Brown sends aid as Burma toll rockets; Junta faces questions over access.Byline: James Tapsfield THE death toll in disaster-hit Burma soared to more than 22,000 last night as Britain pledged to help ease the suffering. Another 41,000 people were reported missing after a massive cyclone wreaked havoc at the weekend. Hundreds of thousands have been left without clean water or shelter. An international aid effort is under way and the UK announced that pounds 5m in immediate financial assistance was being channelled through the UN and charities. The Government will also deploy an emergency field team to the country. Speaking at a summit of business leaders in central London The term Central London refers to the districts of London which are considered closest to the centre. There is no such conventional definition, nor any official one, for the entire area that can be called "central London". yesterday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "I believe nearly a million people are now in need of food aid and we will have to help the families of those where people have died. "I want to pledge on behalf of the British Government that we will work with the whole international community to make sure that food aid is available to the people of Burma." Cyc-lone Nargis smashed into Burma on Saturday, with winds up to 120mph. More deaths were caused by a resulting 12-foot wave than by the cyclone itself, Burmese authorities said. In the city of Bogalay in the Irrawaddy river Irrawaddy River River, Myanmar (Burma). It flows 1,350 mi (2,170 km) across the centre of the country and empties into the Andaman Sea. The country's most important commercial waterway, it is formed by the confluence of the Nmai and the Mali rivers; in the central dry zone delta, 95% of homes are thought to have been destroyed. State media said last night that 22,464 people had been confirmed dead and 41,054 more were missing. There has been widespread criticism of the Burmese junta jun·ta n. 1. A group of military officers ruling a country after seizing power. 2. A council or small legislative body in a government, especially in Central or South America. 3. A junto. for failing to warn people about the approaching storm. The regime has now agreed to accept help from the international community, but questions remain over how much access foreign rescuers will be allowed. President George Bush said the US was ready to use its navy "to help find those who have lost their lives, to help find the missing, to help stabilise the situation. But in order to do so, the military junta Noun 1. military junta - a group of military officers who rule a country after seizing power junta clique, coterie, ingroup, inner circle, camp, pack - an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose must allow our disaster assessment teams into the country," he said. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon Ban Ki-Moon (bän kē-m  n), 1944–, South Korean diplomat, secretary-general of the United Nations (2007–), b. Chungju, grad. Seoul National Univ. (B.S. said the organisation would do
"whatever (possible) to provide urgent humanitarian
assistance".
Last year the Burmese authorities were condemned for brutally stamping down on pro-democracy demonstrations, killing a number of Buddhist monks. CAPTION(S): TORN APART A man surveys some of the damage caused by the weekend's devastating cyclone in Rangoon. |
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