9/11 10th anniversary: America remembers – live coverage

Services are being held at Ground Zero, the Flight 93 memorial and at the Pentagon, as America pays tribute to those who lost their lives. Almost 3,000 people died when al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four planes, changing the landscape of the 21st century 8.15am EST: Paul Harris – @paulxharris – will be visiting some of New York’s landmarks this morning to discover what the means for ordinary city dwellers. Here’s his first dispatch: On the streets of New York, away from the main ceremonies downtown, the heavy security presence of recent days is very much in evidence. Even in the residential neighbourhood of the East Village there were police cars visibly patrolling the streets, or parked on street corners. At Astor Place, police waited outside the subway station. In Times Square – itself the recent target of a failed car bomb attempt – the police presence is huge. Long lines of police cars snake down 42nd Strett, and there are mounted police on patrol. Bag searches are being carried out at the subway station. However, the streets are also full of joggers, people taking their dogs for a walk and others out buying the morning newspapers (naturally full of 9/11 coverage). In Times Square the heavy police presence provided even more opportunities for tourists to pose with cops wearing their New York uniforms. Some people who had clearly spent the night clubbing around Times Square and were only now heading home also took advantage. I saw one man wearing only a leopard skin coat and spandex shorts asking to pose with a police horse. The officer politely declined. 8.10am EST: Karen McVeigh is out and about at a ceremony for some of the firefighters killed on 9/11: I’ll be at the corner of 48th and 8th, home to the firefighters of 54 Engine, 4 Ladder, where a memorial service is being held this morning for those who were killed on September 11. Every firefighter who reported for duty that day died, 15 in all. This is the firehouse known as the ‘Pride of Midtown’, which President Barack Obama chose to visit a few days after Osama Bin Laden was killed by US forces in Pakistan in May. The president called it a “symbolic site of the extraordinary sacrifice” made that day. Today’s service is private for the families of those who died and the firefighters, but I am hoping to talk to some of them afterwards about what today means to them. Karen has posted this picture from the ceremony . You can follow her coverage on Twitter . 8am EST: Good morning, and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. A series of events is taking place across New York to remember those who died in the terrorist attacks. A service for victims’ families will be held at the site of the Twin Towers, where the 9/11 memorial will be dedicated to the 2,983 people who died in the US 10 years ago today. The memorial will open to the public on Monday , and features two pools, set in the locations of the towers. The names of those who died in the attack are inscribed into bronze parapets which surround the pools. On Saturday a service was held in Shanksville, Pennsyvania, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed as passengers and crew struggled with hijackers, while events have also been held at the Pentagon memorial, in Arlington, Virginia, where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed, killing 59 passengers and crew and 125 on the ground. The 10-year hunt for Osama bin Laden came to an end in May, when US forces stormed his hideout in north-west Pakistan, although a CBS news poll this week showed that 67% of Americans feel no safer as a result of his death. President Barack Obama will be at the New York ceremony, which begins at 8.35am. The president warned on Saturday that al-Qaida was likely to strike the US again, providing a stark reminder of the challenges the country continues to face, but for today the focus is firmly on the events of 10 years ago, as the US remembers the 9/11 victims and their families. We’ll have the latest coverage from the tributes and services, with updates from our correspondents around New York. September 11 2001 United States New York US national security Global terrorism Barack Obama Adam Gabbatt guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 11, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.