We can therefore feel the torment that the affected people have undergone, and we offer our heartfelt sympathies.

Ms. WHELAN (Ireland) Congratulations or commiserations, Mr. President, whichever is most appropriate.

It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I offer our deepest sympathy to the people and the Government of India and to the families and friends of those killed or injured.

I would also like to extend our sympathy to the victims of other recent terrorist attacks wherever they have been committed.

I think it's quite apt. It's our empathy, it's our tuning in which separates us from Machiavellians or sociopaths.

We would like once again to express to the Government and people of the United States our deepest compassion and our profound solidarity in these trying times.

Let me close by reiterating our deepest sympathies and condolences to the Government and the people of the United States in the wake of the death and destruction wreaked by Hurricane Katrina.

We must strengthen the international community's cultural resources and compassion to contribute substantially and work together towards a culture of peace.

On this Day of Remembrance, our thoughts are with those who suffered and sacrificed their lives for our freedom and thus for the goals of the United Nations Charter.

Let us hope that the sense of international solidarity brought on by the relief efforts is not temporary or isolated, and that our empathy for those suffering does not end at the shores of the countries affected by this disaster.

Another factor is the spread of ideologies, both secular and religious, that encourage us to care for distant others, that persuade us to expand our kindness beyond our immediate circle.

Please allow me to offer, on behalf of my Government and people, our deepest sympathy and sincere condolences to the Government and people of the United States and to other Governments whose people have been devastated by the ravages and furies of these natural calamities.

Allow me at the outset to convey our deepest sympathies and condolences to the Government and the people of the United States of America in the wake of the deaths and widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina.

I should also like to express, on behalf of the European Union and all its member States, our deepest sympathy and solidarity to the people of the United States, particularly those in the Gulf states, in their hour of need.

Mr. Pintat Santolària (Andorra) Before I begin, I would like to express, on behalf of the people of the Principality of Andorra, our sympathy for and solidarity with those who have suffered following the recent hurricane on the American Gulf Coast.

Today, we all gather here to express to them our sympathy and solidarity and to prove once again that, when calamity strikes, we are united in protecting and assisting our fellow human beings in need.

In that connection, I would like to add Ukraine's voice to the unanimous strong condemnation of the terrorist bombings in Amman, and to convey our deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims of those heinous attacks and their families, and to the people and the Government of Jordan.

Mr. Maema (Lesotho) We wish to join the many voices that have condemned the terrorist bombings in Amman, Jordan, and on behalf of the Government and the people of Lesotho, I convey our deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims of the attacks, their families, and the people and the Government of Jordan.

Kuwait also condemns categorically the most recent terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, notably those against the International Security Assistance Force. Kuwait expresses its condolences to the families of all of the victims of those attacks.

We have not lost our loving kindness towards ordinary soldiers, nor even towards the leaders who ordered them to brutalize their own people, but we wanted to urge them to change while there was still time.

Extending our deepest sympathies and condolences to the victims of the recent tsunami disaster and their families and to the people and Governments of those countries who tragically suffered huge loss of life, serious injuries and extensive material damages from the tsunami disaster,

Mr. Gomes (Guinea Bissau) (spoke in Portuguese interpretation from French text provided by the delegation) First and foremost, I would like to reiterate to the Government and the people of the United States our sympathy on the loss of human lives and the enormous material damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.