The money would be used to help up to 14 million people over a period of a year. It's targeted to fund projects carried out by 15 UN bodies and more than 100 aid agencies. Nearly $500 million has already been raised in a previous appeal, so the actual amount needed is $1.6 billion, which is "an enormous amount to deal with a

mammoth

task," said UN officials. Millions of people have lost everything. There is immense damage to infrastructure, and Pakistan's development

prospect

s may be disrupted for years.

An American scientist and his wife have been

indict

ed for allegedly trying to pass nuclear weapon secrets to Venezuela. The couple had worked as contractors at the Los Alamos nuclear research centre in New York. From Washington, here is Paul Adams.

This bizarre story appears to be the result of an elaborate sting, designed to catch a scientist with a long history of

grievance

s against his employers at Los Alamos. The FBI's statement makes it clear that it's not accusing the government of Venezuela of anything. But for over two years, an

undercover

FBI agent posing as a Venezuelan official held a number of conversations with Pedro Mascheroni, a

naturalized

American of Argentine origin, about plans to develop a nuclear weapon. According to the FBI, in November 2008, the physicist handed over a coded 132-page document

entitled

A Deterrence Program for Venezuela and asked for almost $800,000 in return.