US marks seventh 9/11 anniversary

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New York has paused to remember the moments two planes hit the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001 - an attack that killed nearly 3,000 people. Four minutes of silence are being held to mark the times when four hijacked passenger planes hit the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are attending a ceremony at Ground Zero in New York. At the Pentagon, President George W Bush dedicated a new memorial. The memorial in Washington was built at a cost of $22m (£12.6m) on a 1.9-acre (0.77-hectare) parcel of land within view of the crash site. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened Thursday's memorial event by Ground Zero, where families of the victims paid tribute to and read out a rollcall of the names of those who died. Mr Bush stood for a moment of silence with First Lady Laura Bush on the South Lawn of the White House at the time the first of the two passenger planes hit the World Trade Center. It is the last time Mr Bush marks the anniversary as president. The attacks are regarded as the defining moment of his time in office, and they had a huge impact on the foreign policy of his administration. "The president thinks about 9/11 every single day when he wakes up and before he goes to bed," White House press secretary Dana Perino said on Wednesday.