• The exodus begins:

More than 500 Haitian refugees are being held aboard Coast Guard cutters at sea as the U.S. government girds for a new wave of refugees seeking to cross 600 miles of ocean from the strife-torn nation to America. Plucked from a dozen boats in the Windward Pass northwest of Haiti, where Haitian boat people historically have begun the treacherous journey to the United States, the refugees were described by U.S. authorities as the first of many who will seek to escape an expected rebel assault on the capital, Port-au-Prince.

• Rebels approach capital:

Rebels who have launched a bloody uprising took control of another town Friday, closing in on the capital as President Jean-Bertrand Aristide appealed for foreign peacekeepers and the country lurched toward chaos.

• Black Caucus calls for troops:

Black lawmakers are calling on President George W. Bush to send 250 to 400 troops as part of an international force to "restore the rule of law" in Haiti and protect the fragile democracy there. "We want to see the government stabilized in Haiti," said Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, in a telephone interview yesterday

• UNSC considers sending forces:

The United Nations Security Council said it will consider sending an international peacekeeping force to Haiti as the U.S. questioned whether President Jean Bertrand Aristide should remain in office. The Council late yesterday expressed ``deep concern'' over the violence in Haiti and pledged to ``consider urgently options for international engagement, including that of sending an international force'' to support a political settlement.

• France urges Aristide to step down:

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told a Haitian government delegation on Friday that President Jean-Bertrand Aristide should quit as part of efforts to end a bloody rebellion in France's former colony.

Villepin made the appeal during one hour of talks with a team led by Haitian Foreign Minister Joseph Philippe Antonio, the ministry said in a written statement.

"The minister recalled that President Aristide bears a heavy responsibility in the current situation and that he should draw the conclusions from the impasse," the statement said.