Australia mourns victims

Australia came to a standstill yesterday to mourn the victims of last weekend's Bali bombings as a stunned nation attempted to come to grips with its bloodiest day since World War Two.

Thousands of people gathered at ceremonies in churches, parks, on beaches and at football grounds to grieve for more than 100 Australians who died in last Saturday's nightclub attacks.

The country paused for a minute's silence at midday as church bells tolled across the continent.

"We, the survivors, saw some truly horrendous things that will never leave us," Eric de Haart told a gathering for his six missing team mates at a Sydney rugby league club.

"In the dark days to come ahead we will need your help and support," de Haart said, choking back tears.

Prime Minister John Howard said his government had to stay committed to the US-led war on terror and warned there was an increased risk of an attack on Australian soil.

"I don't want to sound alarmist, but we are living in a different world and something like what occured in Bali... could happen in Australia," Howard told Nine Network television before attending a church service in Canberra.

"The possibility of it has clearly been heightened." Australians, who traditionally feel isolated from traumatic world events, have been stunned by the attacks on the Indonesian holiday island that many considered Australia's playground.

The latest toll lists 103 Australians as dead or missing after the blasts, that killed more than 180 people. Many of those killed were young surfers or sportspeople celebrating the end of the winter season.

Thousands of people wearing a sprig of wattle, Australia's national flower, poured into Sydney's Domain Park for an "Australians Together" ceremony - the biggest gathering to mark the day of mourning.

Victims' relatives and prominent entertainers and sportspeople addressed the crowd, which included Indonesians and members of the Muslim community. Many were weeping.

Dozens of surfers on the Gold Coast in Queensland state paddled into the surf with floral tributes, while other people mourned in football clubs and homes across the country.

Hundreds of people gathered on a football ground in the Sydney beachside suburb of Coogee where the rugby league club lost six members.

A candelight vigil was scheduled at a football ground in Perth, in Western Australia, where a club lost seven of its members.

The body of the first Australian victim to be flown home for burial, Angela Golotta, 20, arrived in Adelaide on Saturday.

Neighbouring New Zealand also paid its respects with flags flown at half-mast on government buildings and navy vessels during the weekend, while Britain and the United States sent tributes.

US President George W. Bush, in an address to the people of Australia on Saturday, promised to help hunt down those responsible for the bombings.

"Our country grieves with you, and we suffer with you. And we send our prayers to the families who cry, and we send our prayers for a speedy recovery for the injured," Bush said in a videotaped message.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell urged Australia not to back away from the global campaign against terror because of the attack.

"I hope that Australians will not view it that way, that in some way it was their participation in the war on terror, and therefore we should sort of back off on the campaign against terrorism," Powell told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.