aid

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India Struggles to Save Millions in Flood

Villagers turning desperate, living on uncooked rice and polluted water

(Newser) - Rescue helicopters are trying to save villagers in India after a dam flooded thousands of towns this month, killing 85, displacing 2 million, and wrecking a quarter-million acres of farmland, the Daily Telegraph reports. Torrential rain kept helicopters grounded for most of yesterday as one boat capsized, killing 20. “...

Casino Panel Snagged Aid Intended for Katrina Victims

FEMA sat on donated goods for 2 years, then gave them to state agencies

(Newser) - Household goods donated to help Hurricane Katrina victims instead ended up in the hands of 11 state agencies, including a gaming commission, CNN reports. FEMA stored 121 truckloads of items two years before handing them over to agencies like the Mississippi Gaming Commission. Leaders of groups helping Katrina victims were...

Burma Aid Delays Less Deadly Than Feared

Villagers tough it out through cyclone's aftermath

(Newser) - Delays in getting help to cyclone survivors in Burma's Irrawaddy Delta have not caused the catastrophe initially feared, according to aid workers. Hardy villagers have managed to survive on fish and coconuts, helped by aid from private Burmese citizens and monks, reports the New York Times. Expected massive outbreaks of...

Blocked US Ships Will Abandon Myanmar Aid

Junta refuses aid 15 times

(Newser) - US warships laden with aid for Burmese cyclone survivors will sail out of the region tomorrow still carrying their loads, Reuters reports. Burma's military junta has refused 15 requests to allow American forces to deliver aid supplies to the disaster zone, according to the admiral in charge of the operation.

Gates: Junta Aid Delays Killed Thousands

Defense Secretary slams 'deaf and dumb' Burmese rulers

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of Burmese have died because of their government's refusal to allow in foreign aid after Cyclone Nargis, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday. Gates accused the military leaders of being "deaf and dumb" to the plight of their people, Reuters reports. American ships in the region...

China-Taiwan Talks a Landmark
 China-Taiwan Talks a Landmark 

China-Taiwan Talks a Landmark

Summit, aimed to boost business, is highest-level contact since 1949

(Newser) - China's president met today with the leader of Taiwan's governing party, the BBC reports, in the highest-level talks between the two entities since the split in 1949. Wu Poh-hsiung is visiting China to discuss cooperation on transport and tourism, and pressed Hu Jintao for a greater global presence for the...

Thailand, UN Seek Aid Route as New Burma Storm Builds

Latest tropical storm likely to become a cylcone

(Newser) - Thailand and the United Nations are working to open a land route from northern Thailand into Burma to get desperately needed help to cyclone survivors, reports the Wall Street Journal. The frantic efforts to deliver aid quickly have been stepped up as the UN's weather center is warning that another...

China Quake Toll Tops 13,000
 China Quake Toll Tops 13,000 
UPDATED

China Quake Toll Tops 13,000

Death toll expected to rise, may end up in six figures

(Newser) - The official death toll for the Chinese earthquake shot past 13,000 today and is expected to jump sharply after the full extent of the devastation is accounted for, Reuters reports. In one town with a prequake population of 12,000, only 2,000 survived; in all, 60,000 are...

Rain Lashes Cyclone Survivors, UN Lashes Junta

UN chief 'immensely frustrated' by Burmese junta's lack of swift action

(Newser) - Two more American relief planes were scheduled to take off for Burma today, but the nation's military junta came in for another UN pounding for refusing to allow more desperately needed supplies to cyclone-stricken regions. "We are at a critical point. Unless more aid gets into the country very...

As US, Burma Talk, Volunteers Say Junta Is Selling Aid

American troops stand ready to help relief

(Newser) - A US admiral met with Burma's military command today in continued attempts to persuade the government to allow US servicemen into the country to assist in relief efforts, the Washington Post reports. Meanwhile, a Burmese volunteer operating his own supply effort tells the Daily Telegraph that government officials are commandeering...

