Charles City Press - News

Charles City Press - News: "Charles City knows all about trying to recover from a devastating tornado, so it should come as no surprise that there has been an outpouring of support from the residents in and around Charles City to the recent storm victims in Parkersburg and its neighboring towns who were also impacted. However, while various fundraising efforts going on will be of great help, volunteer workers from the general public are being asked to wait a bit before showing up in one of the affected towns."

World Bank pledges $1.2 billion to battle food crisis - CNN.com

World Bank pledges $1.2 billion to battle food crisis - CNN.com: "The World Bank is making $1.2 billion available in grants and loans to combat the global food crisis, including $200 million for those most at risk in the world's poorest countries."

Firms helping disaster victims - The Connecticut Post Online

Firms helping disaster victims - The Connecticut Post Online: "With a pledge of $50,000, Fairfield-based Survey Sampling Inc. has joined with other Connecticut companies and nonprofits that are sending aid to victims of natural and manmade disasters around the globe.

SSI, a survey research firm, said Thursday it will donate $10,000 a week for the next five weeks to the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to support relief efforts in China and Myanmar."

Myanmar evicts cyclone refugees from tented village | International | Reuters

Myanmar evicts cyclone refugees from tented village | International | Reuters: "KHAW MHU, Myanmar (Reuters) - Myanmar's junta is evicting dozens of destitute families from one of its own cyclone refugee centres, giving each one just four bamboo poles, a tarpaulin and an unlikely promise of a monthly ration of rice"

The Politics of Donations

The Politics of Donations: "s a corporate donation an impulsive act of selflessness, or the result of careful consideration? Is it a burden, or a measure by which to improve competitiveness?

In the aftermath of the devastating May 12 Sichuan earthquake, companies all over China have claimed they have assumed extra social responsibilities--but not all of their donations have received the same treatment.

Some companies donated significant amounts only to be criticized or else ignored. Indeed, it seems there's another hidden set of principles by which to judge the form and amount of a donati"

US naval forces consider abandoning Myanmar relief efforts - Jane's Naval Forces News

US naval forces consider abandoning Myanmar relief efforts - Jane's Naval Forces News: "Adm Keating stated during a Department of Defense press briefing that if the Myanmar government refuses to give the USN permission to deliver food, shelter and medical treatment to victims of the 2 May cyclone, the four ships currently on standby will have to abandon their relief efforts."

U.S. Businesses Pledge $54M To Aid China - May 28, 2008 - The New York Sun

U.S. Businesses Pledge $54M To Aid China - May 28, 2008 - The New York Sun: "American companies have pledged at least $54 million in cash, goods, and services to victims of the earthquake that devastated the Sichuan province of China two weeks ago, the third-largest international aid package ever assembled by American businesses."

Local groups pledge to rebuild damaged school

Local groups pledge to rebuild damaged school: "When a 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck China's Sichuan Province, many in Greenville's Chinese community were frustrated because they couldn't help with the rescue effort.
But their frustration soon turned to resolve and plans were made to help with the recovery."

U.S. ships may leave Myanmar if aid refused - Yahoo! News

U.S. ships may leave Myanmar if aid refused - Yahoo! News: "U.S. warships will soon leave waters near Myanmar if the junta does not allow the American military to deliver food, water and other aid to cyclone survivors, a U.S. commander said on Wednesday."

The Horse: Animal Relief En Route to Myanmar

The Horse: Animal Relief En Route to Myanmar: "After weeks of resistance from the military regime which governs Myanmar (a country in southeast Asia formerly known as Burma), animal welfare workers from the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) finally have been given permission to enter the country to provide assistance for millions of animals affected by a devastating cyclone that hit the country May 2.

Michelle Cliffe, communications manager for WSPA Canada, reported that an international team of veterinarians and a specialist in disaster recovery planning have assembled in Bangkok. They are expected to head to the hard-hit city of Yangon.

In advance of the team's arrival, WSPA has arranged for the delivery of 31 metric tons (more than 68,000 pounds) of animal feed."

ASEAN, Indonesia and Myanmar | Forcing help on Myanmar | Economist.com

ASEAN, Indonesia and Myanmar | Forcing help on Myanmar | Economist.com: "THREE long weeks after a cataclysmic cyclone struck Myanmar, something approaching an international relief effort is at last under way. The grotesque reluctance of the ruling junta to allow foreigners to help the desperate Burmese has shredded whatever vestige of respect it enjoyed internationally. It had long lost it at home. The decisive push into a more co-operative stance seems to have come in private from China and in public from the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the regional club that admitted Myanmar in 1997 and has been silently ruing the decision ever since."

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide Myanmar Embassy Fire May Delay Visas for Cyclone Relief Workers

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide: "Myanmar Embassy Fire May Delay Visas for Cyclone Relief Workers

By Michael Heath

May 27 (Bloomberg) -- International aid workers seeking permission to enter Myanmar to help survivors of Tropical Cyclone Nargis may be delayed after a fire at Myanmar's embassy in Bangkok, the United Nations said."

China’s earthquake and the free press : Stabroek News

China’s earthquake and the free press : Stabroek News: "What open coverage of the earthquake has shown is that public interest in China has now reached a level that the government can no longer easily control. Despite their fondness for censorship, China’s eagerness to exploit the global economy, has opened it out to many of globalization’s attendant nuisances such as a free press which can ignore or even criticise the government’s pronouncements."

U.N. Chief Says Myanmar Yields on Aid Workers - NYTimes.com

U.N. Chief Says Myanmar Yields on Aid Workers - NYTimes.com: "y SETH MYDANS
Published: May 24, 2008

BANGKOK — Myanmar’s military junta promised on Friday to allow into the country “all aid workers” of any nationality, after three weeks of blocking most assistance to cyclone victims, the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, announced."

50 Nations To Organize Myanmar Relief

50 Nations To Organize Myanmar Relief: "The Associated Press

Published: May 25, 2008

YANGON, Myanmar - The U.N. secretary-general flew to Myanmar today to steer a 50-nation conference that will pledge funding for survivors of Cyclone Nargis after the country's military junta promised to open its doors to critically needed foreign help.

Three weeks after the cyclone struck, frustrated foreign aid workers were ratcheting up preparations to finally go into the Irrawaddy delta with food, drinking water, medicine and other relief."

ASEAN-UN summit opens in Myanmar for more cyclone relief aid_English_Xinhua

ASEAN-UN summit opens in Myanmar for more cyclone relief aid_English_Xinhua: "YANGON, May 25 (Xinhua) -- An international pledging conference, co-organized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)and the United Nations (UN), opened at the Sedona Hotel here Sunday to seek further international financial aid commitment for Myanmar's cyclone aid relief and rehabilitation efforts."