Good deeds come back to us

I can't say I would have ever expected such generosity, nor that we would ever need it. Thank you, World.

World offers cash, aid to stricken southern US---

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States officially asked for emergency aid from the European Union and accepted assistance from the United Nations, as countries around the world pledged help for the hundreds of thousands left homeless by Hurricane Katrina.

While US President George W. Bush initially politely refused offers of aid, the White House reversed course as the magnitude of the destruction wreaked across an area of the US Gulf Coast the size of Great Britain became clear.

From London to Kuwait City to Manila, governments around the world pledged help in the form of money, food, emergency workers and oil supplies.

Some countries suffering major problems of their own, among them Indonesia and Afghanistan, were among those lining up to offer help to the nation that is the world's largest donor of aid.
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French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said France would send its entire stock of emergency supplies, including tents, blankets, cooking equipment and camp-beds, prepositioned on the French Caribbean island of Martinique for just such an eventuality. Douste-Blazy said one shipment would leave from Fort-de-France within 24 hours and another within 48 hours.
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Britain was to send 500,000 military ration packs to the devastated regions, the ministry of defence said Sunday.
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Germany shipped 25 tonnes of food aid to the flood-stricken regions over the weekend, the defence ministry said Sunday.

An Italian military plane was expected to leave Sunday for the United States with first aid kits for 15,000 people, as well as infant food, blankets, pumps, water-purifying devices and inflatable rafts.

The United States also accepted an offer of UN assistance and consultations were underway on how to best complement US aid efforts, a UN spokesman said Sunday.
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Kuwait is offering 500 million dollars (400 million euros) in oil products "needed by the afflicted states in these conditions and other humanitarian assistance," Energy Minister Sheikh Ahmad Fahd al-Sabah told the official KUNA news agency on Sunday.

Qatar had pledged 100 million dollars on Sunday.

Canada said Sunday it was sending thousands of camp-beds, blankets and medical supplies after a request from Washington for help.
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War-torn and desperately poor Afghanistan has offered 100,000 dollars in disaster relief aid, the US embassy in Kabul announced Sunday.

The Indonesian government, still coping with the aftermath of the December 26 tsunami, has offered to send 40 medical doctors to the United States, state media said Sunday, quoting a senior minister.

South Korea on Sunday offered to donate 30 million dollars in cash as part of its planned humanitarian aid, officials said.

Over the weekend Norway offered the United States 10 million kroner (1.6 million dollars, 1.3 million euros) to help relief efforts.

Sri Lanka -- also still recovering from the December 26 tsunami which devastated the island's coastlines and killed 31,000 people -- said it had donated 25,000 dollars and asked doctors to help.

China said it would offer five million dollars, while Japan said it had proposed sending an emergency rescue team.

India said it will provide five million dollars and essential medicines, and has offered water purification systems for use in households and small communities in the stricken areas, where potable water is a key concern.

The Philippines announced the dispatch of a 25-member team of aid workers with the first 10 members of the team, consisting of doctors, nurses and sanitary engineers, scheduled to leave this week.

Isn't it all amazing?

Of course, the writer couldn't resist a dig at President Bush. No surprise.

Cuba and Venezuela, two Latin American countries often singled out for criticism by administration of US President George W. Bush, were among the first to offer humanitarian assistance.