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.
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.
Image: Barack and Michelle Obama with Joe and Jill Biden at the ceremony. Pic: AP
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.”
Image: 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.”
Image: Flowers at the Pentagon 9/11 memorial. Pic: AP
Image: 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
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”.
The UK and US have agreed a trade deal, with Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump confirming the announcement during a live televised phone call.
It is the first trade deal agreed after Mr Trump began his second presidential term in January, and after he imposed strict tariffs on countries around the world in April.
Sir Keir said the “first-of-a-kind” deal with the US will save thousands of jobs across the UK, boost British business and protect British industry.
• Lowering 27.5% tariff on British car exports to the US to 10%, affecting 100,000 vehicles each year
• UK steel and aluminium industries will no longer face any tariffs after they had 25% duties placed on them
• Beef exports allowed both ways
• UK to have “preferential treatment whatever happens in the future” on pharmaceuticals, the president said.
However, there is a still a 10% tariff on most UK goods imported into the US after Mr Trump imposed that duty on most countries’ exports last month.
Mr Trump said the “final details” of the agreement were still being “written up”.
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Watch full call with Trump and Starmer
Trade minister Douglas Alexander told parliament the UK has “committed to further negotiations on tariff reductions”.
MPs will be able to debate the deal and any legislation needed to implement it, he added.
Sir Keir said “this is a really fantastic, historic day” that will “boost trade between and across our countries”, while Mr Trump said the agreement would be a “great deal for both countries”.
The president said the deal will make both the UK and the US “much bigger in terms of trade” as he thanked Sir Keir, who he said has been “terrific for his partnership in this matter…we have a great relationship”.
Sir Keir said it was achieved by not playing politics, and insisted the UK can have good trade relations with both the US and the EU.
Red lines on beef and chicken
The PM said the UK had “red lines” on standards written into the agreement, particularly on agriculture.
Mr Alexander told the Commons: “Let me be clear that the imports of hormone-treated beef or chlorinated chicken will remain illegal.
“The deal we’ve signed today will protect British farmers and uphold our high animal welfare and environmental standards.”
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Sky challenges Trump on trade deal
‘American beef is the safest’
US agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins said the deal will “exponentially increase our beef exports”, and added: “To be very clear, American beef is the safest, the best quality, and the crown jewel of American agriculture for the world.”
On whether the UK will have to accept all US beef and chicken, Mr Trump said: “They’ll take what they want, we have plenty of it, we have every type, we have every classification you can have.”
Hinting the US will move towards higher welfare practices, he said US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr “is doing a tremendous job and he’s probably heading toward your system with no chemical, no this, no that”.
‘A Diet Coke deal’
Previous UK governments have attempted – and failed – to secure a free trade agreement with the US, but Sir Keir had made it a high priority.
Conservative shadow trade secretary Andrew Griffith chastised the deal, saying the UK is still in the same category as Burundi and Bhutan.
“It’s a Diet Coke deal, not the real thing,” he told the Commons.
A man has been charged after allegedly harassing Hollywood actress Jennifer Aniston for two years before crashing his car through the front gate of her home, prosecutors have said.
Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, of New Albany, Mississippi, is accused of having repeatedly sent the Friends star unwanted voicemail, email and social media messages since 2023.
The 48-year-old is then alleged to have crashed his grey Chrysler PT Cruiser through the front gate of Aniston’s home in the wealthy Bel Air neighbourhood of Los Angeles early on Monday afternoon.
Prosecutors said the collision caused major damage.
Police have said Aniston was at home at the time.
A security guard stopped Carwyle on her driveway before police arrived and arrested him.
There were no reports of anyone being injured.
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Carwyle has been charged with felony stalking and vandalism, prosecutors said on Thursday.
He also faces an aggravating circumstance of the threat of great bodily harm, Los Angeles County district attorney Nathan Hochman said.
Carwyle, who has been held in jail since his arrest on Monday, is set to appear in court on Thursday.
His bail has been set at $150,000 dollars (£112,742).
He is facing up to three years in prison if he is convicted as charged.
“My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting those who stalk and terrorise others, ensuring they are held accountable,” Mr Hochman said in a statement.
Aniston bought her mid-century mansion in Bel Air on a 3.4-acre site for about 21 million dollars (£15.78m) in 2012, according to reporting by Architectural Digest.
She became one of the biggest stars on television in her 10 years on NBC’s Friends.
Aniston won an Emmy Award for best lead actress in a comedy for the role, and she has been nominated for nine more.
She has appeared in several Hollywood films and currently stars in The Morning Show on Apple TV+.
Image: The defendants hugged each other after being acquitted of the charges. Pic: Commercial Appeal/USA Today Network/AP
The 29-year-old’s death and a video of the incident – in which he cried out for his mother – sparked outrage in the US including nationwide protests and led to police reform.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Nichols’ family, described the verdicts as a “devastating miscarriage of justice”. In a statement, he added: “The world watched as Tyre Nichols was beaten to death by those sworn to protect and serve.”
Memphis District Attorney Steve Mulroy said he was “surprised that there wasn’t a single guilty verdict on any of the counts” including second-degree murder. He said Mr Nichols’ family “were devastated… I think they were outraged”.
Image: Former police officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith were accused of second-degree murder. Pic: Memphis Police Dept/AP
But despite the three defendants being acquitted of state charges during the trial in Memphis, they still face the prospect of years in prison after they were convicted of federal charges of witness tampering last year.
Two other former officers previously pleaded guilty in both state and federal court. Desmond Mills Jr. gave evidence as a prosecution witness, while Emmitt Martin was blamed for the majority of the violence.
Sentencing for all five officers is pending.
Image: Tyre Nichols’ death sparked street protests in January 2023 in Memphis and across the US. Pic: AP
Video evidence showed Mr Nichols was stopped in his car, yanked from his vehicle, pepper-sprayed and hit with a Taser. He broke free and ran away before the five police officers caught up with him again, and the beating took place.
Prosecutors argued that the officers used excessive, deadly force in trying to handcuff Mr Nichols and were criminally responsible for each others’ actions.
They also said the officers had a duty to intervene and stop the beating and tell medics that Mr Nichols had been hit repeatedly in the head, but they failed to do so.
The trial heard Mr Nichols suffered tears and bleeding in the brain and died from blunt force trauma.
The defence suggested Mr Nichols was on drugs, giving him the strength to fight off five strong officers, and was actively resisting arrest.
In December, the US Justice Department said a 17-month investigation showed the Memphis Police Department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people.