THE world watched and waited and feared the worst right from the start.

And those fears were confirmed with the grisly news that the 118 men on the ill-fated Russian submarine Kursk must have perished.

Imagine the anguish of waiting relatives, as the Russians steadfastly refused international aid until it was too late.

Who knows -- perhaps the British and Norwegian rescue mission may have brought survivors to the surface if they had been there early enough.

But they weren't.

Pride saw to that.