In news from Haiti, Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday openly questioned whether President Aristide can continue to serve effectively as Haiti’s leader. Powell said “He is the democratically elected president, but he has had difficulties in his presidency.” Powell’s comments came a day after French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin called on Aristide to resign. In a live interview on CNN yesterday, Aristide said he would not step down and called for a small international force to be deployed to the country saying as little as “a couple of dozen” soldiers could prompt the rebels to stand down. Meanwhile, the number of Haitians fleeing the country has escalated. The Coast Guard says it has intercepted 546 people at sea over the past three to four days.