The Pentagon has pledged to double the number of US helicopters helping with relief efforts. US aid is helping reverse widespread anti-American sentiment but it will not be enough to win hearts and minds in the long term, experts say. The US has been the biggest and the quickest single international floods donor, committing $200 million to help Pakistan recover from its worst-ever natural disaster. It currently has 22 helicopters rescuing ... Read More

WASHINGTON: Describing as a "tremendous gesture" India's aid offer for Pakistani flood victims, the US has said it was "gratified" by Islamabad's decision to accept USD 5 million in assistance extended by its neighbour. "It was a tremendous gesture by India offering assistance to Pakistan and we are gratified that Pakistan has decided to accept that offer," State Department spokesman, P J Crowley, told reporters last evening. Crowley was responding ... Read More

Saturday, 21 Aug, 2010 Sakina, a flood victim, eats her meal while taking refuge in a makeshift relief camp in Sukkur, August 20. ISLAMABAD: UN chief Ban Ki-moon praised the global community as emergency donations for Pakistan neared 500 million dollars but warned the flood-stricken nation faces “years of need”. Donations have outstripped the 460 million sought by the UN emergency appeal as the global ... Read More

Wednesday, 18 Aug, 2010 Zamir Akram, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Pakistan to Geneva, tells journalists about recent floods in Pakistan during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. – GENEVA: International aid is starting to arrive for flood-hit Pakistan, but too slowly for relief agencies which are running out of resources to deal with the ... Read More

Tuesday, 17 Aug, 2010 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan won more aid pledges Tuesday after concerns that money is not coming through fast enough to help 20 million people hit by unprecedented floods and stave off a “second wave of death” from disease. Torrential monsoon rain triggered catastrophic floods which have affected a fifth of the country, wiping out villages, rich farm land, infrastructure and killing an estimated 1,600 ... Read More

Read the Transcript: to.pbs.org The US began to send money, aid workers and rescue assistance to Pakistan for flood victims. Jonathon Miller of Independent Television News reports about frustration in a remote Pakistani village. ... Read More

Read the Transcript: to.pbs.org The numbers of those affected by the floods in Pakistan have climbed to more than 4 million. The forecast is calling for heavy monsoon rains for the next three days. Jonathan Miller of Independent Television News reports from Punjab Province in the eastern part of the country. ... Read More

Aid workers are struggling to get help to some 3.2 million victims after floods that have already killed up to 1500 people. . Follow us on twitter at twitter.com . ... Read More

Rescue and relief activity is continuing in flood-ravaged Pakistan where the death toll has climbed to over 1400. . Follow us on twitter at twitter.com . ... Read More

Tuesday, 10 Aug, 2010 US soldiers distribute bread to flood survivors in the aircraft evacuating them from the flooded area of Kallam valley . ISLAMABAD: The international community has so far pledged relief assistance of about $102 million for people affected by the worst floods in Pakistan’s history and only $10-20 million of the amount has been delivered through official channels. Informed sources ... Read More

Oxfam's Zahra Akkerhuys spent a week in rural Afghanistan visiting Oxfam's team. This is her diary. Monday It's hard to get a handle on Afghanistan. After a few days in Kabul, where security restrictions limit movement and ex-pats are forced to spend most of their time in gated compounds, it's so refreshing to get out of the city and into the provinces where ordinary people live. Badakhshan, in the far north-east, is picture ... Read More

Tuesday, 15 Jun, 2010 ISLAMABAD: The international aid group Mercy Corps has suspended its operations in Pakistan after kidnappers killed one of its employees, the agency said Tuesday, the latest fallout from attacks on aid groups in the troubled nation. Four Pakistani employees of Mercy Corps were abducted Feb. 18 as they drove to one of their offices in Quetta, the capital of southwest Baluchistan province. The staffers were working ... Read More