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Relatives of missing persons in the MV Princess of the Stars sinking, braved the stench of decomposing flesh as they viewed 49 bodies, which were brought to Cebu by Sulpicio Lines yesterday.

However, only the bodies of Juvelyin Requilme Jr., 16; Esmeralda Lequi-gan, 54; Julie Mendoza, 43; crewmember Ruel Lariba and PNP 7 Band member SPO3 Adolfo Villareal were identified by the anxious family members at the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes in Junque-ra St., Cebu City yesterday.

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U.S. President George Bush says the United States will do it all it can to help the victims of the typhoon that struck the Philippines over the weekend. VOA’s Paula Wolfson reports following talks at the White House with Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, Mr. Bush announced plans to send a U.S. aircraft carrier to the scene.

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UN Officials Condemn Burma’s Forced Eviction of Cyclone Victims from Relief Centers

Witnesses say the military government has been - in some cases - handing out bamboo poles and tarps and telling people to go back to their villages and rebuild their homes. They say the government is moving to clear out a number of camps south of the main city, Rangoon, where thousands have sought refuge after Cyclone Nargis ripped through the country May 2 leaving at least 134,000 people dead or missing.

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On May 2nd & 3rd, Cyclone Nargis ripped through the Irrawaddy Delta and Yangon of a country slightly smaller than Texas. Myanmar (previously known as Burma) was ravaged not just by the cyclone, but a 12-foot high tsunami which caused a majority of the damage. The death toll has now reached 78,000 with 55,000 people still missing. Although the country opened its borders to accept disaster relief, the government has started limiting supplies, denying work Visas as well as other unacceptable tactics to maintain power. This will make recovery harder and cause more problems for a country that has little or nothing as it is.

On May 12th, an earthquake struck the Sichuan Province in China. It registered at 7.9 on the Richter Scale. It is one of the worst earthquakes on record to hit China. Aftershocks continued throughout much of the night following the earthquake. Winchuan County was the epicenter of the disaster. Entire buildings are nothing more than rubble, streets are covered with debris and the foul stench of death fills the air. Survivors are still trying to put the pieces together. The rescue efforts are tedious as more and more dead bodies are pulled from the devastation. As of now, the death toll has reached 34,000 with thousands still missing. The president of China, Hu Jintao has declared a state of emergency. He is accepting any disaster aid available and will conduct an investigation into the sub-standard construction of many buildings which shouldn’t have collapsed and caused numbers of preventable deaths, especially schools were thousands of children died. He will hold all those accountable.

Funds for Tsunami VictimsPrime Minister Dr Derek Sikua has announced in Parliament that Australia and New Zealand are providing nearly 18 million dollars towards last years’ disaster victims in Western and Choiseul Provinces to rebuild or repair their homes.

Prime Minister Sikua announced this on the one year anniversary of the disaster. He also stated that he commends Australia and New Zealand for their reliefs efforts, but the focus will be on rebuilding and repairing the homes of the disaster victims. The funds will be distributed through World Vision.

Prime Minister Sikua said the AusAID and NZAid funds are additional to the 15 million dollar contribution by the government, February this year for rehabilitation.

Though it will take some time for the reconstruction effort to be completed, the disaster victims of the Western and Choiseul Provinces in the Solomon Islands are hopeful that their way of life will never be disrupted in a similar fashion anytime in the near future.