(2 Dec 2004)

1. Various of UN Helicopter hovering
2. UN Helicopter lands
3. US soldier standing with gun
4. Various of UN Helicopter on ground, AUDIO gunfire
5. Zoom into UN peacekeepers on truck with guns
6. Soldiers on the ground taking cover behind truck (shaky cam)
7. US Secretary of State Colin Powell and President Boniface Alexandre enter room, shake hands
8. Zoom into Powell seated at the head of a conference table
9. Officials sitting at table (shaky cam)
10. US Secretary of State Colin Powell seated with Haiti's interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue, stand shake hands
11. US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Haiti's interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue walk to podium
12. Media
13. Powell speaking at podium
14. Powell, Latortue and officials walk down stairs
15. Powell poses for photo opportunity with officials in front of World Aids Day booth

STORYLINE:

UN troops fired shots in the air on Wednesday, blocks away from the National Palace where US Secretary of State Colin Powell was to meet with Haitian political leaders and opponents of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Spokesman for the UN peacekeeping troops, Damian Onses Cardona said it was not clear whether Powell was in the palace when people fired shots from a car passing through the Aristide stronghold of Bel Air - several blocks away from the palace.

As soon as the shots were fired, Jordanian police in a UN peacekeeping force rushed to the gritty neighbourhood off the main square where the palace is located and fired shots in the air.

There were no injuries. It was unclear if any one was arrested.

Several UN tanks arrived to patrol the road in front of the palace.

Powell's meeting with interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue and President Boniface Alexandre was moved to another room inside the building.

In Washington, a State Department official said Powell's meetings were shifted to new locations because of the shooting.

The official, asking not to be identified, said Powell's schedule of meetings remained unchanged.

Besides Alexandre and Latortue, Powell met with leaders from various civil and political groups in Haiti, most of whom opposed Aristide, who was
ousted in February.

Powell was instrumental in the removal of Aristide and the installation of a caretaker government that promised a rapid return to true democratic rule.

Powell went to Haiti to reaffirm US support for democracy, review American efforts to help the country overcome recent natural disasters, and
commemorate World AIDS Day by meeting with young Haitians who receive and provide HIV/AIDS support services.

In the fiscal year that ended in September, the United States committed $20 million to Haiti to support a treatment, care and prevention program for
HIV/AIDS. About 5 percent of the population of 8 million is estimated to be infected with HIV/AIDS, the highest rate in the Western Hemisphere.

Latortue was placed in charge of the interim Haitian government after bands of rebels and former soldiers launched a three-week rebellion in
February that ended with Aristide's ouster and the arrival of a Us-led peacekeeping force. The force is now led by Brazil.

Latortue has promised to hold free elections next year, but Aristide's followers and some outside relief and religious groups doubt his sincerity.

The trip was Powell's second to Haiti in eight months. He also visited in April, five weeks after Aristide fled the country amid charges by Aristide and others that the Bush administration coerced him to leave.

The administration says Aristide departed voluntarily.

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