Aid from a number of Asian countries has been arriving in Burma
The World Food Programme says it will resume aid flights to Burma on Saturday, despite a row over the local authorities impounding deliveries.
The UN body had suspended relief flights after the Burmese government seized tonnes of aid material flown in to help victims of Cyclone Nargis.
The cyclone killed thousands of people and left many more at risk.
A Burmese government spokesman told the Associated Press the UN claims had been "baseless accusations".
Ye Htut said the government had taken control of the aid to distribute it "without delay by its own labour to the affected areas".
The country's ruling generals have faced mounting criticism over their handling of the crisis.
The UN fears more than 1.5 million people have been affected by the cyclone, with tens of thousands made homeless and vulnerable to disease.
The World Health Organization says access to clean drinking water and outbreaks of communicable diseases such as dengue and malaria are a major concern.
It is sitting in a warehouse it is not in trucks heading to Irrawaddy Delta where it is critically needed
Paul Risley
World Food Programme
World wrestles with aid issue
Burmese state media say 22,980 people were killed, but there are fears the figure could rise.
Britain's ambassador to Burma, Mark Canning, said authoritative sources were now speaking of between 63,000 and 100,000 people dead or missing.
Hundreds of thousands of people have no food, water or shelter. International aid agencies on the ground say seven tonnes of high-energy biscuits have been distributed in the delta region, but they have reached only 10% of those that need help.
Despite this, Burma's foreign ministry issued a statement on Friday saying it was not ready to allow foreign aid workers to enter the country.
The junta said it was happy to accept aid, but insisted it would control the distribution itself.
'Murdering own people'
WFP spokesman Paul Risley said two flights of "critically-needed food aid" - including 38 tonnes of high-energy biscuits - arrived in Burma on Friday but was confiscated. AID PLEDGES
UK $10m
UN $10m
Japan $10m
US $3m
France $3m
Australia $2.8m
In pictures: Cyclone survivors
Rangoon's hardship
"We are very concerned that this food is not reaching - on day six after a cyclone - the very victims of that cyclone.
"We have appealed to the minister for social welfare to release that food as quickly as possible so that it can continue on its way south to the victims of the cyclone.
"It is sitting in a warehouse, it is not in trucks heading to Irrawaddy Delta where it is critically needed."
The BBC's Jonathan Head in neighbouring Thailand says that given how little aid is getting into Burma, this was a disappointing setback. EXTENT OF THE DEVASTATION
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He said the military leaders appeared to be putting their pride and entrenched suspicion of foreigners before the lives of their people.
One aid official told him the Burmese government was "murdering their own people by letting them die".
Tim Costello, from World Vision Australia, said aid workers in Burma were experiencing feelings of guilt about not being able to do enough and felt fear and frustration as a result of that.
"But their job is to work with the situation and keep hope alive and keep going," he told a Disasters Emergency Committee news conference in London.
The BBC's Paul Danahar, in southern Burma despite restrictions on journalists, says the survivors need more than food.
He says they have been cut off and helpless for seven days and are surrounded by tens of thousands of rotting corpses.
What they really need, he says, is the corpses to be moved, clean water, shelter, and efforts to start rebuilding the devastated infrastructure.
Thai pressure
The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, says two trucks with shelter supplies are due to cross the border from Thailand on Saturday.
Spokeswoman Vivian Tan said the agency had assurances from the government that it would be allowed to monitor the distribution process.
"It is a small drop in the ocean given the needs on the ground," she told the BBC. "But given the scale of the crisis we need to explore different delivery routes."
Thailand's Foreign Minister, Noppadon Pattma, said he would be asking his Burmese counterpart to be more flexible regarding the admission of aid and aid teams.
"Myanmar (Burma) should be more responsive to international assistance but we cannot force Myanmar to do it, we have to respect her own decision," he told the BBC.
"But the Myanmar people should be at the centre of considerations."
World wrestles with Burma aid issue
By Jonathan Marcus
Diplomatic Correspondent, BBC News
Some of the supplies that have arrived have been confiscated, agencies say
The scale of the suffering prompted by the cyclone in Burma is huge.
Only a massive outside relief effort can help the authorities there to cope with the catastrophe.
But Burma's isolated military regime has been dragging its feet in accepting offers of aid - something that has frustrated non-governmental organisations and many other governments alike.
Their frustration has been exemplified by the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner - himself a veteran humanitarian activist - who proposed the idea that there should be a UN resolution compelling Burma to accept outside aid.
