Kyonmange resident says over 30 nearby villages destroyed May 11, 2008 (DVB)—More than 30 villages west of Labutta township, near Wakema and Kyonmange in Irrawaddy division, were reportedly destroyed by the recent cyclone, several of them completely swept away. A resident of Kyonmange who is helping the cyclone victims taking refuge there said Thabauk village and its inhabitants had been completely wiped out. Local authorities have not provided any help to cyclone victims in Kyonmange, and on 5 May, a deputy in charge of Wakema township administration ordered local officials in Kyonmange to remove the cyclone victims, who are facing serious problems through lack of food, clothing, and shelter. The Kyonmange resident told DVB that the authorities had not helped clear the bodies of those who died in the cyclone. snip english.dvb.no .................................................. ..... QUOTE OF THE DAY 
The authorities [of Burma] need to open up to an international relief effort. There aren't enough boats, trucks, helicopters in the country to run the relief effort of the scale we need. 
—Richard Horsey, a spokesman for UN humanitarian operations
irrawaddy.org
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First US relief airlift arrives in Myanmar
May 12, 2008 at 4:52 AM EDT
Associated Press
RANGOON, MYANMAR — The first U.S. relief airlift has arrived in Myanmar carrying emergency supplies for last week's cyclone victims.
A military C-130 cargo plane left a Thai air force base Monday and landed in Myanmar's biggest city Rangoon. Two more air shipments scheduled to land Tuesday.
After the plane's arrival, the supplies were transferred to Myanmar army trucks.
Allowing the U.S. flight is a huge concession by Myanmar's military government, which sees Washington as its enemy.
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theglobeandmail.com
mid :
Allowing the U.S. flight is a huge concession by Myanmar's military government, which sees Washington as its enemy.
Cry me a river FOOLS , enemies don't deliver aid
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Generals consult the stars as public urged to dig deep
Monday, 12 May 2008
The General refusing to allow foreign teams to enter Burma to help stop the cyclone death toll hitting 1.5 million is being advised by astrologers, it emerged today.
General Than Shwe this morning finally allowed one US military aid flight carrying water, mosquito nets and blankets to leave Thailand for Burma - but he continues to refuse foreign logistics teams, including those from the UN.
And today, reports into the ultra-secretive military government suggested the general is advised by a Buddhist nun and astrologer called E Thi.
Aid agencies were already despairing that Than Shwe’s secrecy and apparently unsympathetic approach to the deaths of at least 225,000 of his people was hampering donations.
The revelations about his astrologer are likely to make matters worse.
E Thi is said to have told Shwe to move his government from Rangoon to Naypyidaw, 200 miles away in 2005 and the general is convinced the plan saved him from the devastation caused by cyclone Nargis.
One aid worker in Rangoon said "Hundreds of people are dying while Shwe looks to the stars before making his next move. It is utter madness. The international community must act before this dire situation becomes a full-blown holocaust." (mid : highlight mine ) snip
thelondonpaper.com
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Myanmar says parts of nation still cut off
05-11-2008
YANGON (AFP)
Survivors of the deadly cyclone Nargis work on a roof near the Pyapon river in the southern delta hardest hit by cyclone Nargis on May 11. Parts of Myanmar are still cut off 10 days after its devastating cyclone, the military regime said Monday, ahead of the first aid flight from the United States -- one of its most vocal critics. (AFP) snip
turkishpress.com
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French medical aid shipment for cyclone victims reaches Myanmar's capital
2008-05-12
PARIS (AP) - A plane carrying 22 tons of medical and other aid from a French aid group for cyclone victims has arrived in Myanmar's capital.
Medecins du Monde says the material includes emergency first aid kits for 20,000 people and medicines to treat malaria and diarrhea.
The group says the aid will be sent to towns south of Yangon. Medecins du Monde workers will also travel to the Irrawaddy delta to evaluate humanitarian needs there.
