The Albanian Council of Ministers decided Wednesday to provide 500,000 US dollars in aid of the nations affected by the tsunami of Indian Ocean, the ATA news agency reported.

According to the report, under the proposal of Albanian Premier Fatos Nano, the Council of Ministers decided to provide through the Albanian Red Cross 500,000 US dollar, from the reserved fund, as a contribution to the victims of the catastrophe on Dec. 26, 2004.

On Wednesday, announced by the government as national mourning day for the victims in the tsunami, the national flag in all public institutions of the country was flown at half-mast and every activity was interrupted at 12:00 of local time (1100 GMT) to observe three minutes of silence.

The Albanian Red Cross had announced special accounts and had set contribution boxes in the streets throughout the country to collect donations of Albanian people to the victims.

A voluntary medical team was being prepared by the relevant governmental institutions and nongovernmental organizations for the needs of suffering countries.

Based on the local media's reports, there is one Albanian women injured in Thailand in the regional tragedy.