More countries, int'l organizations express sympathy to China over snow havoc

BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- More countries and international organizations have sent messages of sympathy to China since Monday over the recent snow havoc in the country.

State leaders who have sent their messages of sympathy to Chinain recent days included Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Nigerian President Umaru Yar'adua, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and Seychelle's President James Michel.

Heads of government including Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, Nepali Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Fiji Interim Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama also sent their messages of sympathy.

They praised the Chinese government and its people for their concerted efforts to combat the disastrous weather in southern China and pledged to provide aid to the troubled region.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and foreign ministers from Vietnam, Brazil, Malaysia, Latvia, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo said in their messages to the Chinese government that they are deeply sympathetic to the Chinese people suffering from the disaster.

They said they support the Chinese government in its disaster-relief efforts and hope life in the afflicted areas will soon return to normal.

The Secretariat of the Arab League expressed the body's solidarity with the Chinese people.

The Syrian government has pledged 100,000 U.S. dollars in emergency aid to China.

Snow has been falling in China's eastern, central and southern regions since mid-January, leading to deaths, structural collapses, blackouts, accidents, transport problems and livestock and crop losses in 19 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs of China.

More than 100 million people have been affected, and at least 60 people have died in the severe weather.