As Gulf of Mexico oil spill hits land, residents decry response - CSMonitor.com

As Gulf of Mexico oil spill hits land, residents decry response - CSMonitor.com: "People in New Orleans and Louisiana have seen what I would label two tremendous disaster-response failures in five years, and it's like déjà vu all over again,' says Steven Picou, a sociologist at the University of South Alabama in Mobile who has studied the social effects of both the Exxon Valdez disaster and hurricane Katrina.' It adds to the perception that our government and agencies don't care,' he says, 'and that mistrust trickles down so now you don't trust BP, you don't trust the Coast Guard, you don't trust what people are telling you, and you don't even trust your neighbors or even your family.'"

Reuters AlertNet - Myanmar: Two years after cyclone Nargis - Malteser International: Ongoing reconstruction and rehabilitation of the country

Reuters AlertNet - Myanmar: Two years after cyclone Nargis - Malteser International: Ongoing reconstruction and rehabilitation of the country: "ologne. 'The majority of the people are still struggling for daily survival. A lot of them do not yet have a solid source of income', reports Sandra Harlass, Senior Desk Officer Myanmar of Malteser International, the relief service of the Order of Malta for worldwide humanitarian aid. 'The present situation cannot be compared to the life and income situation before cyclone Nargis hit the country on 2 Mai 2008. To give an example: At the moment, no one can afford to buy drinking water.' Therefore, at request of the government and the affected population Malteser International distributes purified drinking water by boats to areas with acute water shortage in the dry seasons."