Cyclone Nargis genocide since the Burmese government had deliberately denied storm victims aid, allowing for hundreds of thousands to potentially die from starvation, exposure, and disease. On 16 May 2008, the Burmese UN ambassador accused France of deploying a warship to the Burmese coast. The French UN ambassador denied the LHD "Mistral" was a warship, and claimed Myanmar's refusal to allow increased aid into the country "could lead to a true crime against humanity." France stated the ship in question was carrying 1,500 tons of relief supplies. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown accused the ruling junta of allowing the disaster to grow
Cyclone Nargis of 160 km/h (100 mph), and at the same time, the IMD classified the system as a very severe cyclonic storm. Initially, the cyclone was forecast to strike Bangladesh or southeastern India. Subsequently, the cyclone became disorganised and weakened due to subsidence and drier air; as a result, deep convection near the center markedly decreased. At the same time, the storm began a motion to the northeast, around the periphery of a ridge to its southeast. The circulation remained strong despite the diminishing convection, though satellite intensity estimates using the Dvorak technique indicated the cyclone could have weakened to tropical