Such a move was strongly opposed by Russia and China, who are uneasy about the implications of such a step, which they see as intruding into Burma's internal affairs.
Mr Kouchner's call was based upon an idea that has gained some ground in international affairs during the past decade.
This is the notion that the international community has a right, indeed a duty, to intervene in another country's affairs, if it is not upholding its responsibilities to its own citizens.
The doctrine, first championed by the Canadians and recognised by the United Nations in 2005, is known as "the responsibility to protect".
Applying the doctrine
It was strongly influenced by the experience in the Balkans, and Nato's military intervention to expel Serbian forces from Kosovo in 1999.
The Serbian authorities, it was argued, were conducting genocidal attacks against a part of their own population.
There are widespread shortages of food, water and shelter
Taking military action, though, is one thing - forcing a country to accept a vast humanitarian aid effort quite another.
Ed Luck, a special adviser to the UN Secretary General, has argued that linking the "responsibility to protect" to the situation in Burma is a misapplication of the doctrine.
The World Summit in 2005, he says, saw this responsibility being applied in four very specific cases - genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing.
The US and France still seem to be hinting at the possibility of some kind of forced delivery of aid if all else fails, and the Burmese government continues to refuse to grant humanitarian access.
But quite apart from the political implications of such a step, there would be huge practical problems, too.
Such an approach might have to rely upon air-drops of food and emergency supplies to the flood-hit areas.
Without proper co-ordination on the ground this might be a gesture, at best.
Diplomatic pressure
There can be no substitute for a vast, co-ordinated operation on the ground.
Inevitably, then, the focus remains on applying diplomatic pressure to encourage Burma's rulers to relax their constraints.
Britain is pursuing urgent efforts with both the Burmese authorities, and countries with close ties to the military regime there - like China, India and Thailand - to try to deal with the central problem slowing the aid effort to the cyclone-stricken region: access.
The World Food Programme says its aid flights have had to be suspended
Britain's ambassador in Rangoon, Mark Canning, in a telephone briefing, said that some aid workers were being allowed into the country, but not on a scale that was either large enough or fast enough.
He said that governments with close ties to the Burmese authorities had a very important role to play in trying to convince them to allow a major international aid effort to get under way.
Burma experts, though, stress the scale of the problem.
This, they say, is an inward-looking regime, where every effort has been made to limit access to the country from outside.
The British ambassador's message to the Burmese authorities was clear - steps had to be taken to get the badly-needed experts in as quickly as possible.
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BURMA CYCLONE
KEY STORIES
Burma shuns foreign aid workers
Bangladesh aid arrives in Burma
Forcing aid to Burma 'incendiary'
Burma: How you can help
Burma cyclone: The aid effort
In pictures: Burma aid effort
Burma diary - the relief effort
ANALYSIS
Aid conundrum
The world is split on how to get aid to cyclone victims, writes Jonathan Marcus
Inside Burma
Getting the boot from Burma
Will Burma open its arms to aid?
Map and satellite images
Is it Burma or Myanmar?
VIDEO
Videos from the scene of the Burma cyclone
BBC inside Burma after cyclone
EYEWITNESS
Burmese blog the cyclone
Rangoon after the disaster
Eyewitness reports
Mr Clegg says the international community can not "stand idly by"
Aid should be parachuted into Burma within the next two or three days - whether the authorities there like it or not, says Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg.
Burma's military-run government is refusing to let most aid workers over the border of the cyclone-hit state.
Tim Costello, of World Vision charity, said staff had "literally overflowed in tears" for not being allowed to help.
But International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said acting without permission would be "incendiary".
'United front'
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also condemned the actions of the Burmese government and said he was "determined" that aid would get through.
I think the time is now coming, drawing very close to taking the most drastic step of all, which is dropping aid directly into Burma
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg
'No British casualties' in Burma
He said: "There are children going without food, there are people without shelter.
"It is utterly unacceptable that when international aid is offered, the regime will try to prevent that getting in."
Mr Alexander told BBC 2's Newsnight the "best way forward" was not unilateral action but an international "united front" to win access for aid agencies.
"Our responsibility is to make sure that our sole focus is getting the aid to the people who desperately need it."
'Important step'
He said carrying out forced air-drops of supplies would be the wrong action to take.
But Mr Clegg said the United Nations had a right to step in when governments failed to protect their own people.
The Lib Dem leader told BBC Radio 4's The World at One: "I think the time is now coming, drawing very close to taking the most drastic step of all, which is dropping aid directly into Burma, irrespective of the wishes of the Burmese regime.
