A member of the Massachusetts congressional delegation is "deeply concerned" about the developing electoral crisis in Haiti and wants assurances from Secretary of State John Kerry that he will "make every effort possible" to support free and fair electio
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Haiti is reporting its first cases of a mosquito-borne virus that is rapidly spreading in the Americas and is suspected of causing over 3,500 birth defects in Brazil.
Read moreCelestin accuses US of double-standard in pushing for election
PORT-AU-PRINCE— Haiti's opposition candidate for president is warning that if a runoff is held next weekend as scheduled it will be a big step back for the country's fragile democracy and lead to increased turmoil in the sharply divided nation.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Jude Celestin said he has such deep concerns about vote-rigging and a lack of transparency by Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council that he is boycotting a Jan. 24 presidential runoff. His party will not send any monitors to polling stations.
Read morePORT-AU-PRINCE — Campaigning for Haiti's presidential runoff election kicked off Friday, though it appears there is only one candidate who will actively participate.
Government-backed contender Jovenel Moise, a little-known agricultural entrepreneur who led a crowded field of 54 candidates with nearly 33 percent of the vote in the Oct. 25 first round, attracted roughly 1,500 people to his first rally Friday evening. Big speakers pumped out bass-heavy songs featuring his campaign moniker, "Neg Bannann'' — Banana Man in Haitian Creole — and a group of women wore yellow banana costumes.
Read moreSANTO DOMINGO — Cresnel Ceus no longer lives in the shadows. For the first time in 15 years, the Haitian migrant can move about this country without fear of being detained at any moment.
Read morePORT-AU-PRINCE— A commission probing Haiti's disputed presidential election reported Sunday that a first-round vote was plagued by irregularities, but indicated a final run-off can take place as scheduled in two weeks.
Read morePORT-AU-PRINCE—A decision to postpone a presidential runoff in Haiti could help the leading candidate address what may be his greatest liability: Most voters know hardly anything about him.
Ads for Jovenel Moise have blanketed Haitian TV and radio for weeks and he has held rallies across the country. Social media users have been bombarded with campaign pitches and slick images of him working at a banana exporting venture or decorating a Christmas tree with his family.
Yet few feel they know the political newcomer, a businessman who had never run for office until he was hand-picked by outgoing President Michel Martelly.
Read morePORT-AU-PRINCE— President Michel Martelly is defending much-criticized elections in divided Haiti and asserts that the opposition has spread unsubstantiated allegations about widespread electoral fraud purely to strengthen its position.
During an interview with The Associated Press, Martelly said he believed that disputed official results showing the government-backed candidate topped October's first round presidential vote was a genuine reflection of voters' will.
Read moreHaitian authorities on Monday postponed presidential and legislative runoffs set for this weekend, saying they needed to wait for recommendations from a special commission tasked with evaluating the country's widely criticized electoral process.
Read moreThe Boston Redevelopment Authority’s 2015 report on Boston by the Numbers paints a picture of a rapidly growing city, diverse in age, race, and o
Read moreAdvocates raise alarm over higher income thresholds in Dot, Mattapan
Mayor Martin Walsh will sign an executive order today that will create a new tri-tiered system to build and fund new units of affordable housing in the city of Boston.
The mayor and his policy advisors briefed reporters Tuesday on the revision of the city’s Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP), which has helped to create thousands of affordable units of housing since 2000.
The new iteration of the IDP – which will go into effect on New Year’s Day – mandates that developers of housing with 10 or more units set aside a percentage of those units for low or moderate-income residents – or “cash-out” by paying into a citywide fund that subsidizes low- and moderate-income housing projects.
The Mattahunt Wheelock Partnership is expanding its cross-sector collaborative partnership for Haitian parent engagement to provide Haitian parents with the tools and the resources needed to become effective, vocal advocates for their children in Mattapan. This initiative is built on the success of the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC)'s English for New Bostonians program and uses a comprehensive family-centered approach to replicate that successful effort to the Haitian immigrant population in the Mattapan area.
Read morePORT-AU-PRINCE— A young man stands on a busy street corner in the Haitian capital wearing the campaign logo of one presidential candidate on his sweat-soaked T-shirt, the name of another emblazoned on his sunglasses while he passes out flyers on behalf o
Read morePORT-AU-PRINCE— Haiti's voters have spoken. But nobody's quite sure what they've said.
Read moreJetBlue Airways is doubling down on its US-Haiti routes, adding bigger planes to its New York and Florida gateways and planning three-day-a-week summer season flights direct from Boston beginning next June.
Read moreUNITED NATIONS — The U.N. secretary-general is recommending that the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti stay for another year — which might be its final one.
Read morePORT-AU-PRINCE— U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stopped in Haiti's capital on Oct. 6 to discuss preparations for the country's upcoming elections and encourage people to refrain from disrupting balloting after a messy parliamentary first round in August.
Read more"There are so many candidates it's impossible to focus on it all and see if a few might actually have good ideas. Right now, this whole thing really gives me a headache,'' secretary Germithe Merzilus said with an exasperated sigh as a group of partisans walked by in matching T-shirts touting a campaign.
Read moreBostonians who hope to become US citizens will get an assist this month from city officials who are teaming up with a non-profit organization to help streamline the naturalization process.
Read moreYves Dambreville was a kaleidoscope of identities -- Boston police officer, community liaison, Haitian, American, veteran, family man. The 66-year-old former officer was shot and killed in Port-au-Prince Wednesday, according to the U.S. Department of State.
Dambreville, a 33-year veteran of the police force and a committed advocate for the Haitian and larger Caribbean communities, has left behind a legacy of cultural outreach, friends and coworkers said.
“We extend our sincere condolences to his friends and family,” the State Department wrote in a statement. The department said it was “providing all appropriate consular services,” but declined to provide further information, citing privacy concerns.
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