U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “recommended a 15 percent reduction in the number of U.N. troops in Haiti on Tuesday and an examination of whether the beleaguered peacekeeping operation remains the best way to support the impoverished Caribbean nation,” the Associated Press reports. “The force has been under intense scrutiny for years and is widely blamed for a massive cholera outbreak likely introduced by a U.N. peacekeeping battalion from Nepal,” the news agency writes, adding, “Ban, in a report to the Security Council, said he intends to hold talks with the government of Haiti and other nations ‘to explore the best way for the United Nations to continue contributing towards greater stability and development in the country.'” He also “urged international donors to ensure the funds and expertise required to eradicate cholera in Haiti, which he called ‘a challenging task requiring a long-term commitment,'” according to the AP. A report from Yale Law School and Yale School of Public Health earlier this month said evidence shows peacekeeping forces brought cholera to the island nation and the U.N. should take responsibility, but Ban “maintains the U.N. enjoys legal immunity from such claims,” the news agency notes (Lederer, 8/20).