Monday, September 17, 2001 :
RELATED STORIES
11:00 PM - Islamic clerics will decide on bin Laden extradition
6:59 PM - Wall Street reopens to a wave of selling
5:45 PM - Aer Lingus to cut transatlantic service
5:40 PM - New York bids to return to normal life
5:28 PM - America wants bin Laden 'dead or alive'
5:00 PM - Afghan soldiers gather at Pakistan border
4:25 PM - US airlines cut schedules by 20%
4:22 PM - Virgin sheds 1,200 jobs
3:23 PM - Talks between Pakistan and the Taliban have failed
3:04 PM - Tearful scenes as workers return to terrorist hit district
2:49 PM - Mayor attends reopening of New York Stock Exchange
2:42 PM - Blair speaks with Pakistan president
2:40 PM - New York Stock Exchange opens
2:27 PM - Did bin Laden also make a stock market killing?
1:34 PM - Federal Reserve cuts interest rates in bid to stop recession
12:49 PM - Britain and US build up firepower in Gulf
12:44 PM - EU leaders called to emergency summit
12:23 PM - Pakistan 'moves troops to Afghan border'
12:03 PM - US naval ships leave Japan
11:53 AM - Taliban shuts down air space
11:44 AM - London stock market waits to see mood on Wall Street
11:04 AM - Smoke clears for latest satellite view of New York
10:33 AM - New Yorkers return to work
7:48 AM - Search continuing at World Trade Centre
7:34 AM - Airline officials in Dublin to discuss crisis
7:12 AM - Mayor strikes grim note as NY struggles back
7:02 AM - Man arrested after spate of attacks on Muslims
6:57 AM - Pakistan to seek bin Laden handover
6:44 AM - 'Air force was ordered to shoot down stray jets'
6:42 AM - Wall Street to reopen after US attacks
6:39 AM - Clinton 'okayed action against bin Laden’
2:36 AM - Russian troops put on high alert
1:55 AM - Iran closes it's border with Afghanistan
12:21 AM - 10,000 Afghans flee to Iran
12:09 AM - US 'Green Seals' arrive in Pakistan - claim
12:05 AM - Afghanistan opposition group ready to back US
Islamic clerics will decide on bin Laden extradition
11:00:03 PM
Afghanistan's ruling Taliban will let a grand council of Islamic clerics decide whether to hand over Osama bin Laden.
The reports come after the Taliban refused to hand over bin Laden following a meeting with Pakistan officials.
Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar says the council of clerics will meet to decide bin Laden's fate on Tuesday.
The Pakistanis were in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar to press the Taliban to hand over bin Laden to try to pre-empt a US retaliatory attack.
Bin Laden is the prime suspect in the horrific terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
The Pakistani delegation was led by Lieutenant General Mahmood Ahmed, chief of the Interservices Intelligence, the Pakistani agency believed to have played a part in the Taliban's creation in the mid-1990s.
The Pakistanis left southern Kandahar for the Afghan capital, Kabul, where they were expected to meet the grand council of Islamic clerics.
According to the radio reports which read Omar's statement, the gathering will involve 20 of the country's pre-eminent clerics. They will be given the job of making the decision.
Before announcing the meeting of clerics, Omar's statement said that the Pakistani delegation had said "we should try to prevent a US attack".
Wall Street reopens to a wave of selling
6:59:59 PM
Wall Street reopened today for the first time since last week’s horrific attacks on New York and Washington and markets were hit by an expected wave of selling.
:: Anticipating a slow start to trading, the US moved to boost confidence by cutting interest rates by 0.5% to 3%, an hour before Wall Street opened.
:: But by midway through the day the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq had both tumbled by more than 5%.
:: Despite the panicked start, traders thought the initial lull would see an upturn later in the day.
:: The US cut in interest rates was followed by reductions by banks around the world, including the European Central Bank which shaved its rates by half a percent to 3.75%.
:: It was thought the Bank of England may swiftly follow suit with a cut in rates from the present 5%.
:: In London the FTSE 100 surged ahead on the hopes of a rate cut - closing up 143.2 points at 4898.9.
:: But this came after a subdued day of dealing, when shares initially plunged by 85 points as dealers showed nerves as they awaited Wall Street’s reopening.
:: Trading later stabilised and by the time Wall Street opened at just after 2.30pm Irish time, the Footsie was in positive territory.
:: There are hopes the US markets may sustain a patriotic rally in defiance of the attacks over the next few days.
:: But there are also grave fears the US markets could slide by as much as 10% as prices are marked down, which would have repercussions on markets around the world.
Aer Lingus to cut transatlantic service
5:45:41 PM
Aer Lingus is expected to announce cuts to its transatlantic services in the coming days in the wake of the US atrocity.
The company has so far declined to comment but it is understood that a major review of services is being carried out as the international aviation business goes into crisis.
Following massive route and job cuts announced by American airlines, this evening the fall out from the crisis hit Europe when Virgin Atlantic became the first carrier this side of the Atlantic to announce 1,200 job losses because of a slump in business.
Closer to home, Aer Lingus is now re-visiting a review of its transatlantic services in following the US attacks. It is understood an announcement is just days away.
The national carrier hopes to keep its six US destinations open but there will be major reductions in the frequency of flights.
New York bids to return to normal life
5:40:54 PM
New York was tonight making a return to normal life, with Wall Street bustling and baseball back on.
But all was not the same in the city where smoke still rises from the site of the destroyed World Trade Centre and thousands have been bereaved by the tragedy.
Much of the city was open again for work, including most of the financial district, just yards away from the smouldering ruins of the once-proud twin towers.
But at the site of the rescue effort, already slim hopes were fading fast as the fifth day passed since a survivor had been found.
The total number of people reported missing was revised down to 4,957 but officials still believe the number will ultimately be higher, with the process of filing a missing report now taking more time, as police take DNA samples to help identify bodies.
A total of 190 bodies have now been recovered from the rubble, but rescuers coming from the scene said more body parts than bodies were now being found.
A new centre where families could report loved ones missing and receive grief counselling also got into action after the first building became too small to cope with the numbers of bereaved.
Thousands of rescuers were continuing their work at the scene of the attacks, while FBI officers were stepping up their efforts to find evidence amid the debris which will help in their hunt for the attackers’ backers.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is overseeing the rescue efforts along with city authorities, today said they expect the operation to clear the site to take ‘‘months’’, while it will be many more months before the FBI has sorted through every lorry-load for evidence.
Fears also remained about the safety of three buildings surrounding ground zero - the new name for the World Trade Centre - all of them partially damaged by the collapse, while fresh dangers emerged with the discovery that one building had dangerous levels of potentially deadly gas freon.
And a handful of funerals were being held for the few who have been found or the more than 100 who were declared dead on arrival at hospital, a sign of the thousands of funerals the city and greater New York can expect in the weeks to come.
Around the site streets had been hosed down to remove the dust and ash which showered the south of Manhattan and the vital subway services were rattling through the city as normal, moving millions of commuters who had stayed at home last week.
Some people made homeless when their apartments near the centre were damaged by the blast as it collapsed were allowed into their homes for 10 minutes to gather vital belongings, but no predictions have been made as to when they will be able to return home.
But parts of the transport system have been destroyed in the attacks on the twin towers, including a subway system which linked the World Trade Centre with New Jersey which firefighters have battled through to look for survivors.
There had been hope that the platforms under the centre would have held survivors, but rescuers who pushed their way through the flooded tunnels found no hope waiting for them.
Above ground, there was little sign of the devastation beyond the immediate area around ground zero.
But the National Guard was still on the streets of the south of the city and reminders of the emergency effort were everywhere, from lorries waiting to go into the site, to protective masks abandoned in bins after becoming choked with dust and potentially dangerous asbestos.
Outside the city’s fire stations, mounds of flowers, candles and thank-you cards were growing as people paid tribute to the men and women who have become heroes.
Few fire stations have escaped loss, with some mourning the loss of as many as 15 firefighters entombed in the towers when they collapsed.
The close-knit service still has more than 300 of its members missing, while bond firm Cantor Fitzgerald remains the worst affected of all, with more than 700 staff missing, presumed dead.
Despite the grief, New Yorkers were getting back to their favourite sport, with baseball resuming as the Mets take on the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Ironically, Pittsburgh is the nearest city to the site of the flight which crashed into a field in Pennsylvania when the men on board voted to attack the hijackers.
There had been controversy over the decision to restart the baseball season, to be followed soon by football, but sporting officials said they had come under pressure from the White House to get back to normal.
And in the city, the first steps towards reconstruction also got under way, with more talk of how to rebuild the World Trade Centre.
A commission is to be formed later this week to look at reconstruction and Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, said they believed President George Bush would help in the effort.
