UN makes $7.7 billion aid appeal for 2012 (AP)

GENEVA ? The United Nations is asking donor nations to give $7.7 billion to pay for humanitarian emergencies in 2012.

The initial request for next year is significantly lower than the $8.9 billion that the global body asked for in 2011.

The U.N.'s humanitarian appeals are revised throughout the year to respond to unforeseen disasters.

U.N. aid chief Valerie Amos told reporters in Geneva on Wednesday that the appeal would cover the needs of 51 million people from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

The biggest amount, $1.5 billion, will be devoted to Somalia.

This is followed by $1.1 billion for Sudan and $764 million for Kenya where tens of thousands of Somalis have sought shelter from war and famine.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111214/ap_on_re_eu/eu_un_aid_appeal

grammys 2011 mike leach mike leach billy graham scion fr s elf on a shelf elf on a shelf