Burma:Hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough to persuade Burma to accept desperately needed international aid for the victims of Cyclone Nargis suffered a further setback last night when the military tightened roadblocks to prevent relief workers reaching the worst-hit area of the Irrawaddy delta.
Thai prime minister Samak Sundaravej - sent to Burma by Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general - returned unsuccessful from Rangoon after meeting his opposite number to plead for the regime to allow in relief workers.
The grim outlook 12 days after the disaster, which has killed as many as 128,000 according to the Red Cross, was compounded by alarm that a second cyclone might be forming in the Bay of Bengal, possibly bringing further misery to destitute survivors.
Yesterday, the UN humanitarian chief estimated that between 1.6 and 2.5 million people had been severely affected by Cyclone Nargis.
Weather experts at the US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre in Hawaii upgraded to "good" the chance that the tropical depression swirling southwest of the delta might develop into a "significant" cyclone in the next 24 hours.
UN relief agencies tracking the system are concerned about the effects another severe storm could have on survivors, but said it was impossible to tell when, or where, a cyclone might make landfall.
International anger was somewhat offset by the arrival of more aid flights, but unloading these at Rangoon airport was slow because of a lack of equipment.
The first British relief flight, loaded with plastic sheeting to provide shelter for 8,000 families, arrived yesterday and was due to be distributed by aid agencies within 24 hours. Two further aircraft will arrive in the coming days.
Five US C-130 military transport aircraft carrying mosquito nets, blankets, water and plastic sheeting also touched down in Rangoon. The supplies were handed to the Burmese authorities, who have not yet granted entry permits for a 10-strong US disaster management team.
The UN said the visa process was haphazard. Some disaster relief experts had secured visas, but nowhere near enough. "We are getting more supplies in," said Amanda Pitt, a spokeswoman for the UN disaster management team. "But we are concerned about the level of the response. Critical needs are not being met."
The UN said restrictions on foreigners had increased. Chris Kaye, Burma director of the World Food Programme, said checkpoints to the affected areas had been beefed up: "There is no progress in getting foreign experts into the field."
Louis Michel, an EU envoy, flew to Burma last night hoping to persuade the generals "to be more open-minded and more understanding" as Mr Samak returned from his fruitless mission.
Mr Samak said Burma's prime minister, Thein Sein, "insisted his country of 60 million had a government, its people and the private sector to tackle the problem. They are confident of dealing with the problem themselves. There are no outbreaks of diseases, no starvation. They don't need experts."
But 30 Thai doctors are to go to Burma tomorrow to help with relief efforts. Burma also invited its other neighbours, Bangladesh, India and China, to send 160 personnel between them to help.
Despite its isolation, Burma has agreed to attend an emergency summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations in Singapore on Monday to discuss the cyclone crisis.
- (Guardian service)