Haiti to Ask for $3 Billion

Haiti Tourism Minister Patrick Delatour said his government will ask for $3 billion at an international donors conference in Montreal on Monday. Delatour was asked by Haitian President René Préval to draw up plans for rebuilding the country that was devastated by an earthquake Jan 12. Delatour said $2 billion would go to building housing for the hundreds of thousands left homeless. The rest would rebuild infrastructure—upgrading the seaport and three airports, and rebuilding government ministries. Representatives from 14 countries and the European Union are trying to figure out how to structure aid efforts to Haiti, which has long been plagued by political and natural disasters. (The crippled government has even considered moving the capital to a new city.) But expectations for the conference are limited—it’s just a one-day meeting meant to set up future talks, and there is no intent to draft a detailed plan for reconstruction.