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| October 25, 2005 | Tuesday | Ramazan 20, 1426 |
Rich countries giving too little to UN for quake victims: Oxfam LONDON, Oct 25 (AFP) Rich countries were giving little or nothing to the United Nations for South Asian earthquake relief efforts, the British aid charity Oxfam said Tuesday on the eve of a UN donor conference in Geneva. It said many countries have given less than their fair share to the UN South Asian Earthquake appeal, leaving it only 19 percent funded despite UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's urgent call for help last week. Oxfam named seven rich countries which have so far given nothing to the UN appeal in the wake of the October 8 temblor: Belgium, France, Austria, Finland, Greece, Portugal and Spain. It also identified four that have given less than one-fifth of their fair share: the United States (nine percent), Italy (seven percent), Germany (14 percent) and Japan (17 percent). By contrast, it said Sweden, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Denmark have given more than their fair share, and that even Poland and Chile have managed to contribute something. Oxfam based its assessment of a nation's fair share on the relative size of its economy within the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).(Posted @ 21:50 PST)
Aziz asks people living in mountains to move to valleys before the winter ALAI, (Batgram), Oct 24 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Tuesday asked the people living on the mountains in the earthquake affected areas to move down to the valleys before the onset of harsh Himalayan winter. "We will provide you shelter, food, medical care and schools for children and the weather will be more bearable," Aziz told a group of people at the picturesque Allai valley. The Alai valley, a sub-district of Batgram, had reported aftershocks and explosions. Military officials said around 2300 explosions were reported in the area, some of which also caused tremors. Officials of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, which were flown to Alai earlier in the morning, informed the Aziz that the explosions were being caused by the trapped gases, but there was no evidence of any volcanic activity. To a question, Aziz said the government was conducting a seismic survey to ascertain the reasons for the aftershocks. "We are sending teams of seismic experts and geologists to survey the area and to identify any specific reasons which cause these aftershocks and tremors." He said the government would share the information with the people, when something tangible was found.(Posted @ 21:45 PST)
Three points on LoC "operational": Indian Defence Minister NEW DELHI, Oct 25 (APP): India on Tuesday said that three border points on the Line of Control, Teetwal in Tangdhar, Aman Setu in Uri sector and Chakan Da Bagh (Poonch) in Indian Occupied Kashmir are "operational" to provide relief to quake-affected people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. "Whosoever is in a position to come across will receive medical treatment and relief material" Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters. Dismissing reports about differences between New Delhi and Islamabad over the setting up of these relief points on the LOC, Mukherjee said the points had been erected at sites after consultations between the two Foreign offices, according to a news report here. "The Director General of Military operations of the two sides had telephonic talks yesterday on the issue", he added. Billing the quake relief as a humanitarian task, Mukherjee made it clear that "no romanticism could be attached to it". "There are hard problems and ground realities, which we have to recognize", he said.(Posted @ 19:25 PST)
Jordan plans telethon to raise aid for Pakistan AMMAN, Oct 25 (AFP) Jordan's state television will hold a telethon Friday to raise funds for the victims of Pakistan's massive earthquake, Religious Affairs Minister Abdel Salam Abbadi said on Tuesday. State television will kick off the telethon after Friday's mid-day Muslim prayers, Abbadi said urging donors to be generous. The telethon will be organised by the Hashemite Charitable Organisation at the request of King Abdullah II, who visited Pakistan on October 14 becoming the first head of state to travel to the quake-stricken country, Abbadi said. On Saturday oil-rich Saudi Arabia also launched a major drive that raised millions of dollars in donations for the earthquake survivors.(Posted @ 19:15 PST)
Disappointment as Pakistani school tries to reopen MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan Oct 25 (Reuters) Seven-year-old Mohammad Bilal was a disappointed boy on Tuesday when he went to his damaged school, hoping to go back to class for the first time since the Oct. 8 earthquake. Hardly anyone else turned up and no lessons were held. The Azad Kashmir government said 17 schools would reopen on Tuesday, but many worried parents kept their children away and hardly any teachers turned up at Bilal's. Officials estimate 80 percent of the 1,200 schools in the district were destroyed or badly damaged. Manzoor Ahmed Naqshbandi, a director in the region's education department, said it was unrealistic to expect schools to reopen so soon after the disaster. He said it would take at least three more months. "This city is totally destroyed. How can we start school only two weeks after the quake?" Naqshbandi asked. "We don't have buildings, we don't know where our staff is, we don't have any infrastructure. It's only wishful thinking to start school so quickly."(Posted @ 19:08 PST)
U.N. warns of “death traps” in Pakistan quake relief GENEVA, Oct 25 (Reuters) The United Nations said on Tuesday "death traps" were forming in quake-stricken Pakistan as blocked roads and a lack of funding hindered relief deliveries to survivors. "Blocked roads, snow and a serious lack of funding could create a death trap for tens of thousands of people who survived," the United Nations' leading emergency food-relief agency, the World Food Programme (WFP), said at a briefing. The WFP said it had received only 13 percent of the $56 million in requested donations needed to head off starvation among hundreds of thousands stranded since the quake on Oct. 8. "If people are to be protected from the onset of winter weather in just a few weeks time, it is absolutely crucial that the funds be provided now," UNHCR spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis said.(Posted @ 17:45 PST)
