Burma's military government has given the United States military permission to fly its first planeload of relief supplies into the country from neighbouring Thailand. The US hope that this will pave the way for a larger operation. The aid agency Oxfam has warned that one and a half million Burmese could die if more is not done imminently. The United Nations estimates that at least 100 000 people have already died in the Irrawaddy Delta. The survivors are now at threat from disease and starvation.