Myanmar's isolationist government blocked United Nations efforts Thursday to airlift urgently needed food aid to survivors of a cyclone that may have killed more than 100,000 people, officials said, according to AP. State radio said «unscrupulous elements» were spreading rumors of an impending earthquake, a second cyclone and looting in Yangon, the country's largest city. Residents say some looting occurred at markets and stores in suburbs of Yangon earlier this week. The warning about rumors appeared to be an attempt to calm the population as well as stop any gatherings that might turn into political agitation against widely detested military rule. Paul Risley, a spokesman for the U.N. World Food Program in Bangkok, said three flights were waiting to leave Dubai, Bangladesh and Thailand with about 50 U.S. tons (45 metric tons) of high-energy biscuits. A scheduled Thai Airways cargo flight was likely to carry some biscuits later Thursday. Earlier, a statement from WFP in Washington indicated approval for the airlift had been given, saying the planes were scheduled to land in Yangon early Thursday. Myanmar's state media said Cyclone Nargis killed at least 22,980 people and left 42,119 missing, mostly in the hardest-hit Irrawaddy delta. But a top U.S. diplomat said Wednesday the toll could go up to more than 100,000.
