Haiti

A federal judge in New York has agreed to hear oral arguments in a lawsuit filed against the United Nations by advocates for Haitian victims of the cholera epidemic that first appeared on the island four years ago.

Thousands of supporters of former president clash with officers as they march to mark 1991 coup in which he was ousted.

Mr Aristide faces charges of money laundering, but his supporters say the investigation is politically motivated.

Today the EU will approve a direct payment to the government of Haiti of €34 million in order to support ongoing reforms to modernise the state administration and the public finance management.

The Haitian government has announced a date for legislative elections, which are two years overdue. The first round will be held on 26 October 2014, but the second round still needs to be scheduled.

“Dialogue as means of agreement is a victory for Haiti,” said Sandra Honoré, head of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), as she hailed as an “unprecedented step in Haitian political history,” the launch of a dialogue among the Executive, the Parliament and political parties to discuss democratic governance, elections and amendment of the Constitution.

The United Nations is facing a huge new lawsuit over the outbreak of cholera in Haiti that has widely been blamed on its peacekeepers, after 1,500 Haitian victims and their family members sued the international body in a federal court in Brooklyn in a class action.

A UN-appointed expert has publicly disagreed with the world body and called for "full compensation" for the victims of a cholera epidemic in Haiti.

Thousands of Haitians took to the streets on Monday calling for President Michel Martelly to resign, and some protesters scuffled with police as international concern mounts over rising violence in the impoverished Caribbean nation.