"This, of course, in practical terms is not an ideal solution because you're dropping aid from the air, it doesn't guarantee it gets to the people who need it.
Our concern is that people will start to doubt whether their donations are really getting there and making a difference
Jasmine Whitbread
Save the Children
"But I think it would be an important step to show that the international community is simply not going to stand idly by."
The World Food Programme (WFP) has halted aid shipments to Burma after the contents of its first delivery were impounded on arrival in the military-ruled country.
The UN body says the Burmese government seized tonnes of aid material flown in to help victims of Cyclone Nargis, which has killed tens of thousands.
The WFP said it had no choice but to halt aid until the matter was resolved.
But Jasmine Whitbread, of charity Save the Children, said despite the obstructions, it is imperative people do not stop their donations for fear the funds and supplies will fall into the wrong hands.
She said: "Our concern is that people will start to doubt whether their donations are really getting there and making a difference.
"Our message is that we are reaching these people and we really desperately need the funds to continue flowing."
E-mail this to a friend Printable version
Bookmark with:
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What are these?
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BURMA CYCLONE
KEY STORIES
Burma shuns foreign aid workers
Bangladesh aid arrives in Burma
Forcing aid to Burma 'incendiary'
Burma: How you can help
Burma cyclone: The aid effort
In pictures: Burma aid effort
Burma diary - the relief effort
ANALYSIS
Aid conundrum
The world is split on how to get aid to cyclone victims, writes Jonathan Marcus
Inside Burma
Getting the boot from Burma
Will Burma open its arms to aid?
Map and satellite images
Is it Burma or Myanmar?
VIDEO
Videos from the scene of the Burma cyclone
BBC inside Burma after cyclone
EYEWITNESS
Burmese blog the cyclone
Rangoon after the disaster
Eyewitness reports
TOP UK POLITICS STORIES
Voters 'are confused by Labour'
balliatic
World wrestles with Burma aid issue
By Jonathan Marcus
Diplomatic Correspondent, BBC News
Some of the supplies that have arrived have been confiscated, agencies say
The scale of the suffering prompted by the cyclone in Burma is huge.
Only a massive outside relief effort can help the authorities there to cope with the catastrophe.
But Burma's isolated military regime has been dragging its feet in accepting offers of aid - something that has frustrated non-governmental organisations and many other governments alike.
Their frustration has been exemplified by the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner - himself a veteran humanitarian activist - who proposed the idea that there should be a UN resolution compelling Burma to accept outside aid.
Such a move was strongly opposed by Russia and China, who are uneasy about the implications of such a step, which they see as intruding into Burma's internal affairs.
Mr Kouchner's call was based upon an idea that has gained some ground in international affairs during the past decade.
This is the notion that the international community has a right, indeed a duty, to intervene in another country's affairs, if it is not upholding its responsibilities to its own citizens.
The doctrine, first championed by the Canadians and recognised by the United Nations in 2005, is known as "the responsibility to protect".
Applying the doctrine
It was strongly influenced by the experience in the Balkans, and Nato's military intervention to expel Serbian forces from Kosovo in 1999.
The Serbian authorities, it was argued, were conducting genocidal attacks against a part of their own population.
There are widespread shortages of food, water and shelter
Taking military action, though, is one thing - forcing a country to accept a vast humanitarian aid effort quite another.
Ed Luck, a special adviser to the UN Secretary General, has argued that linking the "responsibility to protect" to the situation in Burma is a misapplication of the doctrine.
The World Summit in 2005, he says, saw this responsibility being applied in four very specific cases - genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing.
The US and France still seem to be hinting at the possibility of some kind of forced delivery of aid if all else fails, and the Burmese government continues to refuse to grant humanitarian access.
But quite apart from the political implications of such a step, there would be huge practical problems, too.
Such an approach might have to rely upon air-drops of food and emergency supplies to the flood-hit areas.
Without proper co-ordination on the ground this might be a gesture, at best.
Diplomatic pressure
There can be no substitute for a vast, co-ordinated operation on the ground.
Inevitably, then, the focus remains on applying diplomatic pressure to encourage Burma's rulers to relax their constraints.
Britain is pursuing urgent efforts with both the Burmese authorities, and countries with close ties to the military regime there - like China, India and Thailand - to try to deal with the central problem slowing the aid effort to the cyclone-stricken region: access.
The World Food Programme says its aid flights have had to be suspended
Britain's ambassador in Rangoon, Mark Canning, in a telephone briefing, said that some aid workers were being allowed into the country, but not on a scale that was either large enough or fast enough.
He said that governments with close ties to the Burmese authorities had a very important role to play in trying to convince them to allow a major international aid effort to get under way.
Burma experts, though, stress the scale of the problem.
This, they say, is an inward-looking regime, where every effort has been made to limit access to the country from outside.
The British ambassador's message to the Burmese authorities was clear - steps had to be taken to get the badly-needed experts in as quickly as possible.
E-mail this to a friend Printable version
Bookmark with:
Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon
What are these?
Advertisement
BURMA CYCLONE
KEY STORIES
Burma shuns foreign aid workers
Bangladesh aid arrives in Burma
Forcing aid to Burma 'incendiary'
Burma: How you can help
Burma cyclone: The aid effort
In pictures: Burma aid effort
Burma diary - the relief effort
ANALYSIS
Aid conundrum
The world is split on how to get aid to cyclone victims, writes Jonathan Marcus
Inside Burma
Getting the boot from Burma
Will Burma open its arms to aid?
Map and satellite images
Is it Burma or Myanmar?
VIDEO
Videos from the scene of the Burma cyclone
BBC inside Burma after cyclone
EYEWITNESS
Burmese blog the cyclone
Rangoon after the disaster
Eyewitness reports
balliatic
Get tough with Burma, says Clegg
Mr Clegg says the international community can not "stand idly by"
Aid should be parachuted into Burma within the next two or three days - whether the authorities there like it or not, says Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg.
Burma's military-run government is refusing to let most aid workers over the border of the cyclone-hit state.
Tim Costello, of World Vision charity, said staff had "literally overflowed in tears" for not being allowed to help.
But International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said acting without permission would be "incendiary".
'United front'
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also condemned the actions of the Burmese government and said he was "determined" that aid would get through.
I think the time is now coming, drawing very close to taking the most drastic step of all, which is dropping aid directly into Burma
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg
'No British casualties' in Burma
He said: "There are children going without food, there are people without shelter.
"It is utterly unacceptable that when international aid is offered, the regime will try to prevent that getting in."
Mr Alexander told BBC 2's Newsnight the "best way forward" was not unilateral action but an international "united front" to win access for aid agencies.
"Our responsibility is to make sure that our sole focus is getting the aid to the people who desperately need it."
'Important step'
He said carrying out forced air-drops of supplies would be the wrong action to take.
But Mr Clegg said the United Nations had a right to step in when governments failed to protect their own people.
The Lib Dem leader told BBC Radio 4's The World at One: "I think the time is now coming, drawing very close to taking the most drastic step of all, which is dropping aid directly into Burma, irrespective of the wishes of the Burmese regime.
"This, of course, in practical terms is not an ideal solution because you're dropping aid from the air, it doesn't guarantee it gets to the people who need it.
Our concern is that people will start to doubt whether their donations are really getting there and making a difference
Jasmine Whitbread
Save the Children
"But I think it would be an important step to show that the international community is simply not going to stand idly by."
The World Food Programme (WFP) has halted aid shipments to Burma after the contents of its first delivery were impounded on arrival in the military-ruled country.
The UN body says the Burmese government seized tonnes of aid material flown in to help victims of Cyclone Nargis, which has killed tens of thousands.
The WFP said it had no choice but to halt aid until the matter was resolved.
But Jasmine Whitbread, of charity Save the Children, said despite the obstructions, it is imperative people do not stop their donations for fear the funds and supplies will fall into the wrong hands.
She said: "Our concern is that people will start to doubt whether their donations are really getting there and making a difference.
"Our message is that we are reaching these people and we really desperately need the funds to continue flowing."
E-mail this to a friend Printable version
Bookmark with:
Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon
What are these?
Advertisement
BURMA CYCLONE
KEY STORIES
Burma shuns foreign aid workers
Bangladesh aid arrives in Burma
Forcing aid to Burma 'incendiary'
Burma: How you can help
Burma cyclone: The aid effort
In pictures: Burma aid effort
Burma diary - the relief effort
ANALYSIS
Aid conundrum
The world is split on how to get aid to cyclone victims, writes Jonathan Marcus
Inside Burma
Getting the boot from Burma
Will Burma open its arms to aid?
Map and satellite images
Is it Burma or Myanmar?
VIDEO
Videos from the scene of the Burma cyclone
BBC inside Burma after cyclone
EYEWITNESS
Burmese blog the cyclone
Rangoon after the disaster
Eyewitness reports
TOP UK POLITICS STORIES
Voters 'are confused by Labour'
Get tough with Burma, says Clegg
Leaders make state school choices
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