Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan Yang Houlan Monday handed over a donation of US$55,000 to the Afghan side to help tackle recent severe floods and avalanches, expressing the Chinese friendship to this country.

Newly appointed Yang, who arrived in Kabul on March 22, delivered the cash to Fatima Gailani, head of the Afghan Red Crescent Society, at the Chinese Embassy.

Yang said the donation was a symbol of the Chinese people's friendship toward brotherly Afghans, adding he hoped the affected Afghans could recover from the disasters and rebuild their homes in short time.

Among the donated cash, US$50,000 is from the Red Cross Society of China, while the rest US$5,000 is contributed by the staff of the Chinese embassy.

Gailani briefed Yang on the current situation in flood-stricken regions in Afghanistan, and thanked the Chinese people for their timely and warm-hearted aid.

Due to rainstorms and snow melt, many Afghan provinces have suffered from floods and avalanches over the past few days, which killed scores of persons and damaged thousands of houses.

(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2007)