US Aid Plane Lands in Burma
 US Aid Plane Lands in Burma 
Updated

US Aid Plane Lands in Burma

Official death toll at 32K; observers say it could be triple that

(Newser) - After days of negotiating, a US aid flight landed today in Rangoon, the BBC reports. It’s the latest sign Burma’s military junta might be relaxing its restrictions on foreign aid—a French charity’s plane also touched down—but relief workers still aren’t allowed in to distribute...

US Aid Finally Winging to Cyclone Survivors

But relief effort remains minimal with a million at risk

(Newser) - The first US aircraft laden with relief supplies for Burmese cyclone survivors was finally allowed to take off from Vietman today, Reuters reports. Desperately needed international aid has largely been blocked by Burma's military junta. American officials hope the flight, carrying water, blankets, and mosquito nets, will be the first...

Red Cross Aid Boat Sinks in Burma
Red Cross
Aid Boat Sinks
in Burma

Red Cross Aid Boat Sinks in Burma

Crew survives, but precious supplies are lost as clock ticks

(Newser) - A Red Cross aid boat delivering desperately needed supplies to the survivors of Cyclone Nargis hit a submerged tree and sank in Burma's Irrawaddy Delta today, reports CNN. All those on board survived, but the 500 bags of rice, 5,000 liters of drinking water, and other critical cargo were...

Bodies Fill Burmese Delta
Bodies Fill
Burmese Delta

Bodies Fill Burmese Delta

Villagers desperate in areas receiving little aid

(Newser) - The horrifying sight of bodies flowing by in streams or caught on vegetation has become commonplace in a remote area of Burma hit hard by the cyclone that has seen almost no government aid, reports the New York Times. “When we first saw the bodies floating past, we were...

First Lady Steps Up for Cyclone Relief

Bush blasts Burmese junta, presses nation to accept US aid

(Newser) - First Lady Laura Bush took a rare turn in the spotlight today and pressed Burma to let a US disaster response team into the country, CNN reports. In a press conference, she also slammed the junta for its "failure to meet its people's basic needs" after a cyclone killed...

Up to 10,000 Dead in Burma Cyclone
 Up to 10,000 Dead
 in Burma Cyclone 
Updated

Up to 10,000 Dead in Burma Cyclone

Toll continues to rise as relief officials gain access to hard-hit areas

(Newser) - As many as 10,000 might have died in the cyclone that struck Burma on Saturday, a government official told foreign diplomats today, and that number could rise yet higher as aid workers pick through the rubble. The death toll, originally estimated at 351, had already been raised to 4,...

Burma Cyclone Toll Leaps to 4,000

Another 3,000 missing, hundreds of thousands homeless

(Newser) - The death toll in yesterday's Burmese hurricane has skyrocketed to 4,000, CNN reports, up from initial estimates of 350. State-run media issued a revised estimate this morning, along with the government's emergency plea for help. Another 3,000 are thought to be missing. Major relief work has already begun,...

Bush Pushes Abstinence in AIDS Program

In Tanzania, president prods Congress to renew global aid pact

(Newser) - President Bush urged Congress today to “stop squabbling” and renew his global AIDS program, which provides medication and treatment for millions and earmarks funds for abstinence efforts. In Tanzania, his African tour’s second stop, Bush signed a $700 million aid package, saying, “We don’t want people...

US Hurricane Aid Snarled in Red Tape

$3.5B to replace schools and firehouses languishing in accounts

(Newser) - Billions of dollars in FEMA aid earmarked for rebuilding infrastructure pulverized by the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes have yet to be spent on thousands of important projects such as replacing schools and firehouses, USA Today reports. Out of $4.5 billion in aid to Louisiana and Mississippi, only $1 billion...

Tsunami Survivors Look Ahead
Tsunami Survivors Look Ahead

Tsunami Survivors Look Ahead

Officials concerned about post-aid economy, beefing up warning systems

(Newser) - As candles are lit today in memory of the 230,000 victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Christian Science Monitor reports on the results of the $13.6 billion effort to help survivors. The aid has largely been used effectively, but now officials worry about the recovering economies...

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