Police detain Kashmiri leader in Occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, Oct 25 (AFP) Police on Tuesday detained a Kashmiri leader, Nayeem Khan, after he set out to cross the Line of Control to help quake victims on the Pakistani side. Khan and 15 of his supporters were held near Mirgund, 12 miles north of Srinagar, police said.(Posted @ 17:10 PST)
NATO sent fewer helicopters to Pakistan than stated BRUSSELS, Oct 25 (Reuters) NATO nations have sent far fewer helicopters to Pakistan for urgent earthquake relief efforts than the alliance initially stated, a NATO spokesman said on Tuesday. After talks with the U.N. official coordinating aid efforts, NATO said on Friday that its 26 members already had some 40 helicopters in Pakistan, to which it would add a further four from Germany. But NATO spokesman James Appathurai said the figure of 40 was incorrect and alliance members actually hoped to have 32 helping carry aid by the end of this week. (Posted @ 16:05 PST)
Ankara municipality sending one million blankets to Pakistan Ankara, Turkey, October 25, (PPI): Ankara Metropolitan Municipality is sending a million blankets and a mobile bakery to earthquake-hit areas in Pakistan, a Turkish paper Zaman reported on Tuesday. Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek said that every citizen that gives 10 new Turkish liras (YTL) will be donating a blanket to the Pakistani survivors, adding that the orders were given and blankets will be ready by the end of November. (Posted @ 16:00 PST)
Ireland pledges more earthquake help to Pakistan DUBLIN, Oct 25 (AFP) Ireland pledged a further two million euros (2.4 million dollars) Tuesday to support earthquake relief operations in Pakistan, bringing its total contribution to five million euros. The extra funds will be allocated to non-governmental organisations and United Nations agencies operating in Pakistan. (Posted @ 15:05 PST)
U.S. army sets up MASH for quake victims MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, Oct 25 (Reuters) The U.S. military started setting up a mobile army surgical hospital (MASH), popularised by the hit Vietnam war-era movie and television series M*A*S*H, on the outskirts of the quake-devastated Azad Kashmir on Tuesday and treated its first patients. "We're going to be able to perform surgery by this evening," said Lieutenant Kevin Stephens of the Germany-based 212th MASH. The MASH also has 32 nurses and 30 medics. (Posted @ 15:05 PST)
Pakistan aid effort rallies as fair weather window closes MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Pakistan and international relief agencies scrambled to deliver much-needed aid to remote parts of quake-hit Pakistan on Tuesday as experts said a narrow fair weather window was closing rapidly. "There is a three week window of opportunity to deliver assistance to mountainous areas before the first snowfall," the United Nations humanitarian office said in a statement. Army engineers are working around the clock to reopen roads destroyed in the quake so that aid is delivered in sufficient quantities to an estimated 2,000 still inaccessible villages. Meanwhile military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said the army was flying geologists to the remote Alai valley in the North West Frontier Province to investigate reports a volcano might have erupted. "We flew helicopters yesterday but could not find any signs. Today we are taking geologists to investigate it further." The smoke could well be dust from landslides which are still rolling off the ranges. (Posted @ 13:20 PST)
Angry Indian quake survivors slam delay in opening of Kashmir border URI, occupied Kashmir, Oct 25 (AFP) - Angry survivors of a devastating earthquake desperate to be reunited with their stricken families hit out at India and Pakistan on Tuesday for delaying the opening of their militarised de facto border in Kashmir. "It is a frustrating experience," said Ghulam Qadir, 72, whose sister, son-in-law and brother-in-law died in Muzaffarabad district of Azad Kashmir in the October 8 earthquake. "My son went to the local authorities to ask if we could get permission to meet my relatives but they are mum. They have been telling him to come the next day. I still do not know if they will let us go," Qadir said in Uri, one of the towns in occupied Kashmir hit hardest by the quake. Humanitarian workers say that opening up the Line of Control (LoC) would enable them to reach areas on the Pakistan side now only accessible by helicopter. Survivors in the villages near the LoC fear time is running out. Meanwhile, long queues are seen at the free telephone facility set up by the government as villagers holding bits of papers emblazoned with telephone numbers try to contact their relatives in Pakistan. Mohammed Yunus, from Azad Kashmir, visiting Uri to meet his relatives for the first time in 26 years when the quake struck, urged both governments to act fast. "This disaster can bring both governments together to fight a common cause which has no political or military implications. The two governments must not lose an opportunity to build bridges." (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
US to double military strength in quake-hit Pakistan WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (AFP) - The United States said Monday it would nearly double its military forces in earthquake relief efforts in Pakistan from the present 560 to 1,000 as Washington steps up aid to its "war on terror" ally reeling from the deadly disaster. The higher troop levels will come as Washington takes on bigger responsibilities in reconstruction and medical aid, including the setting up of two mobile hospitals with facilities to perform major surgeries, military officials said. Rear Admiral Michael LeFever, the Islamabad-based director of the US Disaster Assistance, told reporters via audio feed in the Pentagon that a mobile army surgical hospital was set for launch Tuesday in Muzaffarabad. "We are flying in another hospital from Okinawa(Japan)" to be sited at Balakot, LeFever said. The US military has already sent in 12 helicopters, with six more on the way. (Posted @ 09:35 PST)
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