Aid suffers from poor direction

International aid meant for the victims of Hurricane Katrina is backing up at an Air Force base in Arkansas because relief lorries are being directed to the wrong places.

Civilian truck drivers hired to take food and supplies to Louisiana and Mississippi from Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas have been repeatedly diverted to places which already have what they need, according to Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Bret Archbold.

Forced to drive through the disaster zone, looking for places to drop off aid supplied by Russia, Italy, Spain and Britain, the drivers are taking two days instead of one to deliver their loads. Master Sergeant Archbold said the air base had been left in "lull status".

Wage cut for relief workers

Democrats have questioned new rules that allow contractors employed by the US Government in the relief effort not to pay their workers prevailing wages.

President Bush has used emergency powers to suspend sections of a federal law that requires government workers to be paid wages based on local surveys of union and nonunion pay.

"Hurricane Katrina took away their jobs, now President Bush will take away their wages when they find new jobs," said the House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat.

Legislators from both parties have expressed unease over the quick granting of more than $60 billion to pay for the relief effort. Representative Henry Waxman, from California, has criticised the dramatic increase in the purchasing powers given to relief workers.

Federal employees who previously had government-issued credit cards with a limit of $15,000 have had their limits raised to $250,000. "This is an unwise provision," said Mr Waxman.

Prayers and pop

President Bush has designated September 16, next Friday, a national day of prayer and remembrance for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Between now and then, there will be a series of fundraising concerts and telethons to raise money for survivors of the storm.

Tonight, six television networks are combining to host Shelter From The Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast, which will be broadcast to 95 countries. Sheryl Crow, Paul Simon, Alicia Keys and the Dixie Chicks are expected to perform.

A simultaneous event will take place on Black Entertainment Television, which will feature artists including Master P, Diddy, and Jay Z. Kanye West, a rapper, is also expected to appear, but he is not thought to have been asked to speak. Last week West caused controversy when he said: "George Bush does not care about black people".

Credit card confusion

Chaos over two credit card programmes for survivors left people faint from the heat in enormous queues outside the Houston Astrodome yesterday.

There was confusion between a credit programme being run by the American Red Cross and measures announced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) on Wednesday. Fema promised debit cards with up to $2,000 in funds, while the Red Cross offered credit to families on a case by case basis.

It was unclear whether families could qualify for both cards and hurricane survivors rushed to line up. Fema later announced it was suspending its debit card programme for all survivors not staying at the Astrodome. Other evacuees will receive direct bank deposits or cheques sent by post, the agency said.

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