http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1926262/Cyclone-turns-Burma-into-%27war-zone%27.html

Very early. Presaging a bad season?

Doesn't anyone care? 10,000 dead to date, and rising.

What's to say? It is devastating news.

What a terrible tragedy! And I hope all countries are sending support quickly!

I read that Thailand, its closest neighbor, is sending much aid. Let's keep these folks in our prayers.

I gather the 10,000 deaths quoted are just in a single town. Goodness knows what the total will be. But the junta has declined to waive import duties on international aid or to promise visas for aid workers, so the international relief effort is greatly hampered.

They're now talking of total deaths of 63,000.

Live updates are available on Cable Channel 46- CNN International

Death toll reported up to 22,500 with estimates it could reach 250,000. Estimates all over the place. Still no clearence for the Emergency Response Teams to go into country, Us has given 3 mil and has teams standing by. International Red Cross has 90,000 lbs of rice available. The supplies fdrom Thailand have to be unloaded by hand. No forklifts and the roads are blocked with trees.

UK is giving $10 million.

Those delta regions are just so vulnerable.

It has to be really bad for the government to ask for assistance - they didn't ask for help after the big Tsunami back in 2006.

The junta (military government) has seized the first two shipment of emergency aid sent in by the UN, and all further shipments have been suspended as there's no way to get them to the victims. Up to 1/2 million people may die.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...-shipments.html

We invaded Iraq for made-up reasons and toppled the dictator. How much more should we invade Burma and get rid of the murderers who are in control?

The British used to congratulate themselves on being a benign colonial power, but this is yet another example of an ex-colony gone wrong.

So long as this sort of thing can be allowed to happen the world cannot call itself civilised.

IMHO (!)

Now it seems that aid workers and indeed all foreigners are being prevented from entering the disaster areas, and local "officials" are seizing food aid and selling it to the highest bidder. At the same time people are literally starving to death.

What a pity Burma doesn't supply the world with oil. GWB would certainly have invaded it by now if it did.

I feel disgusted that people/governments are so pusillanimous as to allow this sort of regime to exist.

Compare this with the way the Chinese are dealing with the aftermath of the dreadful earthquake that's just happened there. The authorities are throwing in every resource they have, and the outside world is being openly informed and involved. We may complain about deficient human rights in China, but compared with Burma it's a very liberal and caring country.

I'm sorry, I know people here aren't really interested in what's happening on the other side of the world. But we should be - the global village is shrinking all the time, and these are our neighbours.

well said P2