World IN BRIEF : AZERBAIJAN : Services Held for Subway Fire Victims

Azerbaijanis mourned their dead from one of the world’s worst rail disasters, holding services in the central mosque of the capital, Baku, for some of the approximately 300 victims. Men, women and children died when fire swept through a crowded subway train Saturday. Most were crushed and suffocated when panic broke out in the airless tunnel. Members of a commission set up to investigate the cause of the disaster said 232 bodies had been identified. “This is the worst day in the history of our city,” said Eldar, an elderly man who came to pray and pay his respects. President Heydar A. Aliyev promised victims’ families compensation of $220 each.