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Families remembered their loved ones 20 years after the 9/11 terror attacks in the US, with grieving relatives vowing to “never forget” those who lost their lives.

Six moments of silence were observed in New York City to mark the moments when four commercial planes crashed and when the the two World Trade Center towers crumbled, killing nearly 3,000 people.

The planes had been hijacked by terrorists on the morning of 11 September 2001.

Two were flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York City just before 9am local time, a third crashed into the west side of the Pentagon at 9.37am, while the fourth flight crashed in rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at 9.57am after passengers tried to overpower the hijackers and take control of the plane.

New York firefighters on the 20th anniversary of 9/11
People pay tribute to those killed on 9/11

US President Joe Biden and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were among hundreds of people who gathered at the site where the two trade centre towers fell two decades ago.

Each of them wore blue ribbons and held their hand over their heart as a procession marched a flag through the memorial. Some of those gathered at the memorial carried photos of loved ones killed in the attacks.

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The names of all 2,977 victims were read out and Mr Biden, who was as senator at the time of the attacks, wiped a tear from his eye at one point, but he did not speak at the event.

Those who did speak shared heart-breaking tributes to those they lost.

Joe Biden, and Barack and Michelle Obama at the ceremony. Pic: AP
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Barack and Michelle Obama with Joe and Jill Biden at the ceremony. Pic: AP
A family member of 9/11 victims adds a flower at FDNY Ten House
September 11

One described the “unbearable sorrow and disbelief”, another remembered a “beloved sister… she had a habit of saying ‘get over it’ and, Cathy, I can tell you we have never gotten over it”.

One man paid tribute to his brother “who we continue to love and miss every day – the world is a lesser place without him”.

Another said: “I couldn’t believe that you’re gone – I just want to say I love you and I miss you”, while one speaker remembered their father, saying: “Dad, we miss you every day”.

Bruce Springsteen sang his song I’ll See You In My Dreams, accompanying himself with the guitar and harmonica, his words echoing the hopes expressed by families still grieving.

“I’ll see you in my dreams.

“We’ll meet and live and love again.

“I’ll see you in my dreams.

“Yeah, up around the river bend.

“For death is not the end.

“And I’ll see you in my dreams.”

A National Park Service ranger at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville. Pic: AP
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A National Park Service ranger at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville. Pic: AP

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Kamala Harris honours Flight 93 passengers

Vice president Kamala Harris and George W Bush – who was president at the time of the attacks – were among those who gathered at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania.

Ms Harris praised the courage and resilience of Americans who united in the days following the attacks, saying: “In a time of outright terror, we turned toward each other.

“If we do the hard work of working together as Americans, if we remain united in purpose, we will be prepared for whatever comes next.”

Mr Bush said: “So much of our politics have become a naked appeal to anger, fear and resentment.

“On America’s day of trial and grief, I saw millions of people instinctively grab for a neighbour’s hand, and rally for the cause of one another. That is the America I know.”

Flowers at the Pentagon 9/11 memorial. Pic: AP
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Flowers at the Pentagon 9/11 memorial. Pic: AP
An American flag is unfurled at the Pentagon in Washington. Pic: AP
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Early in the morning, an American flag was unfurled at the Pentagon in Washington. Pic: AP

Mr Biden also visited Shanksville later on Saturday, before heading to the Pentagon.

In a video released on Friday night, Mr Biden had said: “Children have grown up without parents, and parents have suffered without children.”

But he also said shared what he called the “central lesson” from the attacks: “That at our most vulnerable… unity is our greatest strength.”

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Bush gives speech on 9/11 anniversary

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Mike Low, whose daughter who was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center, reflects 20 years after the tragedy

Earlier, former president Mr Obama reflected on the lessons that had been learned in the “20 years since that awful morning”.

In a statement, he said: “That list of lessons is long and growing. But one thing that became clear on 9/11 – and has been clear ever since – is that America has always been home to heroes who run towards danger in order to do what is right.

“For Michelle and me, the enduring image of that day is not simply falling towers or smouldering wreckage. It’s the firefighters running up the stairs as others were running down.

“The passengers deciding to storm a cockpit, knowing it could be their final act.

“The volunteers showing up at recruiters’ offices across the country in the days that followed, willing to put their lives on the line.

“Over the last 20 years, we’ve seen the same courage and selflessness on display again and again.”

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Victims of the 9/11 attacks have been remembered at Ground Zero at a memorial in New York

A firefighter looks on before the ceremonies get underway

He said the US had seen the same courage today, with doctors and nurses battle through the COVID crisis and military personnel risk their lives in Afghanistan.

Mr Obama added: “9/11 reminded us how so many Americans give of themselves in extraordinary ways – not just in moments of great crisis, but every single day. Let’s never forget that, and let’s never take them for granted.”

Former president Donald Trump was not at the anniversary ceremonies but released a video in which he spoke of the sadness of 9/11 and attacked Mr Biden over the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Mr Trump is expected to provide commentary for a boxing match headlined by 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield later on Saturday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was among the world leaders to offer support to the US as people remembered the 9/11 attacks.

He said the terrorists had “failed to drive our nations apart, or cause us to abandon our values, or to live in permanent fear”.

French President Emmanuel Macron added: “We will never forget. We will always fight for freedom”, while South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in sent his “deepest condolences”, describing the losses of 9/11 as a “deep wound”.

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Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney apologises to Donald Trump over anti-tariff advert featuring Ronald Reagan

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Canada's prime minister Mark Carney apologises to Donald Trump over anti-tariff advert featuring Ronald Reagan

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has apologised to Donald Trump over an anti-tariff advert featuring a clip of Ronald Reagan.

Speaking at the Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea, he also said he had reviewed the commercial and told Ontario Premier Doug Ford not to air it.

