World leaders open tsunami-aid summit

JAKARTA, Indonesia — World leaders opened an emergency summit with a moment of silence for the tens of thousands of tsunami victims today, a day after a new round of competing donations saw pledges move well past $3 billion.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the gathering that his organization continued to estimate that the final death toll will surpass 150,000 across southern Asia and parts of Africa from the giant waves spawned by a powerful earthquake off Indonesia's northwest coast Dec. 26.

"Although we were powerless to stop the tsunami, together we have the power to stop those next waves," Annan said, launching an appeal for an additional $1.7 billion in disaster relief.

"The past 11 days have been among the darkest in our lifetime, but they have also allowed us to see a new kind of light," Annan said. "We have seen the world coming together. We have seen a response based not on our differences but on what unites us."

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Colin Powell and other summit participants got firsthand looks at the apocalyptic landscapes carved out by south Asia's tsunami.

Powell, a battle-hardened veteran of the Vietnam War, was aghast at the devastation on Indonesia's Sumatra island. "I've never seen anything like this," he said.

The death toll of Americans more than doubled Wednesday, to 36, as the State Department announced 20 other U.S. citizens were presumed dead.

Thousands more are unaccounted for, but the State Department does not believe anywhere near that number are dead.

Nineteen of the newly listed victims were in Thailand and the 20th in Sri Lanka, two of the hardest-hit countries, deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said.

India has politely turned down the unprecedented offers of money and military might, but many Indonesians appeared to be putting pride aside: During Powell's visit, survivors expressed gratitude for American aid.

"Thank God he's come. Thank God," said Mohamed Bachid Madjid, peering from a bridge into the Aceh River, where two bloated corpses floated among the flotsam.

The meeting came just hours after some nations increased their pledges. Australia promised $810 million — the largest so far — topping a $674 million German aid package.