Buckingham
Palace has announced that the Queen has made a "significant" personal donation
to the Disasters Emergency Fund which is endeavouring to offer essential aid to the people of Burma
following the recent devastating cyclone.
Following the precedent set on earlier occasions, the amount given by the Queen has not been
disclosed.
However, the news will come as a welcome boost to the public profile
of the DEF, which is an umbrella body of the humanitarian agencies, and the message that ongoing help is crucial.
Rescue
efforts are continuing in Burma amidst fears that the military junta is
essentially blocking any outside support in the aftermath of Cyclone
Nargis, which made landfall on May 2nd as a Category 3 Cyclone.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown today reiterated his hope that the
Burmese authorities will allow aid efforts to proceed following the
disaster which is estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands.
Approximately 1.5m people are believed to have been displaced and are now in need of emergency assistance.
