BRUSSELS, Belgium, Dec. 23 -- The United Nations Regional Information Center for Western Europe issued the following news: The decade began with an immense disaster in Haiti, already the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. A devastating, 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the island on January 12, killing hundreds and thousands of people (220,000 according to Haitian Government figures), and causing severe damage to buildings. A week after the tragedy, the Security Council authorized an incre  more