India refused from US aid

India has turned down a U.S. offer of assistance for the victims of the weekend's earthquake, saying the country has enough resources, the Press Trust of India news agency reported Tuesday.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made the offer to his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee in a phone conversation late Monday, PTI quoted an Indian Defense Ministry spokesman as saying.

Some 1,300 people were killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir in the quake and thousands more left homeless. In neighboring Pakistan more than 20,000 are dead.

According to the spokesman, Mukherjee described the situation in Indian areas as "under control" and thanked Rumsfeld for the offer. The spokesman was not immediately available for comment as the report came after office hours, the AP informs.

Mukherjee also briefed Rumsfeld on Indian aid being sent to Pakistan, a longtime rival of India, PTI reported. India is scheduled to send some 25 tons of aid for Pakistan by a transport plane later Tuesday.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday announced 5 billion rupees (US$111 million, euro92.5 million) in assistance to the stricken regions, adding to the 1.42 billion rupees (US$31.5 million, euro 26.2 million) promised earlier by his government for relief and rehabilitation.

T.E.