The United Nations said on Tuesday that it had secured

The United Nations said on Tuesday that it had secured
concrete aid of US$717 million toward its emergency relief appeal
for the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster, and urged donor countries
to speed up delivery of further aid promises.

Jan Egeland, the UN humanitarian relief coordinator, said it
was the first time the world body had collected so much money in
such a short space of time after a disaster.

It comes to 73 percent of a 977-million-dollar UN appeal
launched last week to meet immediate needs in the next six months
of regions stricken by the devastating Dec. 26 tsunamis.

"This has never ever happened before, that we, two weeks after
a disaster, have $717 million that we can spend on an emergency
relief effort," he told reporters at the close of a donors'
conference here.

When the meeting started hours earlier, he had warned that
only $300 million had been committed and more cash contributions
had to be made far more swiftly.

Egeland said he was confident that the appeal for six months
would soon be met in full. Of the $717 million, 250 million alone
is from Japan.