Europe fell silent for three minutes as leaders and ordinary people in the streets paid a poignant tribute to the 146,000 victims of southern Asia's tsunami disaster.
Published:
6 January 2005 y., Thursday
Europe fell silent for three minutes as leaders and ordinary people in the streets paid a poignant tribute to the 146,000 victims of southern Asia's tsunami disaster.
Flags flew at half-mast across the continent to remember those killed, including hundreds if not thousands of European tourists who lost their lives when paradise beaches were swamped by the raging waters of the Indian Ocean.
Trains, planes and other public transport also came to a standstill in many countries for the midday tribute, while television networks interrupted their regular programming as a mark of respect for the dead.
"This suffering is too vast to comprehend completely, but at least try to imagine the suffering of a mother who has lost her child," Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende urged those observing the silence in The Hague.
Europe's silent commemoration was called for by the current Luxembourg presidency of the European Union, which has called a snap meeting of the 25-member bloc's foreign ministers on Friday to coordinate EU aid efforts.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, whose country is among the hardest hit by tourist deaths, observed the silence shortly before confirming he was upping Berlin's aid pledge to 500 million euros, making it the biggest single donor.
Šaltinis:
story.news.yahoo.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
The dark spectre of unemployment is stalking Europe and 2010 is the year it has earmarked in the fight against poverty.
more »
Just about a month after a devastating 8.8-magnitude earthquake destroyed vast swaths of Chile’s south central region, residents in the coastal town of Dichato continue to wait for much needed aid.
more »
The European Parliament will once again mark “Earth Hour” by switching off lights in all its buildings for one hour this Friday and Saturday.
more »
Only one in 10 board members of Europe's biggest listed companies is a woman and all central bank governors in the EU are male.
more »
New rules in 10 EU countries would let international couples choose which country’s law applies to their divorces.
more »
The EP's Committee on Culture and Education urges the EU to promote non-formal education, combat youth unemployment and help young people with special needs.
more »
More than 50 million people in southwest China are struggling to cope with what is being called the worst drought in living memory.
more »
Ideas sought on how to improve train, energy and banking services - a major cause of headaches for consumers in Europe.
more »
The EBRD is supporting the rehabilitation of the water and wastewater system in the city of Aktau, in the Mangystau region of Kazakhstan, with a loan in Kazakhstan Tenge (KZT) equivalent to €5.8 million (KZT 1.2 billion) to Aktau TVS&V, the municipal water and district heating company serving the city.
more »
The world’s biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade bathed New York’s Fifth Avenue in a sea of green.
more »