UN, govts meet on tsunami relief

UN, govts meet on tsunami relief

SINGAPORE: Officials from the UN, World Bank, governments and
humanitarian groups launched talks on Thursday on how lessons
learned from the Dec. 26 tsunami can help Asia better prepare for
threats ranging from diseases to terrorism.

"This (tsunami) experience has set new benchmarks for
international cooperation," Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean of
Singapore, where the two-day conference is being held, said in
opening remarks.

The calamity prompted the mobilization of the largest disaster
relief operation on record.

"It provides us with a useful model of cooperation which can
be applied across a wider range of complex multinational
challenges -- from health hazards like severe acute respiratory
syndrome, to environmental threats like the haze, and
transnational security threats like terrorism," Teo said.

SARS has killed 774 people worldwide -- mostly in Asia --
since the disease was officially recognized in 2002. Teo was also
referring to smoke haze, mostly from illegal land-clearing fires
in Indonesia, that has repeatedly choked other parts of Southeast
Asia in the mid-year dry season.

The Dec. 26 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that struck 12
countries from Asia to Africa killed more than 178,000 people and
left nearly 50,000 more missing and presumed dead.

Speakers will be exchanging ideas on logistics and
information-sharing in the face of multinational threats, as well
as early warning systems and preparations already in place for
the next tsunami, which experts predict could happen soon. -- AP