministers says she’s also talking to the US and other partners about putting together a donors 8 conference.

"We need to put it together, do it at the right time and make sure it is about supporting Haiti for both medium and the long term."

In addition, EU members are looking at staffing a police force of about 150 people to help with security on the ground in Haiti, a request put forward by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. For NPR News, I’m Teri Schultz Brussels.

A French government official has complained after US forces at the airport in Haiti turned away two supply flights from a group in France. Eleanor Beardsley reports

One French government minister called on the UN to clarify the US role in Haiti, saying that international aid efforts were about helping 9 Haiti not occupying it. His comments came after US forces over the weekend turned back a French aid plane carrying a field hospital. The US military controls the damaged, congested airport in the Haitian capital Port-Au-Prince where only one runway is functioning. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, a former humanitarian 10 worker and founder 11 of Doctors Without Borders, warned the governments and aid agencies not to compete with one another. Kouchner said people always wanted it to be their plane that lands but what's important is the fate of the Haitians. For NPR News I am Eleanor Beardsley in Paris.

The stock market is closed today.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Taliban militants 12 wearing explosive vests staged a series of attacks on government targets in Afghanistan’s capital today. Gun battles raged for hours, paralyzing the city. At least a dozen people were killed, most of them attackers and dozens of others were wounded. The assault came as Afghan President Hamid Karzai was swearing in cabinet members inside the heavily fortified 13 presidential palace.

Foreign journalists in China say that their Google email accounts have been infiltrated 14. Google last week threatened to shut down its China-based operations following similar breaches 15 of security. NPR’s Anthony Kuhn has more from Beijing.

The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China sent emails to its members on Monday, warning them to be on guard against malicious 16 links and attachments 17 in their emails. It said that reporters in at least two news bureaus found that their Gmail accounts have been hacked 18 into and data forwarded into unfamiliar 19 recipients 20. The FCC didn’t say whose accounts were compromised, but the Associated Press identified one of their reporters as theirs. The attacks were apparently 21 similar to those which prompted Google to threaten its pullout. Human rights groups and foreign journalists in China were targeted by virus bearing emails after riots in Tibet in 2008 and protests during the Olympic torch relay. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Beijing.

The man who shot and wounded Pope John Paul in 1981 was freed from jail today after spending nearly 30 years behind bars in Italy and Turkey. In a written statement, Mehmet Ali Agca called himself a messenger of God. Agca's bullets caused wounds to Pope John Paul’s stomach, hand, and an arm, but the pontiff met with him two years after the attack in an Italian prison and forgave him.

I’m Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.