City and stadium officials met today to assess the damage and determine reconstruction needs and costs.

Economic recovery has been slow partly because the reconstruction needs are so great.

Those immediate costs are separate from the country's long-term reconstruction needs.

"Iraq's debts needed to be reduced by 33%, from roughly $120 billion to $80 billion in order to fund reconstruction needs and long-term economic development."

Furthermore, considering our huge reconstruction needs and a young population requiring a large portion of our limited resources, a costly arms race is counterproductive and obviously contrary to our security interests.

Everything indicates that account has not yet been taken of the report by the World Bank, which will give precise details of reconstruction needs.

The first is the method and measures to be used for measuring the reconstruction needs of Haiti.

Thirdly, the European Investment Bank is asked to make a special effort - we think around EUR 600 million worth of lending - to support reconstruction needs.

The unrest in Kinshasa comes days before a critical international aid donors' conference in Brussels, in which Western countries are expected to evaluate the country's reconstruction needs.

And Israel, although it has its own reconstruction needs, should request that Washington temporarily reallocate some of its annual $2.3 billion in American military assistance to help the Lebanese government.