News - Former US Presidents Visit Indonesia's Tsunami-Devastated Aceh Province

7:23 AM Internet at Every Where

20 Feb,Aceh,INDONESIA, Former U.S. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton toured Indonesia's Aceh region Sunday to see firsthand the destruction caused by the December 26 earthquake and tsunami that struck a dozen Indian Ocean countries. The aim of their visit is to keep donor interest alive during the rebuilding phase. Mr. Bush and Mr. Clinton met with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Sunday before flying to Aceh Province. They discussed accountability and transparency in the distribution of aid. Indonesia is ranked as one of the world's most corrupt countries but Mr. Yudhoyono reassured the former presidents aid money would be spent wisely. Mr. Bush and Mr. Clinton then flew over Aceh, much of which was destroyed by the tsunami. Roads and bridges are gone, and whole communities have been wiped out. Mr. Clinton said he had never seen anything like the Aceh destruction. He estimated it would take three to five years for the region to recover. More than 290,000 people were killed by the December 26 tsunami, most of them in Aceh. More than a million were displaced. Mr. Bush says he hopes their visit will help aid efforts. "What we want to do is just to be sure that we keep the interest of the American people up, the private sector so they will continue to generously support whatever efforts are determined best on the ground," said George H.W. Bush.

Source : VOA News

News - Tsunami uncovers ancient city in India

7:15 AM Internet at Every Where

MAHABALIPURAM,India. Archaeologists have begun underwater excavations of what is believed to be an ancient city and parts of a temple uncovered by the tsunami off the coast of a centuries-old pilgrimage town.

Three rocky structures with elaborate carvings of animals have emerged near the coastal town of Mahabalipuram, which was battered by the Dec. 26 tsunami. As the waves receded, the force of the water removed sand deposits that had covered the structures, which appear to belong to a port city built in the seventh century.

The government-run archaeological society and navy divers began underwater excavations of the area on Thursday.

Source : Sun Sentinel.

News - Asian tsunami deadliest natural disaster in 500 years

8:05 AM Internet at Every Where

The death toll from the earthquake-generated tsunami in Asia made 2004 the deadliest year for earthquakes in five centuries, the U.S. Geological Survey said Thursday. The agency estimated the toll from the Dec. 26 tsunami at 275,950. Waverly Person, director of the agency's earthquake information center in Golden, Colo., said he expects the final count to be even higher.

Based on the agency's estimate, 2004 would have counted an earthquake death toll of 276,856, the second highest in recorded history.

The deadliest quake on record occurred Jan. 23, 1556, when a magnitude 8 earthquake killed an estimated 830,000 people in Shansi, China.

Source : azcentral.com

News - Survivor found 45 days after tsunami

8:02 AM Internet at Every Where

CAMPBELL BAY, INDIA - A young woman who lived on wild fruits and coconuts for 45 days after the tsunami devastated India's Andaman Islands has been rescued. Local police said the 18-year-old was rescued on Wednesday from the southern Andaman island of Pillopanja. Her husband and one-year-old child are missing and presumed dead. Police said another resident returned to the devastated island and found the seriously ill woman on a deserted beach. She's receiving medical treatment for malnutrition and mosquito bites. The young woman fled to the island's forests when the killer waves struck, but did not emerge in time to be evacuated to nearby Campbell Bay island with the rest of the people on Pillopanja who survived the disaster. About 2,000 people are confirmed to have died when the tsunami hit the Andaman Islands. Another 5,500 are still missing and presumed dead.

Source : CBC News

News - Tsunami death toll now at 295,000

3:03 AM Internet at Every Where

Latest Confirmed Death Toll

Indonesia: 242,347

Sri Lanka: 30,957

India: 16,389

Thailand: 5,393

Maldives: 82

Malaysia: 68

Myanmar: 61

Bangladesh: 2

Somalia: 298

Tanzania: 10

Kenya: 1



Total: 295,608



This figures include 127,774 listed as missing in Indonesia and 5,640 in India. Those missing are now considered dead.



In addition, 3,071 people are still listed as missing in Thailand and 5,637 in Sri Lanka but are not included in the toll because of possible double counting.



Source : IOL.CO.ZA

Football for Hope

2:47 AM Internet at Every Where

An all-star soccer match to raise money for tsunami victims is set for Feb 15 in Barcelona's Nou Camp Stadium in Spain. All proceeds from the "Football for Hope" match will go to the Tsunami Solidarity Fund set up by FIFA and AFC. FIFA's player of the year, Ronaldinho, and Europe's player of the year, Andriy Shevchenko, will captain the two sides.



Shevchenko XI

Coaches: Marcello Lippi (Italian national team), Arsene Wenger (Arsenal).

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy, Juventus), Iker Casillas (Spain, Real Madrid).

Defenders: Kakhaber Kaladze (Georgia, AC Milan), Christian Karembeu (France, Bastia), Vincent Kompany (Belgium, Anderlecht), Paolo Maldini (Italy, AC Milan), Carles Puyol (Spain, Barcelona).