“I did apologise to the president,” Mr Carney said on Saturday, confirming earlier comments made by the US president on Friday.

“I told [Doug] Ford I did not want to go forward with the ad,” he added.

The private conversation with Mr Trump happened at a dinner hosted by South Korea’s president on Wednesday.

The commercial, commissioned by Mr Ford, included a quote from Republican former president Ronald Reagan saying that tariffs cause trade wars and economic disaster.

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Mr Trump said the advert was misleading and, in response, announced that he was increasing tariffs on goods from Canada and halting trade talks with Canada.

In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: “Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now.”

It prompted the Ontario premier to pull the ad.

On Friday, the US president expressed his irritation at the advert but also told reporters he had accepted Mr Carney’s apology.

“I like him [Carney] a lot but what they did was wrong,” he said.

“He apologised for what they did with the commercial because it was a false commercial.”

But, critically, he added that the US and Canada will not restart trade talks.

Mr Ford has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s tariffs and trade policies, which are hurting Ontario’s carmakers and steel industry.

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The ad by the Ontario government has a voiceover of Ronald Reagan criticising tariffs on foreign goods while saying they cause job losses and trade wars.

The video uses five complete sentences from a five-minute weekly address recorded in 1987, but edited together out of order.

The ad does not mention that the former US president was explaining that tariffs imposed on Japan by his administration should be seen as a sadly unavoidable exception to his basic belief in free trade as the key to prosperity.

Meanwhile, Mr Carney said his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday were a turning point in relations after years of tensions.

He also met Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on the sidelines of the summit.

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Donald Trump calls Nigeria ‘country of particular concern’ due to ‘slaughter’ of Christians

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Donald Trump calls Nigeria 'country of particular concern' due to 'slaughter' of Christians

Donald Trump has said he is designating Nigeria a “country of particular concern” as “thousands of Christians” are being killed there.

Posting on Truth Social, he said radical Islamists are committing “mass slaughter” and Christianity is “facing an existential threat” in the West African nation.

The US president said he was asking officials to “immediately look into this matter, and report back to me”.

Mr Trump quoted figures suggesting 3,100 Christians had been killed in Nigeria, but did not state any source for the numbers or timeframe.

He stated: “We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!”

Nigeria now joins North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and China on a list of countries “of particular concern” due to violations of religious freedom.

The move is one step before possible sanctions – which could mean a ban on all non-humanitarian aid.

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The Nigerian government has vehemently rejected the claims. Analysts have said that, while Christians are among those targeted, the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims in the country’s Muslim-majority north, where the most attacks take place.

Mr Trump’s move follows efforts by Republican senator Ted Cruz to get fellow evangelical Christians to lobby Congress over claims of “Christian mass murder” in Nigeria.

Boko Haram – which kidnapped more than 270 schoolgirls in 2014 – is the main group cited in previous warnings by US and international governments.

The group has committed “egregious violations of religious freedom”, according to a 2021 report by the bipartisan US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

It said more than 37,000 people had been killed by Islamist groups in Nigeria since 2011.

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Churches and Christian neighbourhoods have been targeted in the past, but experts say Muslims are the most common victims of Boko Haram attacks, which routinely target the police, military and government.

Other groups operating said to be operating in the country include Boko Haram offshoot Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP).

About half of Nigeria’s population is estimated to be Muslim, who mostly live in the north, with roughly the other half following Christianity.

US travellers are currently urged to “reconsider” travel to Nigeria due to a threat of terrorism, crime, kidnapping and armed gangs. The UK advises its citizens along similar lines.

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Donald Trump announces dramatic drop in US refugee intake, with most of them white South Africans

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Donald Trump announces dramatic drop in US refugee intake, with most of them white South Africans

The US is drastically cutting the number of refugees it will allow into the country to 7,500, and giving priority to white South Africans.

The new figure, announced on Thursday in a memo in the Federal Registry, the official journal of the US administration, is a dramatic reduction from last year’s 125,000, set by former president Joe Biden.

No reason was given for the decrease, but the note said the admission of the 7,500 refugees during the 2026 fiscal year was “justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest”.

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The notice posted to the register’s website said the 7,500 admissions would “primarily” be allocated to Afrikaner South Africans and “other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands”.

It is half the 15,000 total set for 2021 during Donald Trump’s first term in office at the height of the COVID pandemic, which reports said was the previous lowest refugee admissions cap.

Refugee rights groups were quick to condemn the proposal, with International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) president Sharif Aly, saying that by “privileging Afrikaners while continuing to ban thousands of refugees who have already been vetted and approved, the administration is once again politicising a humanitarian programme”.

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, CEO of Global Refuge, said: “Concentrating the vast majority of admissions on one group undermines the programme’s purpose as well as its credibility.”

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Human Rights First president, Uzra Zeya, called it a “new low point” in US foreign policy, which will “further destabilise front-line states that host over two-thirds of the world’s nearly 43 million refugees, undermining US national security in tandem”.

US President Donald Trump showed South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa printed-out articles in the Oval Office. Pic: AP
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US President Donald Trump showed South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa printed-out articles in the Oval Office. Pic: AP

In May, Mr Trump confronted South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa in the White House, claiming white farmers in his nation were being killed and “persecuted”.

A video purporting to show burial sites for murdered white farmers was played but was later shown to be scenes from a 2020 protest in which the crosses represented farmers killed over multiple years.

The South African government has vehemently denied that Afrikaners and other white South Africans are being persecuted.

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In January, the US president suspended the US Refugee Admissions Programme (USRAP) to, in his words, allow US authorities to prioritise national security and public safety.

During the Oval Office meeting, Mr Ramaphosa said only that he hoped that Trump officials would listen to South Africans about the issue, and later said he believed there is “doubt and disbelief about all this in [Mr Trump’s] head”.

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