The good sign, if any, is the massive show of solidarity among world peoples and governments.

PHUKET, Thailand, December 31 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – 2004 is coming to an end Friday, December 31, on a sad note with the worst natural disaster that killed tens of thousands in southern Asia and left millions displaced, hungry and exposed to killer epidemics.

The good sign, if any in all this, is, however, the massive show of solidarity among world peoples and governments that saw the biggest relief campaign in history taking off instantly, massive contributions by individuals and the cancellation of annual extravagant New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Many world countries decided to cancel New Year celebrations, rather scrambling to help millions of victims uprooted by the killer tidal waves.

In Thailand, grieving friends, family and survivors of the Asian tsunami disaster gathered on New Year's Eve, pausing for a few hours to reflect on the tragic end to a sometimes brutal year, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

With more than 125,000 dead, hundreds of thousands injured and millions made homeless by the devastating earthquake and tsunami wave, the passage of 2004 was to be marked by candle-lit vigils and calls for prayer.

The somber mood of mourning forced people to look back to the events of the past few days, not forward to 2005.

In the holiday resorts -- that in a few seconds of Sunday morning became churning killing grounds -- authorities urged people to tone down any planned celebrations, hotel owners in Sri Lanka and in Thailand told AFP.

“We are having a gathering of the staff and all our guests are invited to light candles with them at midnight for the people who have died,” said Thanarat Jadpatananon, who owns the Sawasdee hotel on Patong beach, Phuket, a Thai place where hundreds died.

“We are giving everyone free food and drinks but there will no alcohol. This is definitely not a party or time to celebrate,” she said. Fireworks displays normally held across the island had all been cancelled.

“Thai government office announced that there shouldn't be any party or festival,” according to a front office assistant at the Phuket Merlin Hotel.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra also asked government agencies not to hold New Year celebrations and traditional countdowns in Bangkok and the northern city of Chiang Mai were cancelled, replaced by Buddhist merit-making ceremonies for the dead on New Year morning.

In the once-idyllic resort island of Phi Phi, where hundreds died, a candlelight vigil and Buddhist ceremony will be held.

In Sri Lanka, a country where more than 28,000 have died and thousands more are still missing, deluxe hotels scrapped champagne dinners and canned plans for other events to mark the New Year as the government announced an official day of mourning.

The five-star Taj Samudra said it had cancelled its Roman-themed New Year's Eve bash and called off all other celebrations in the hotel overlooking the Indian Ocean , general manager Praveen Nair said.

“There will be no music in the hotel,” Nair said.

Local radio and television networks played somber music Friday while lottery companies announced suspending sales till next year.

India, Indonesia

The number of victims could further rise.

In the Indian capital New Delhi, clubs and the elite hotels also cancelled their planned festivities. More than 11,000 are dead in India and nearly a million people badly affected.

New Delhi's presidential palace set the example by deciding not to illuminate the historic building for the first time in years.

However, the financial and entertainment capital of Bombay on India's western coast plans to go ahead with the festivities in a string of plush hotels and restaurants.

But in Indonesia, the country where the largest number of victims died, with nearly 80,000 dead, the authorities in the capital Jakarta scrapped a lavish New Year's Eve fireworks display.

Jakarta governor Sutiyoso said the money that would have been spent on the fireworks, a regular year-end fixture held at Indonesia 's Monas national monument in the city center, would go to help the victims.

Solidarity

Other world countries cancelled the New Year celebrations out of respect for the victims of the tidal wave disaster inAsia .

In Turkey, authorities called off traditional New Year celebrations in the country's biggest city Istanbul.

Kuwait also reportedly declared the banning of broadcasting live New Year’s Eve parties by famous singers.

Italy, for its part, has decided to tone down planned New Year celebrations as a mark of respect to the victims.

Italian authorities are without news of some 700 Italians who were in the disaster area, while 14 have already been confirmed killed.

The New Year firework display outside Milan cathedral has also been cancelled, although a planned concert is to go ahead, marked by a minute of silence in memory of the victims.

Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Badawi has declared Wednesday, December 29, that prayers for the thousands of Asian victims would, this year, replace New Year celebrations.

Heart-warming

On the materialistic level, world countries, organizations and peoples were no less cooperative. World countries have offered huge financial commitments to help alleviate the consequences of the crisis, whose death toll is still rising.

The World Bank Thursday offered $250 million for tsunami relief, bringing total aid contributions from around the world to nearly $500 million, the United Nations said.

In Britain, the public has donated 32 million pounds (45 million euros, 62 million dollars) for victims of the Asian tsunami, with calls to an aid line hitting a peak of almost a million an hour, charity organizers told AFP Friday.

The “unprecedented” response to Sunday's massive sea surges saw seven million pounds donated overnight Thursday alone, according to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella organization for British charities.

At one point, call centers handling cash pledges took a peak of 15,000 calls a minute, a rate of 900,000 an hour.

“It's just heart-warming, quite unprecedented. Just keep the money coming in. It's still essential. As the disaster unfolds, it becomes even more imperative,” said DEC spokesman Ben Miller.

The British government Thursday tripled its own pledge for aid to the tsunami disaster to 50 million pounds (96 million dollars, 70.5 million euros), the biggest single donation by a national government.

Leading US and UK Muslim organizations have launched online donations and appeals to people worldwide to immediately send contributions.