Midfielders-Attackers: Michael Ballack (Germany, Bayern Munich), David Beckham (England, Real Madrid), Deco (Portugal, Barcelona), Alessandro Del Piero (Italy, Juventus), Steven Gerrard (England, Liverpool), Thierry Henry (France, Arsenal), Raul Gonzalez (Spain, Real Madrid), Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine, AC Milan), Patrick Vieira (France, Arsenal), Johann Vogel (Switzerland, PSV Eindhoven), Zinedine Zidane (France, Real Madrid).



Ronaldinho XI

Coaches: Carlos Alberto Parreira (Brazilian national team), Frank Rijkaard (Barcelona).

Goalkeepers: Dida (Brazil, AC Milan), Idriss Kameni (Cameroon, Espanyol).

Defenders: Cafu (Brazil, AC Milan), Cordoba Ivan (Colombia, Inter Milan), Gabriel Heinze (Argentina, Manchester United), Radhi Jaidi (Tunisia, Bolton), Samuel Kuffour (Ghana, Bayern Munich), Rafael Marquez Alvarez (Mexico, Barcelona), Lucas Radebe (South Africa, Leeds), Javier Zanetti (Argentina, Inter Milan).

Midfielders-Attackers: Cha Doo-ri (South Korea, Eintracht Frankfurt), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast, Chelsea), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon, Barcelona), Kaka (Brazil, AC Milan), Mehdi Mahdavikia (Iran, Hamburg), Ronaldinho (Brazil, Barcelona), Sebastian Deisler (Germany, Bayern Munich), Ji-sung Park (South Korea, PSV Eindhoven), Ludovic Giuly (France, Barcelona), Frank Lampard (England, Chelsea).

News - Politics could sink revamped tsunami warning system

9:01 AM Internet at Every Where

WASHINGTON, Driven by the suffering and destruction from the Indian Ocean tsunami and the potential for a similar calamity in the United States, the White House and Congress have moved quickly to offer plans for significantly beefing up an early-warning system to detect killer waves. Yet despite bright science and good intentions, the long-term success of a more robust tsunami warning system could hinge more on politics and the competition for scarce dollars than on technical wizardry.







Critics who fear that the funds needed for such a project would be at the expense of other existing US natural disaster warning systems say that the best protection, involves technology and education. People must know the warning signs and how to respond. Using an experience in Sri Lanka to illustrate the point. Shortly before the tsunami struck, people flocked to the beach to watch the ocean's dramatic and unusual retreat. That, of course, is a telltale sign of an approaching tsunami, but few people understood the phenomenon.



In my opinion, a tsunami early warning system should not just be a country's burden but a global initiative undertaken, possibly by the UN. A tsunami could hit anytime and anywhere in the world.



Source : Seattlepi.com

News - Tsunami death toll in Indonesia rises again

9:00 AM Internet at Every Where

INDONESIA'S health ministry said today the number of people dead and missing after December's earthquake and tsunami had risen by 1829 to 240,774.



The ministry said the number of people confirmed dead and buried was 113,000, while the number of people missing and almost certainly dead remained at 127,774.



Officials say the missing would only be confirmed dead after one year.



Different government agencies have given conflicting statistics on the casualty figure for the Indian Ocean disaster.

Stories - US civilians lend a helping hand

6:54 AM Internet at Every Where

Mother Without Borders is a group of civilian volunteers from Utah USA specializing in helping orphaned and disadvantaged children. Each year they lead dozens of volunteers who pay thousands of dollars to travel to Africa, where they spend their vacation time building schools or teaching mothers to crochet. They're used to traveling to remote areas but not disaster zones.



Click here to read first hand accounts of their experience and what they had to face at ground zero in Aceh Indonesia, the area worst hit by the asian tsunami.

News - Latest figures from Thailand

9:37 AM Internet at Every Where

Thailand. Latest figures are 5,392 dead, 3,066 missing, 8,457 affected. A mental health assessment of persons in the tsunami affected area will be carried out later this month. A temporary duty-free zone will be declared for the tsunami affected area in hopes of reviving tourism. Hotel occupancy is about 10% in affected provinces, compounding economic disaster.



Source : Wikipedia.

News - "Frustrated Cargo"

7:29 AM Internet at Every Where

Relief workers in Sri Lanka are having a difficult time sorting out piles of donated items that has been sent from all over the world by well wishers. Some of these items are now known as "Frustrated Cargo". Dubbed by relief workers because they are unusable and they just do not know what to do with them. Arctic jackets, sweaters, dress shoes, winter hats and even thongs are piling up in warehouses taking up valuable space. These items were all donated with good intentions but it's pretty obvious not much thought had gone into their selection process!

News - Indonesia death toll rises to 237,000!

9:42 AM Internet at Every Where

Indonesia's dead and missing from the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami rose to 237,072 as relief workers dug out more bodies in Aceh province, a government agency said.



More than a month after the disaster, which left more than 280,000 dead or missing in 12 countries around the Indian Ocean, estimates on the number of people needing food aid in Aceh, the worst-hit area, keep rising. The World Food Program is aiming to feed as many as 790,000 people in Aceh, double the amount of people the organization is feeding currently.



Read the full article here.