As Myanmar raises the cyclone's official death toll, the U.N. says the country's military leaders are keeping aid agencies in the dark about the extent of survivors' suffering.
Myanmar state television now puts the number of dead at nearly 78,000 people -- twice what it had previously reported. And it says another 56,000 people remain missing.
The storm hit two weeks ago, and the international Red Cross says the toll may be as high as 128,000.
The U.N. is sending the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs to the country this weekend. A spokesman says John Holmes will try to persuade the junta's leaders to give U.N. relief workers more access to the hardest hit region and to massively scale-up aid efforts.
The military regime has invited foreign diplomats to tour the hard-hit Irrawaddy delta for the first time tomorrow.