[originaltext]M: Cleanup efforts arc underway in several Asian countries follow

M: Cleanup efforts arc underway in several Asian countries following the worst flooding in decades. In the Philippines, heavy monsoon rains have subsided, but flooding and landslides continue in sections north of the capital Manila. Flood waters have also covered nearly 61,000 hectares of farmland.  Philippines’ President Joseph Estrada declared a state of calamity in the capital, virtually shutting down the city.  Meanwhile, flooding in Vietnam, Cambodia and northern Thailand have begun to ease, but damage is estimated in the millions of dollars. In China, seasonal flooding has killed at least 725 people and left 5.5 million people homeless. The Ministry of Civil Affairs says 23 provinces have been affected by flooding with the hardest-hit areas along the mid-to-lower sections of the Yangtze River.
W: On the other side of the globe, Russians are complaining about a heat wave, which has caused temperatures to top 30 degrees Celsius for much of July and August. Russian farmers are expecting a poor grain harvest for the second year in a row because of drought conditions. And farmers from the mid-Atlantic region of the United States face similar conditions. The U.S. Congress is working on a massive emergency aid package for them.