Laura Bush to Myanmar: Accept aid

May 5 - First Lady Laura Bush asked the government of Myanmar - referred to by the Bush Administration as Burma - to accept foreign aid in the hope of helping victims of the cyclone.

Mrs. Bush said, "The United States stands prepared to provide an assistance team and much needed supplies to Burma as soon as the Burmese government accepts our offer. The government of Burma should accept this team quickly as well as other offers of international assistance."

Mrs. Bush criticized Myanmar's leadership, saying: "The response to the cyclone is just the most recent example of the junta's failure to meet its people's basic needs."