International aid continued to pour into tsunami-hit Asia Thursday with more countries sending relief goods or making donation calls.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Thursday at the Special ASEAN Leaders' Meeting on the Aftermath of Earthquake and Tsunami that China is willing to make contributions to relief efforts and reconstruction in the tsunami-ravaged area.
China has actively participated in disaster relief efforts, sending humanitarian aid and rescue staff to disaster-hit regions. Wen's special plane carried China's third batch of humanitarian aid to Indonesia.
United States Secretary of State Colin Powell also pledged at the special ASEAN leaders' meeting in Jakarta that the US will continue to stand with the tsunami-hit countries in relief and reconstruction efforts.
Powell said "a core group" of nations consisting of several US allies will from now "fold itself into the broader coordination efforts of the United Nations."
French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie announced Thursday that five Puma helicopters and another navy frigate would be sent early next week to reinforce French military means to help the relief effort in south Asia.
The Jeanne d'Arc will carry four light helicopters and two Puma transport helicopters and some 60 engineers, as well as 6,000 food rations, 800 tons of water and water treatment equipment, five tons of medicine and field medical posts, according to colonel Gerard Dubois of French staff.
Members of the Canadian military's Disaster Assistance Response Team are on their way to tsunami-striken Sri Lanka, official sources said.
The first plane, loaded with equipment, has left Toronto for Sri Lanka Thursday morning. A second flight carrying personnel is scheduled for takeoff at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
The team will be bringing four planeloads of materials, including 40 vehicles, equipment for water purification, and a 43- member medical team.
Saudi Arabia's nationwide fund-raising campaign for victims of the Asian tsunami collected more than 117 million riyals (about 31. US$27 million) on its first day.
The first donation of US$266,600 was announced 45 minutes after the launch of the campaign on Thursday. King Fahd pledged 5. US$3 million, while Crown Prince Abdullah gave US$2.7 million. Defense Minister Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz offered US$1.3 million.
A team of 10 Spanish doctors and volunteers arrived Thursday in Sri Lanka with medicines to help the victims of tsunamis. Following the doctors and volunteers, 70 containers of humanitarian aid goods will be delivered to Sri Lanka by sea.
The Dutch public have so far donated around 63 million euros ( about US$83 million) to the relief effort following the tsunami in the Indian Ocean, Dutch media reported on Thursday.
The figure is still on the rise especially after special appeals were broadcast on Dutch radios and televisions and in newspapers on Thursday.
Mexican President Vicente Fox ordered the government on Thursday to make its first contribution in support of tsunami-hit Asian countries, according to a press statement released by the presidency.
While relief operations are making "phenomenal progress" in areas that can be reached, the United Nations humanitarian chief warned Thursday "enormous problems" still persist.
"We are doing an enormous job already, we already have hundreds of people working," Under-Secretary-General Jan Egeland told a news briefing in New York of the overall UN role as coordinator of the massive international relief effort.
He said: "But we need to build up more, and we can and we will build up more, and dramatically so in the next few days."
Turning to the Indonesian provinces of Aceh and Sumatra, the regions most ravaged by the tsunami, he said though "big progress is being made," there are still enormous problems such as the remoteness and lack of infrastructure.
Estimates of the tsunami's overall toll put the casualties at 150,000, with nearly 100,000 of them so far in Indonesia. More than half a million people are believed to have been injured and up to 5 millions are classified as lacking basic services.