From the docks of Iceland to London's grand St. Paul's Cathedral, mourners remembered those lost in Tuesday's fiery airborne strikes on New York and the Pentagon.

At St. Paul's, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey said that although the World Trade Center was gone, ''another, older, American icon was not submerged. The September morning sun continued to shine on the Statue of Liberty, her torch raised like a beacon.... a symbol of all that is best in America.''

Many reached back half a century to the still-fresh memory of American help in time of need and declared their continuing commitment to that old friendship.

More than 200,000 Berliners filled the broad boulevard leading to the Brandenburg Gate in a heartfelt demonstration of solidarity with the country that helped rebuild postwar Germany and sustained the divided city with an airlift during the Soviet blockade.

''No one knows better than the people here in Berlin what America has done for freedom and democracy in Germany,'' President Johannes Rau said.

''Therefore, we say to all Americans from Berlin: America does not stand alone.''

The global day of mourning for thousands who died in Tuesday's suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon began in Asia.

Sirens blared for one minute in South Korea and children appeared outside the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. Some knelt before the building and prayed silently.

In Iran, antipathy toward the United States was set aside as 60,000 spectators and players observed a minute of silence at the Tehran soccer stadium before a World Cup qualifying match.

Stock exchanges from Norway to Austria stopped business for three minutes. In Britain, people stood silently in shopping centers and firefighters stood at attention outside their stations as a mark of respect for the American firefighters lost in rescue efforts. In Finland, cabbies pulled to the side of the road. In Iceland, fishermen stood in silence at the Reykjavik docks.

Thousands of people, many of them Americans, filled St. Paul's Cathedral and a surrounding plaza for a prayer service attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Tariq Muhammad Dhamial, a native of Pakistan, stood out in traditional Sunni Muslim black garb. ''I am here to show as a Muslim that we condemn these acts,'' he said.

In Paris, French President Jacques Chirac stood to attention in front of a military honor guard at the Elysee Palace, and the Republican Guard played ''The Star-Spangled Banner.''

Most European nations observed a three-minute silence in the morning or at noon as banks of floral bouquets swelled outside American embassies.

Authorities in Serbia called no period of mourning.

Many observed three minutes of silence in Greece, but others argued the United States brought this evil upon itself through its political and military actions. Many Greeks hold Washington responsible for a litany of regional troubles, from the Greek civil war in the late 1940s to the bombing of Yugoslavia two years ago.

Feeling ran particularly deep on American military bases and naval vessels abroad, whose personnel might be ordered to strike back.

''It has been a rollercoaster of emotion over the last few days, from the initial shock and horror of the event to the more somber mood you see today,'' said Air Force Col. John Brennan, commander of Lakenheath air base south of London.

In Poland, more than 2,000 people carrying candles marched in the rain to the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, where they left candles and flowers. Many banners read ''America, we are with you.''

The Irish Republic ordered most offices and businesses closed. At St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral in Dublin, President Mary McAleese led the congregation in prayers for world leaders to show wisdom ''so that justice and mercy may prevail in our world.''

Pope John Paul II, holding his head with both hands, knelt in private prayer in a chapel in Castel Gandolfo, his summer residence southwest of Rome.

Two dozen workers filed out of the Spanish Embassy in Havana, standing solemnly on the sidewalk to observe three minutes of silence while the Spanish flag flew at half-staff. Several other European embassies in the Cuban capital did the same at noon.

Colombian President Andres Pastrana attended a Mass at the presidential palace in Bogota and invited all Colombians to observe a minute of prayer to coincide with a prayer service in the National Cathedral in Washington.

In Ottawa, tens of thousands of Canadians gathered under bright midday sunshine for a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Jean Chretien and U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci.