[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/09/art.amanpour.writer.jpg caption="Sr. Writer Tom Evans"]
On AMANPOUR. today, we examine Haiti’s history of poverty and government instability in the wake of the devastating earthquake. Will the aid efforts be just a temporary fix or might they provide long term promise for a country that has so much recent experience of natural disasters? We also update the story from Iran of the suspicious death of Dr Ramin Pourandarjani, who refused to sign death certificates at the prison in Tehran where he worked. Kahrizak prison has such an appalling record of human rights abuses that it was recently shut down by the Iranian government. The son of a powerful, pro-government politician was beaten to death there, prompting a rare official investigation into alleged abuses. The investigation though failed to report on the circumstances surrounding Dr. Pourandarjani’s death, which highlights the ongoing tug of war between the different factions within Iran’s government. Now here are some perspectives on some of the top stories today.
Tom Evans; Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR
HAITI – Will international aid reach survivors of Haiti’s earthquake before they start to vent their anger and frustration on the streets?
– reports of rising tension in Port-au-Prince, looting of some food warehouses, and even some Haitians forming barricades from bodies
– relief workers beginning to arrive, but big issue is getting supplies (water, food, medicine) to worst affected areas
– major problem is debris on the roads which is blocking the distribution of aid
QUESTION: When will heavy lifting equipment arrive in Port-au-Prince and when will it get on the ruined capital’s streets?
DRONE ATTACK – Did a suspected U.S. drone attack wound the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan?
– sources in Pakistan say the leader of the Taliban there, Hakimullah Mehsud, was wounded in Thursday’s suspected drone attack, one day after he was reported to be unhurt
– Taliban source says Mehsud moved to a “safe area” and is being treated by doctors
– drone attack, which killed 10 militants at a training camp, came two weeks after suicide bomber killed eight people at a CIA base in eastern Afghanistan
QUESTION: Is U.S. targeting leaders of Pakistan Taliban, as well as leaders of Taliban in Afghanistan and Al Qaeda?
DOOMSDAY CLOCK – How safe is the world from Armageddon?
– scientists move symbolic “Doomsday Clock” back a minute and it is now set at six minutes to midnight (with midnight representing a nuclear apocalypse)
– Bulletin of Atomic Scientists taking a more optimistic view of the world’s chances of avoiding nuclear catastrophe, in part because U.S. President Barack Obama says he is trying to rid the world of nuclear weapons
– closest clock has been to midnight was 1953 to 1960 during the height of the Cold War, when it was two minutes to midnight. The farthest was 17 minutes to midnight between 1991 and 1995 after Cold War
QUESTION: Will world leaders live up to their promises to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons?