A minute of silence to mark a world of mourning

A MINUTE’S silence will mark a million screams today as the country stands still to remember the dead of the September 11 attacks.

In a gesture of support and solidarity, schools, shops and businesses here will come to a symbolic halt at 1.46pm the precise moment, Irish time, that the first terrorist hijacked plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York exactly one year ago.

Across the world, airlines, embassies, major financial centres, Western military bases and American-owned companies are on high alert for fear of a repeat attack on the first anniversary of the atrocities.