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.

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.