Remembering 9/11

[Gypsy-Rhiannon]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4234422.stm

A remembrance ceremony will take place at New York's World Trade Center site to mark the fourth anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks.

The names of the 2,749 victims of the twin towers attack will be read out by their brothers and sisters.

The ceremony will pause for a minute's silence at 0846 (1246 GMT) when the first plane hit the north tower.

At that precise time, some 300 New York police officers on duty in New Orleans will also mark the event.

After a memorial service held in the disaster zone, the officers - all volunteers - will return to patrolling the French Quarter and other districts of New Orleans.

Solidarity

In New York, the reading of the names of the 11 September victims will be interrupted for three more pauses to mark the south tower attack, and the collapse of both towers.

At sunset, two shafts of light representing the twin towers will be beamed into the night sky from lower Manhattan.

Four years after the attacks, construction work is beginning at Ground Zero on the transportation hub which will one day bring thousands of visitors to the site.

The Freedom Tower, the commercial building which has been redesigned to meet concerns about its security, is due to open in 2011.

The actual memorial to the victims is meant to be completed in four years' time.

There is currently a controversy about the International Freedom Center which is planned for the site.

Some families feel political discussions about the nature of freedom could detract from the memory of those who died, reports the BBC's Laura Trevelyan from New York.