In Burma, state media are now reporting that the death toll from Saturday's cyclone Nargis has risen to more than 22,000 with at least another 30,000 people missing.
International agencies are pushing to gain access for a massive aid operation. The European Commission's envoy to Burma has said that the EU has released more than one million euros in immediate aid, but that officials are still waiting to get into the country. The World Food Programme says the United Nations has been given cautious approval and is gearing up to deliver aid as quickly as possible to the hundreds of thousands without clean water or shelter. Meanwhile Burma's ruling junta has now said it will postpone a constitutional referendum in the worst hit areas of Rangoon and the Irrawaddy Delta. The rest of the country is still expected to vote on the junta's new army-drafted constitution on Saturday.
(Deutsche Welle)
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