Haiti what the Papers are Saying

The news story of the day has to be Haiti. I'm not going to do anything else this morning but round up what the papers are saying.

The Times calls Haiti the unluckiest country after it is struck by the 7.0 force earthquake while many parts of the country are still recovering for the 4 major tropical storm that hit the island in 2008.

President Préval, whose presidential palace was wrecked, described stepping over dead bodies in the parliament building and hearing the cries of those still trapped.

The Guardian leads with Préval's claim that the death toll could reach as much as 100,000 and quotes him saying:

"Parliament has collapsed. The tax office has collapsed. Schools have collapsed. Hospitals have collapsed. There are a lot of schools that have a lot of dead people in them. All of the hospitals are packed with people. It is a catastrophe."

The BBC tells of Haitians sleeping on the street last night for a second night either because they have no home to go to, or are scared of what the aftershocks will bring.

The Scotsman tells of how Haiti is now the focus of the world's attention and resources are being sent there

President Barack Obama was joined by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, international aid groups and the United Nations in promising large sums of money and expertise to rebuild the country.

Calling on all countries to join together to help Haiti, the United States president said: "We are reminded of the common humanity that we all share. We have to be there for them in their hour of need."

At the top of my side bar is the British Red Cross emergency appeal number. DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) will be launching theirs tomorrow across the channels.