Mideast, EU and Others Offer Aid, Comfort

Donations to Hurricane Katrina relief poured in from around the world, with Kuwait offering $500 million and other Mideast countries offering aid and condolences.

But the Al Qaeda in Iraq group, led by the Jordanian Abu Musab Zarqawi, called the devastation across the U.S. Gulf Coast region God’s retribution on America.

The European Union and NATO stepped up to provide aid following rare requests for help from Washington, while the 22-member Arab League urged countries to “extend aid to the United States to face the exceptional humane circumstances.”