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UN chief to send envoy to Burma | UN chief to send envoy to Burma |
(about 2 hours later) | |
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says he plans to send a senior official to urge Burma's military leaders to open up to foreign aid. | United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says he plans to send a senior official to urge Burma's military leaders to open up to foreign aid. |
Mr Ban said he wanted UN aid chief John Holmes to accompany a food aid delivery to the cyclone-hit nation. | Mr Ban said he wanted UN aid chief John Holmes to accompany a food aid delivery to the cyclone-hit nation. |
He also proposed a conference of nations prepared to pledge assistance. | He also proposed a conference of nations prepared to pledge assistance. |
UN figures now suggest that as many as 2.5 million people have been severely affected by Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma 12 days ago. | UN figures now suggest that as many as 2.5 million people have been severely affected by Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma 12 days ago. |
The latest Burmese official figures put the number of dead at almost 38,500, with 27,838 more missing, but the Red Cross warned as many as 128,000 could be dead. | |
A slow trickle of aid is now getting to survivors but aid agencies say it is nowhere near enough. | |
They say far more boats and trucks are needed to get the supplies to the communities that need them most - and far more expert personnel. | |
'Resistance mindset' | |
The UN chief convened talks with donors and the Association of South-East Asian Nations in New York on Wednesday. | |
Mr Ban said he "regretted" the UN had spent more time arranging rather than delivering help. | |
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Undercover reporter says aid is still in short supply in Burma | Undercover reporter says aid is still in short supply in Burma |
"Even though the [Burmese] government has shown some sense of flexibility, at this time it's far, far too short," he said. | "Even though the [Burmese] government has shown some sense of flexibility, at this time it's far, far too short," he said. |
Foreign experts are still being denied access to the worst-hit Irrawaddy Delta region. | |
Mr Holmes, the UN's head of humanitarian assistance, said that although more than 100 international UN aid workers were now in Burma, they were not being allowed beyond Rangoon. | |
In an apparent concession, the Burmese authorities have invited in 160 aid workers from neighbouring Bangladesh, China, India and Thailand. | |
But it is not clear whether they will be permitted to enter the worst-affected regions - and experts say they are a fraction of the number needed. | |
EXTENT OF THE DEVASTATION See map and satellite imagesResilience amid Burma catastropheUrgent EU mission | EXTENT OF THE DEVASTATION See map and satellite imagesResilience amid Burma catastropheUrgent EU mission |
On Wednesday Thai leader Samak Sundaravej flew to Rangoon for talks with Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein, but said the junta was adamant it needed no outside help. | |
"They insisted they can take care of their people and their country. They can manage by themselves," he said. | |
In Washington, Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said his organisation was trying to build a "coalition of mercy" to help fellow member Burma. | |
"We are trying to work around a very, very stiff resistance mentality and mindset that have been there for a long, long time," he told a forum. | |
Schools hit | |
Aid agencies have warned repeatedly that failure to help those without food, water and shelter could lead to a second - perhaps larger - wave of deaths. | |
The UN's food agency fears Burma will face food shortages | The UN's food agency fears Burma will face food shortages |
A BBC correspondent in Burma said one devastated village - with one in four of its 400 homes left standing - had received just one bag of rice from the government. | |
Causeways running above the flooded paddy fields of the south were lined by families - often in makeshift shelters - huddling in the rain, our reporter said. | |
There are also more long-term considerations. About 85% of schools in the region have been severely damaged or destroyed, Unicef said, and unknown numbers of teachers had been killed or missing. | |
Help is needed to build temporary schools so that some semblance of normality can be returned to children's lives, the agency said. | |
But fears of a second storm eased as forecasters said a tropical depression off Burma's coast had weakened and was unlikely to brew into a cyclone. | |