Brown pushes tsunami debt relief
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He has been in “intensive talks” with other finance ministers from the wealthy G8 countries on a moratorium on debt repayments by affected countries. Germany proposed a freeze last week and Canada has begun its own moratorium. As UK deaths reached 41, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he would visit Thailand and Indonesia this week. A spokeswoman could not say whether the latest British confirmed fatality had been among the other 159 Britons already feared dead. The Boxing Day disaster is now known to have killed at least 140,000 people. Downing Street confirmed there would be a three-minute silence in memory of the victims at 1200 GMT on Wednesday. It also emerged that the British public has now pledged £76m in aid. The UK Government has promised £50m to the relief effort and says it is likely to exceed public donations. Aid delivery Prime Minister Tony Blair, back from his Christmas holiday, chaired the government’s south-east Asia emergency committee for the first time on Tuesday morning. Mr Blair’s official spokeswoman said: “The task is to turn money into help. It is to ensure aid gets to the people who need it.” More : news.bbc.co.uk |