Controversial plans to build an International Freedom Centre at Ground Zero in New York have been abandoned after a long and bitter dispute.

The proposed Freedom Tower at the former World Trade Centre site, redesigned to address security concerns, will lose the distinctive asymmetrical shape envisioned in earlier plans but will be the world’s strongest and safest high-rise building, officials said today.

With quavering voices, parents and grandparents of those killed at the World Trade Center in New York slowly read the names of the victims today to mark the third anniversary of the attacks that brought down the twin towers.

New York police searched trucks, blocked streets and posted machine-gun carrying officers outside financial landmarks a day after the government’s warning that terrorists might target the buildings with bombs.

Investors struggled past concerns over a potential terror strike on New York targets, including Wall Street, today, sending stocks modestly higher.

Police set up metal fences around the headquarters of a major bank in New Jersey, blocked off two streets, and armed themselves with assault rifles after authorities warned of a terrorist attack on financial institutions.

A 20-TON slab of granite, inscribed to honour "the enduring spirit of freedom," was laid yesterday at the World Trade Center site as the cornerstone of the skyscraper that will replace the destroyed towers.

A new design for the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Centre has been unveiled in New York showing a structure with a gracefully sloping spire rising 1,776 feet.

Lights flickered back on in the north-east US and Canada today as the biggest power cut in American history stubbornly retreated.

In Times Square, the crossroads of the world, all the neon and bright lights were impossibly dark.

Sean “P Diddy” Combs has joined fellow rap mogul Russell Simmons and former US housing secretary Andrew Cuomo in calling for New York’s strict drug laws to be the repealed.

Police in the US have stepped up security at airports, subways and hotels after the country was put on heightened terrorist alert and law enforcement officials indicated New York was a possible target.

AMERICA paused yesterday to remember the unforgettable — with the tolling of bells, recitations of the names of the dead, and above all, with silence. “Today, we remember each life,” said President Bush.

Silence fell on Ground Zero at 08:46 (1.46pm Irish time) today, exactly a year from the moment when a terrorist-guided airliner sliced through a crystal blue sky and murdered thousands.

ONE by one, 2,801 victims’ names will be read aloud.

America was on a major terror alert tonight as it prepared to commemorate the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

World leaders will light an eternal flame, and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will lead a reading of the names of 2,823 victims to mark the anniversary of the World Trade Centre attack.

A ruined 19th century West of Ireland cottage rebuilt in New York has been officially opened as a memorial to the Irish potato famine.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators, gathered in Washington to support Israel’s war on terrorism, shouted down a Bush administration official who suggested Palestinians have suffered too.

New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani has flown to Israel to join Governor George Pataki and Mayor Elect Michael Bloomberg.

Investigators believe the pilot knew something was wrong before the American Airlines jet he was flying crashed into a residential neighborhood, killing all on board, New York Governor George Pataki has said.

The latest victim of anthrax in the US is expected to make a full recovery.

New York Governor George Pataki has announced that anthrax has been found at his offices in Manhattan.

New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani refused to bow to fear today, marching in a Columbus Day parade that combined a traditional celebration of Italian-American heritage with a patriotic theme.

With too many people missing for an accurate death count to begin, officials did their best yesterday to calculate the toll from the World Trade Centre attacks.