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pr-inside.com
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Frontline podcast - Myanmar: Existing projects were major advantage in the first days' response
Information dated 12.05.2008
Juli Niebuhr is MSF Deputy Country Manager in Myanmar. She describes the situation in storm-affected areas as desperate.
snip
"The scale of this - the size of this - is enormous and the number of injured, dead and missing people are increasing; the official figures are increasing by the day. It is a big area that has been hit and the impact of the storm has been enormous. Like I said, whole villages have been wiped away and the less-affected areas, as we call them where we work now, have 80 to 90 percent of their buildings destroyed.
"Thousand s of people in Yangon have been badly affected by the storm as well. There is still no electricity. There is bad communication. Shops are closed. There is not enough food and many people have been made homeless by the storm or their houses have been damaged so badly that they are staying in temporary shelter.
"I think a lot of people are still in shock. People are trying to deal with it with whatever small means they have.
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msf.org
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U.S. helicopters cause stir in Thai town on Burma border
Mon 12 May 2008
By Christopher Johnson
In Mae Sot, home to many Burmese exiles and refugees, two helicopters stopped unannounced during a survey of the area
Mae Sot, Thailand -In this border town known as "Little Burma," thousands of Burmese exiles and refugees were excited when they saw a US helicopter flying above them on Saturday, within view of Burmese soldiers staging a referendum across the Moei River.
"All the Burmese looked up at the sky in hope," said Myo Khin, a Burmese trader who just found out from his sister that their relatives were lost in their hometown of Lapputa in the Irrawaddy delta. "Only America and the foreign countries can save Burma now."
Local excitement grew on Sunday as another US helicopter flew into Mae Sot's tiny airport, which stopped serving commercial flights last year. The airstrip is just 1.5 miles from the Friendship Bridge to the Burmese town of Myawaddy.
Their sighting jibes with reports that the US has moved ships and aircraft into position to support a humanitarian mission in the country.
A trip Sunday afternoon to the airport found eight US crewmen in uniforms pumping fuel from one US helicopter, inscribed with "24 Marines" on the body and "EP" on the tail, to another US helicopter, labeled "25 Marines."
"They were here on a survey of the area, and they ran out of gas," explained a Thai airport official in the lobby. "One crew had to wait here overnight for another helicopter to come today and bring them gas."
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dannai.civiblog.org
See Also :
http://teakdoor.com/thailand-and-asi...tml#post622294 (USS Essex : Bound for Burma)
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Junta rewards nursing student for supporting referendum
Monday, 12 May 2008
A seemingly grateful Burmese ruling junta rewarded students of the Nursing and Midwife School with a token amount of money and bread in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, northern Burma yesterday, said school sources.
Sources close to the school said, all students were given 500 Kyat and a piece of bread for supporting the referendum to approve the draft constitution on May 10 by U Dai Hu, the head organizer of the junta-sponsored Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) in Du Kahtawng quarter where the school is situated.
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kachinnews.com
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500 Kyat and a piece of bread .......
EXCHANGE RATES 1 US = 1155 kyat 1 BT = 35.71 kyat May 12, 2008
irrawaddy.org
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Cholera and asthma cases increasing among Cyclone victims
Mungpi
Monday, 12 May 2008 15:42
New Delhi - Cases of cholera and asthma are increasing among victims and survivors of Cyclone Nargis, said an aid worker in Rangoon who visited the Irrawaddy Delta.
The aid worker, who request anonymity, said several cyclone victims, mostly children, are beginning to suffer from cholera after drinking contaminated water.
"Since aid is not reaching as it should be, villagers are forced to use the water which is contaminated by dead bodies," the aid worker said.
The aid worker said the refugees are also beginning to suffer from asthma.
"Though people know that the water is contaminated, they have no choice but to use it, and they start having diseases," said the aid worker, who had just returned from Laputta town, one of the hardest-hit by the cyclone.
He said that while a few people have been grouped in refugee camps, many people still not yet made it to refugee camps.
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mizzima.com
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