The United Nations issued a worldwide appeal Wednesday for more aid to benefit reconstruction and the victims of last December's tsunami in Southeast Asia. The appeal at the beginning of January for 977 million dollars (760 million euro) has been raised to 1.08 million dollars, said the U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland in Geneva. The funds are needed for one year mainly to rebuild homes. So far, 80 per cent or 870 million dollars of the requested aid had been received. Germany had agreed to donate 500 million euro for the victims of the tsunami. On December 26, 2004, up to 300,000 people were killed by the devastating tsunami. Relief aid for Southeast Asia had been overwhelming. "The U.N. has witnessed unprecedented generosity," said Egeland. An estimated 92 countries had promised 5.8 billion dollars in aid, but which had not yet been paid. --More 2232 Local Time 1932 GMT
