United States

The US Treasury Department on May 6 lifted a bureaucratic hurdle in an effort to make it easier for aid groups to offer assistance to cyclone-ravaged Burma (Myanmar). Its Office of Foreign Assets Control lifted a requirement that aid groups seek permission before providing assistance to Myanmar, where the death toll could reach 100,000 with tens of thousands missing. Aid groups are still prohibited from providing money or services directly to the Myanmar government without obtaining US government approval. However the US is considering such requests on an expedited basis given the emergency situation, Rankin said. (Reuters)