“¢bull; Indonesia’s Social Affairs Ministry raised the
country’s official death toll from the Dec. 26 disaster to
110,229, an increase of nearly 4,000. Sumatra island’s Aceh
province was worst hit, with the number of people missing there at
more than 12,000, and with 703,518 homeless survivors. “¢bull;
Death tolls also went up in India by 345, to 10,672; and in Sri
Lanka by six, to 30,899. The overall toll across 11 nations stands
at 157,642. “¢bull; Indonesia on Thursday ordered foreign aid
workers in the tsunami-devastated Aceh province to have military
escorts in areas facing violence by insurgents, even as the vice
president welcomed a cease-fire offer by the rebels. “¢bull;
Security fears have restricted aid deliveries in Sri Lanka, where
Tamil Tiger rebels have accused Indian and U.S. forces of being
sent to spy on them.
“¢bull; Health officials planned a massive spraying campaign
starting Friday in Indonesia’s disaster zone to head off the
threat of malaria, which one expert said could kill up to 100,000
people in the coming months if authorities don’t act quickly
to kill mosquitoes.
Compiled from Bruin wire services.