UN defends cholera stance

United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon told members of the US Congress that the world body was committed to helping Haiti overcome a cholera epidemic, even though it is refusing to pay compensation to victims who blame UN peacekeepers for starting the outbreak.

Health chiefs say more than 657,000 people have fallen ill and more than 8,000 have died from cholera since it was probably introduced to Haiti by UN troops from Nepal in 2010.