Pope prays for Chinese earthquake victims

] The death toll from a killer cyclone in Myanmar could be “in the region of 100,000 or even more," the chief of the United Nations Humanitarian Affairs said Wednesday. John Holmes, U.N. under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, said his organization already has confirmed 38,491 deaths — much more than the 22,000 figure from Myanmar’s government. The weather forecast, meanwhile, calls for rain in the next several days in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma. That could cause flooding in low-lying areas that already are saturated with water left when Cyclone Nargis slammed into the country on May 2. In another development Thursday, Myanmar’s government announced that a military-backed constitution was overwhelmingly approved by voters in last week’s referendum, The Associated Press reported. State radio said Thursday that the draft constitution was approved by more than 92 percent of the 22 million eligible voters. It put turnout at more than 99 percent, AP reported. Human rights groups have denounced the referendum as a way for the junta to solidify military rule. Aid agencies have struggled to gain access to the country from the secretive military junta that rules Myanmar, though some relief flights have arrived this week. The regime has indicated that it would like supplies but not international aid workers. That lack of access makes it hard to bring the scale of destruction into sharp focus. [url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/15/myanmar/?iref=mpstoryview:
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