NY marks 25th anniv of 9/11 attacks

NEW YORK, Sept 11: New York commemorated the 25th anniversary of the devastating September 11, 2001 attacks Friday with a ceremony marked by controversy over President Donald Trump's absence and right-wing outrage over the attendance of the city's first Muslim mayor.

In an unusual move, Trump was paying his respects at the Pentagon, rather than joining the event in New York, where hijacked planes destroyed the World Trade Center and killed most of the 2,977 total victims on that world-altering day.

Vice President JD Vance and Trump's four living predecessors -- Republican George W. Bush, who was in office during the attacks, and Democrats Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton -- were gathering at the Ground Zero site in lower Manhattan.

The ceremony, which began just after 8:40 a.m (1240 GMT), was designed to be apolitical, with no speeches.

Bereaved family members read out the names of all those killed, with a bell tolling to mark major moments in the attack, which sparked years of US involvement in Middle East wars and bitter controversy over Washington's human rights record.

Terry Strada, widow of victim Tom Strada, unleashed a stinging attack on Saudi Arabia, accusing it of complicity in the attacks, and denouncing former presidents who were in attendance.

"You are missed more with each year that passes, but how can it be 25 years and still we have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in your murder?" she said in unscripted remarks broadcast live worldwide.�" AFP