Regional News

More than 1,000 people have marched in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince in protest at government plans to clear poor neighbourhoods. Police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters, some of whom chanted threats to burn down affluent neighbourhoods. The government says their homes, perched precariously on steep hillsides, are at risk from landslides. The residents say they cannot afford to live anywhere else. The eviction plans are part of a government flood-control project. An official from the environment ministry, Pierre Andre Gedon, said the government would build channels and reforest the hillsides in Jalousie in an attempt to curb the flooding which affects the capital in the rainy season.