As the official death toll from the cyclone in Myanmar jumped to almost 78000, France's United Nations ambassador accused the military government of being

YANGON, Myanmar (AP): A French navy ship approached Myanmar's cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy delta Saturday, but was still awaiting permission from the ruling military regime to dock and unload 1,500 tons of aid.
The junta said Friday that the official death toll from the storm has nearly doubled to 78,000 with 55,917 missing. Aid groups have said the toll is probably about 128,000, with many more deaths possible from disease and starvation unless help is provided quickly to some 2.5 million survivors.
hip in. He said the Myanmar government asked the French to airlift the material through Yangon, ``which of course is a nonsense,'' he said.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - France criticized Myanmar's military junta on Friday for refusing to allow a French Navy ship with 1,500 tons of aid for victims of Cyclone Nargis to deliver food and medicine with small boats and helicopters.
Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said the ship would be in international waters within sight of the devastated Irrawaddy Delta on Saturday, and he warned that the government's refusal to allow aid to be delivered to people in need or in danger "could lead to a true crime against humanity."
t's a ship on which we have 1,500 tons of food, drugs, medications. We have small boats which could allow us to go through the delta to most of the regions where no one has accessed yet. We have small helicopters to drop food, and we have doctors."

United Nations - The Burmese military junta showed signs of paranoia on Friday, denouncing a French naval ship packed with 1,500 tonnes of food aid, with aircraft capable of delivering it, as a "warship" standing off its coast. France said a demand to deliver the aid through Rangoon airport was nonsense.
The French government, which has been pushing the United Nations to forcefully deliver aid to storm victims, said it wants to deliver supplies to inaccessible areas in the Burnese delta.
na in the UN Security Council on the issue of access, with China opposing any decision to forcefully deliver humanitarian aid to the cyclone victims.

By Maggie Farley & Paul Richter UNITED NATIONS - France has sent an uninvited ship loaded with aid to the international waters off Myanmar, causing the U.N. ambassador from the Southeast Asian nation today to accuse the French of dispatching a warship.
The desire of outside countries to assist survivors of the cyclone that hit two weeks ago has clashed with Myanmars military leaderships insistence on controlling the distribution of aid. The government, which raised the official death toll to 78,000 today, wants to be seen as the benefactor of its people and regards outsiders with suspicion.
s better to work on widening cooperation from the Myanmar regime rather than risk the little access that aid workers now have.

France's ambassador to the UN has accused Burma's government of being on the verge of committing a crime against humanity by not accepting foreign aid.
Jean-Maurice Ripert made the comment during a General Assembly session, after Burma's UN ambassador accused France of sending a warship to region.
against humanity".

© AP UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Friday that the death toll from Cyclone Nargis will increase dramatically unless Myanmar's military government allows more aid into the country to help victims at risk of disease.
At the same time, France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert criticized the military junta for refusing to allow a
hat 78,000 have died. Countless people are missing,» he said. «This is a very tragic situation. ... Estimates of those at risk run as high as 2.5 million people.

By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS, May 16 (Reuters) - Myanmar's UN envoy accused France on Friday of sending a "warship" towards the cyclone-ravaged

AP UNITED NATIONS: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is warning that the death toll from Cyclone Nargis is rising and will increase dramatically unless