Asia Tsunami havoc eclipses worldwide New Year celebrations
Pakistan Times Monitoring Desk

SYDNEY (Australia): As the overall digit of deaths, caused in Asia by a sudden quake-cum-tsunami swelled close to 2,00000 on Friday, millions of people around the world prepared to usher in the New Year with celebrations subdued by the end of the people in one of the world's worst natural disasters.

In Australia hundreds of thousands of revellers assembled for Sydney's favourite party, a spectacular New Year fireworks display around the shores of Sydney Harbour.

But the death and destruction in 11 Indian Ocean countries hit by a massive earthquake and thundering tsunamis on Sunday last cast gloom over the gathering, with 10 Australians confirmed dead and grave fears for 41 missing.

New Year festivities Called off

Several countries in Asia called off New Year festivities altogether after the devastation.

In Indonesia, worst hit by the disaster, the authorities cancelled a lavish fireworks display in sympathy with its 90,000 dead.

Sri Lanka's deluxe hotels scrapped champagne celebrations as a shocked nation prepared to officially mourn the 35,000 people it lost.

In India, where the catastrophe claimed more than 15,000 lives and badly affected 870,000 others, New Year celebrations were to be minimal at best in some regions, with elite hotels and clubs cancelling festivities in the capital New Delhi.

Europe

Around Europe, the home of hundreds of tourists who died at Asian beach resorts, with thousands of others still missing or unaccounted for New Year celebrations were to go on as usual but most were expected to be muted by the tragedy.

Sweden, one of the European countries most affected with 48 confirmed dead and 3,500 missing, proclaimed New Year's Day an official day of mourning.

In Paris, where hundreds of thousands of people were expected to gather on the Champs-Elysees to count in 2005, trees and ornate lamp posts would be draped in black crepe in tribute to the victims.

In London, more than 150,000 people were expected to line the banks of the River Thames for a big fireworks show to bring in the next year with a bang, despite the disaster.

Large numbers were to converge on Trafalgar Square, even though Scotland Yard fearful of overcrowding and crime has tried to discourage them.

In Berlin, German authorities appealed to citizens to give up their usual purchase of fireworks and instead give the money to the victims of the tsunamis.

Pisa in Italy also scrapped its New Year festivities and decided to send the money saved to aid organisations.

Minute's Silence

A minute's silence was to interrupt celebrations in Venice in Italy. And in the United States, New York again braced for a major New Year security operation, now familiar in the aftermath of the September-11 attacks that cast a dark shadow over the world in 2001.

Australian authorities also believed the terror threat was as serious this year as it has ever been.

More than 1,500 police, including undercover officers, bomb detection teams and dog squads, mingled with crowds in Sydney as armed officers kept watch from surrounding streets and rooftops.

Police launches cruised the harbour among thousands of spectator craft in place for the celebrations, which were to be beamed to a global television audience exceeding a billion people.

There were calls in the city for the fireworks to be cancelled because of the immense human suffering but organisers decided to turn the event into a massive fund-raiser for disaster relief, with a minute's silence to be held before the first of two fireworks displays at 9:00 pm (10:00 GMT).

"I think the right notes will be struck," the event's artistic director Leo Schofield said. "We are asking people to reflect on the good fortune we have. I think that's a particularly appropriate message at this time."

Thousands of Europeans dead or Missing

And a report from Paris says that hundreds of European tourists in Asian beach resorts were confirmed dead with thousands still missing or unaccounted for on Thursday at 21:00 GMT, as the toll from the tsunami catastrophe neared 200,000 [point two million].

This is the latest country-by-country breakdown:

Austria

Twenty Austrians are confirmed to have died, according to Europe Assistance, while authorities in Vienna have said that up to 100 Austrians were missing and feared dead.

A total of 1,250 Austrians remain unaccounted for in the area.

Belgium

Five Belgians including two babies have died in the disaster. The number of Belgians officially reported missing in Thailand was down to 10, but the foreign ministry said it had been unable to locate 150 Belgians travelling independently in Thailand and another 70 in Sri Lanka.

Britain

Twenty-eight Britons have been confirmed dead by the Foreign Office --22 in Thailand, and three each in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

British officials expected the toll to continue to rise, but have given no official estimate of the number of Britons still missing.

Up to 10,000 British tourists were believed to have been in the vast area of south Asia that was affected.

Croatia

The three-year-old daughter of a Croatian-Dutch couple was killed in Thailand and five Croatians vacationing in the region were unaccounted for.

Czech Republic

A total of 224 Czech citizens remain unaccounted for after the catastrophe, although officials say that only seven or eight are feared dead.

Denmark

Seven Danish citizens have been confirmed dead, six of them in Thailand and one in Sri Lanka. Thirteen Danes listed as missing around the Thai island of Phuket are presumed dead.

A total of 419 people remain unaccounted for, and the foreign ministry has said it fears the number of victims will rise.

Finland

Four Finnish nationals have died in the quakes, while 263 people remain unaccounted for.

Some 2,000 Finnish holidaymakers are believed to have been in the stricken areas, including 1,500 in Thailand.

France

Twenty-two French nationals have been confirmed dead and a total of 560 people are still unaccounted for, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said.

Germany

Thirty-three Germans have been confirmed dead and about 1,000 are still unaccounted for. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has warned the German death toll would likely climb "well into the three-figure range".

At least 4,000 Germans were believed to have been on holiday in the region when the tsunami hit countries on the Indian Ocean.

Greece

Ten Greeks are officially listed as missing.

Ireland

Dozens of Irish people remained unaccounted for throughout the region, according to Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern.

Italy

At least 14 Italians have been killed and about 700 are unaccounted for, according to Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini, who said he expected the death toll to rise.

Some 5,000 Italians had been vacationing in the region, while around another 3,500 Italians lived in the stricken areas.

The Netherlands

At least five Dutch nationals have died in the tidal waves, four of them killed in Thailand and one in Sri Lanka, the foreign ministry said.

Thirteen Dutch nationals were reported missing in Thailand on Monday.

Norway

Twenty-one Norwegians are confirmed to have died in the tsunamis. Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik said on Thursday that many of the 462 Norwegians who remain missing four days after the disaster were probably dead.

The authorities are still trying to contact another 840 people who are believed to have been in south Asia at the time. Some 2,000 to 3,000 Norwegians were believed to have been holidaying in Thailand over Christmas.

Poland

One Polish man has been confirmed killed and four others are considered probably dead, while 63 Poles remain missing across the quake-hit region. Several hundred Poles are estimated to have been in the region at the time of Sunday's massive earthquake.

Portugal

The Portuguese foreign ministry said that eight Portuguese were missing presumed dead, including a baby who was swept out of her mother's arms by a wave. Twenty-two people travelling in the region are still unaccounted for.

Russia

A Russian woman and her six-year-old son were killed on the southern Thai island of Phuket, while 50 other Russians have been reported missing.

Spain

Eleven Spaniards remained missing across the Asian region.

Authorities managed to track down two people earlier reported as missing, one in Indonesia and one in Thailand.

Sweden

Forty-four Swedish nationals have been confirmed dead, while at least 1,000 Swedish tourists are officially missing in Thailand and as many as 4,500 are unaccounted for.

Between 20,000 and 30,000 Swedish tourists were believed to have been vacationing in the disaster-hit region.

Switzerland

At least 12 Swiss nationals have been killed by the tidal waves, and the government is still without news of some 850 people who were in the region, including 380 in Thailand.

Some 2,200 Swiss were believed to have been holidaying in the region.

Turkey

One Turkish national is presumed dead and 61 others remain unaccounted for.●