MADRID, Jan 1 (AFP) - Aid organisations in Spain said on Thursday they had chartered five aircraft which would head for the Iranian city of Bam on Friday to help relief operations in the wake of last week's earthquake.

Representatives of the Red Cross, Spain's Agency for International Cooperation and an international association of firefighters said they had, between them, chartered five planes to fly out aid to survivors of the disaster, which killed at least 27,000 people and possibly as much as 40,000.

The organisations said Spanish Foreign

Temporary licenses will permit export of special relief items

The United States will issue temporary licenses to individuals and non-governmental organizations permitting the transfer of funds and export of specialized equipment to aid the victims of the devastating earthquake in Bam, Iran, the White House announced December 31.

The new procedures do not cover such humanitarian relief items as food, certain medicines, clothing, and tents, which do not require a license.

"The Iranian people deserve and need the assistance of the international community to help them recover

by Sebastien Blanc

BAM, Iran, Jan 1 (AFP) - Foreign rescue teams continued to leave Bam Thursday, many frustrated at being unable to show their true worth in the southeast Iranian city levelled in last Friday's earthquake that killed 30-40,000 people.

"When you only get to pull dead people from the rubble, it's often very frustrating for rescuers," said Amar Ben Abdesselam, a doctor from the Algerian civil protection unit.

"Normally, four to five days after a quake you still find people injured. Here, two days after the quake,

BAM, Iran, January 1 (Petra) - Jordan's field hospital in the quake-stricken Iranian town of Bam on Wednesday began providing round-the-clock medical service to earthquake victims, two days after the medical team's arrival on the scene.

Hospital Director Mohammad Tarawneh said the fully-equipped hospital, manned by specialists and general practitioners as well as nurses, is conducting all kinds of surgeries, and providing orthopaedic and paediatric services.

The hospital is equipped with X-ray units, a laboratory, blood bank and pharmacy, as well as an intensive care unit,

In response to the devastating earthquake that struck Bam, Iran last Friday, Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation's relief team of volunteers arrived in the province of Kerman on the 29th of December. On December 30th, the team will enter Bam to assess damages and begin relief efforts.
Within forty-eight hours of this catastrophic earthquake, a team of Tzu Chi volunteers and two medical personnel from Taiwan, Jordan and Turkey, was formed and ready. Relief materials were prepared, which consisted of twelve cases of medical supplies, a hundred

While, nationally, Iranian Red Crescent (IRCS) volunteers are receiving in the course of assistance rendering to the victims of Bam devastating killer quake and its toll on the lives of people and their properties, ever increasing public donations and sympathies throughout the country in the fund-raising camps, various kinds of donations are still being poured in the disaster stricken areas both in response to the urgent need for carrying out a relief and rescue operation that started immediately in the wake of early-freezing-day quake by IRCS relief

Preliminary Appeal launched on 26 December 2003 for CHF 15,409,300 (USD 12,290,337 or EUR 9,886,505) for 6 months for 200,000 beneficiaries.
Disaster Relief Emergency Funds (DREF) allocated: N/A

Period covered: 29 to 31 December, 2003

The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in over 180 countries. For more information: www.ifrc.org

By Edmund Blair

BAM, Iran (Reuters) - Thousands of homeless Iranian earthquake survivors huddled against the cold early on Wednesday, five nights after up to 50,000 people died in one of the worst natural disasters in a decade.

Humanitarian aid poured into Iran as foreign rescue teams headed home after concluding no one could still be alive beneath the collapsed mud-brick houses of the southeastern Silk Road city of Bam.

Nearly $500 million has been pledged by dozens of countries.

Some 30,000 bodies have been recovered

A plane carrying =A350,000 worth of vital water equipment from the International Aid Agency, Oxfam, landed in Bam, Iran this morning at 8am local time (4.30am GMT). The plane, chartered by the British Red Cross, and loaded with seven-and-a-half-tonnes of Oxfam aid, including water pumps, tanks and purification chemicals, left Bristol airport at 6pm last night.
The Acting Director of Oxfam, John Whitaker said: "It is vital to get this equipment to the survivors in Bam as soon as possible. Access to clean water and to adequate sanitation facilities