World leaders met today in Indonesia for an international summit on the Asian Tsunami. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan warned that the world is in what he called “a race against time” to prevent another sharp rise in the death toll, which is now more than 155,000. Annan warned that the number of fatalities could double due to the spread of disease and hunger if aid did not reach survivors soon. While nearly $4 billion has been pledged worldwide, the United Nations has warned some of the promises might not be honored as in previous disasters. More than a year ago donors promised Iran more than $1bn to assist with the Bam earthquake disaster. Iran complains that only $17.5m ever arrived. The leaders also proposed that some money be given to the devastated countries as loans. Canada was the only donor to declare a unilateral moratorium on debt repayments, but Japan says it is willing to do so and other countries indicate they would support the idea.

As the conference ended, the world leaders issued a declaration pledging to work together to help the shattered region recover and set up a tsunami warning system to ensure that next time such a wave is generated coastal communities will have time to flee to higher ground.