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UN General Assembly urges int'l support for Haiti

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-23 01:14
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UNITED NATIONS: The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Friday calling on the international community to provide "speedy, sustainable and adequate" support for quake-hit Haiti.

Approving the resolution by consensus, the 192-member body called for early international response to the UN flash appeal of 562 million U.S. dollars for Haiti.

The General Assembly urged UN chief Ban Ki-moon and all relevant UN bodies and international financial institutions and development agencies to "continued effective humanitarian, technical and financial assistance."

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Speaking to the assembly plenary session, Ban said that at least 70 UN staff had been killed and 146 were as yet unaccounted for.

"But we must expect that the death toll will continue to rise," he said.

According to government estimates, at least 75,000 people have been killed, 200,000 were injured and one million have been displaced.

More than 50 rescue teams from around the world have rescued 123 people alive from the rubble, Ban said.

"Food, water, medicine, and shelter are all in short supply. Three million people need help. Two million people require food assistance. One million people are homeless," the secretary-general said.