Following events around the Indian Ocean

Living in something of a communications black hole in the rural North of England, I've been in search of more in-depth coverage of the Indian Ocean disaster than the reduced-length Christmastime TV news programmes have allowed. The BBC World Service has been the best source I've come across so far, with extensive coverage, interviews, discussion and analysis offered on a regularly basis. The World Service also takes a wider interest in events, beyond the national focus generally pursued by domestic media outlets, and is really worth a listen. Tune in on DAB, digital TV, MW 648 in North West Europe or Worldwide on Shortwave and satellite.

I'm surprised that there are not more missing Britons in the area. The BBC say there are "dozens" still missing in Thailand, but if correct, it's a great deal less than the many, many hundreds of missing from Sweden, German, Switerland and elsewhere. However our focus must be now on the millions living in the region affected without homes and basic amenities. With this in mind, an appeal website has been set up by the Disasters Emergency Committee which is something of an umbrella organisation for a number of charities. Alternatively it is possible to donate to a specific charity such the British Red Cross (link below) or Oxfam.