South Asia Earthquake Relief Efforts Beginning
From AFP/Yahoo:
...Japan, the United States and the European Union were among the first to offer manpower and financial aid to Pakistan, India and Afghanistan following Saturday's quake, which is believed to have killed more than 18,000 people....
[T]he Japanese Foreign Ministry said Tokyo had sent a 50-strong emergency relief team to the Islamic republic.
In Britain, which has a large South Asian community, the government said it was sending an initial allocation of 100,000 pounds (176,000 dollars) to Pakistani authorities.
Search and rescue teams from four firefighting forces across Britain were also headed to the region and Defence Secretary John Reid said British troops in Afghanistan were "ready to assist if required".
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the dispatch of up to 60 British staff was an initial offering. British Muslim charities have also pledged hundreds of thousands of pounds in aid.
Additional search and rescue teams were also being sent from France, Turkey -- which itself is prone to violent earthquakes -- Greece and Switzerland....
The European Union's executive arm said it had set aside three million euros (3.6 million dollars) of immediate emergency relief aid....
Paris was sending sniffer dogs and cutting gear, while the Irish government said it would provide one million euros to the relief effort.
Berlin said it had made 50,000 euros available to Pakistani authorities through its embassy in Islamabad.
The United States was swift to offer help and President George W. Bush said Washington was already mobilising teams of experts to help the rescue effort and also made available 100,000 dollars in immediate emergency aid....
Further help was offered from Australia, which said it had provided 380,000 dollars for immediate medical and relief assistance, and from Abu Dhabi, which has sent a team of police officers.
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all the help and aid is highly appreciated...
thanks for dropping by.