Aer Lingus to cut transatlantic service
5:45:41 PM
Aer Lingus is expected to announce cuts to its transatlantic services in the coming days in the wake of the US atrocity.
The company has so far declined to comment but it is understood that a major review of services is being carried out as the international aviation business goes into crisis.
Following massive route and job cuts announced by American airlines, this evening the fall out from the crisis hit Europe when Virgin Atlantic became the first carrier this side of the Atlantic to announce 1,200 job losses because of a slump in business.
Closer to home, Aer Lingus is now re-visiting a review of its transatlantic services in following the US attacks. It is understood an announcement is just days away.
The national carrier hopes to keep its six US destinations open but there will be major reductions in the frequency of flights.
New York bids to return to normal life
5:40:54 PM
New York was tonight making a return to normal life, with Wall Street bustling and baseball back on.
But all was not the same in the city where smoke still rises from the site of the destroyed World Trade Centre and thousands have been bereaved by the tragedy.
Much of the city was open again for work, including most of the financial district, just yards away from the smouldering ruins of the once-proud twin towers.
But at the site of the rescue effort, already slim hopes were fading fast as the fifth day passed since a survivor had been found.
The total number of people reported missing was revised down to 4,957 but officials still believe the number will ultimately be higher, with the process of filing a missing report now taking more time, as police take DNA samples to help identify bodies.
A total of 190 bodies have now been recovered from the rubble, but rescuers coming from the scene said more body parts than bodies were now being found.
A new centre where families could report loved ones missing and receive grief counselling also got into action after the first building became too small to cope with the numbers of bereaved.
Thousands of rescuers were continuing their work at the scene of the attacks, while FBI officers were stepping up their efforts to find evidence amid the debris which will help in their hunt for the attackers’ backers.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is overseeing the rescue efforts along with city authorities, today said they expect the operation to clear the site to take ‘‘months’’, while it will be many more months before the FBI has sorted through every lorry-load for evidence.
Fears also remained about the safety of three buildings surrounding ground zero - the new name for the World Trade Centre - all of them partially damaged by the collapse, while fresh dangers emerged with the discovery that one building had dangerous levels of potentially deadly gas freon.
And a handful of funerals were being held for the few who have been found or the more than 100 who were declared dead on arrival at hospital, a sign of the thousands of funerals the city and greater New York can expect in the weeks to come.
Around the site streets had been hosed down to remove the dust and ash which showered the south of Manhattan and the vital subway services were rattling through the city as normal, moving millions of commuters who had stayed at home last week.
Some people made homeless when their apartments near the centre were damaged by the blast as it collapsed were allowed into their homes for 10 minutes to gather vital belongings, but no predictions have been made as to when they will be able to return home.
But parts of the transport system have been destroyed in the attacks on the twin towers, including a subway system which linked the World Trade Centre with New Jersey which firefighters have battled through to look for survivors.
There had been hope that the platforms under the centre would have held survivors, but rescuers who pushed their way through the flooded tunnels found no hope waiting for them.
Above ground, there was little sign of the devastation beyond the immediate area around ground zero.
But the National Guard was still on the streets of the south of the city and reminders of the emergency effort were everywhere, from lorries waiting to go into the site, to protective masks abandoned in bins after becoming choked with dust and potentially dangerous asbestos.
Outside the city’s fire stations, mounds of flowers, candles and thank-you cards were growing as people paid tribute to the men and women who have become heroes.
Few fire stations have escaped loss, with some mourning the loss of as many as 15 firefighters entombed in the towers when they collapsed.
The close-knit service still has more than 300 of its members missing, while bond firm Cantor Fitzgerald remains the worst affected of all, with more than 700 staff missing, presumed dead.
Despite the grief, New Yorkers were getting back to their favourite sport, with baseball resuming as the Mets take on the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Ironically, Pittsburgh is the nearest city to the site of the flight which crashed into a field in Pennsylvania when the men on board voted to attack the hijackers.
There had been controversy over the decision to restart the baseball season, to be followed soon by football, but sporting officials said they had come under pressure from the White House to get back to normal.
And in the city, the first steps towards reconstruction also got under way, with more talk of how to rebuild the World Trade Centre.
A commission is to be formed later this week to look at reconstruction and Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, said they believed President George Bush would help in the effort.
America wants bin Laden 'dead or alive'
5:28:34 PM
President George Bush said that America wants bin Laden 'dead or alive'.
Bin Laden is America's prime suspect for last week's terrorist attacks, which claimed thousands of lives at the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.
Speaking from the Pentagon, the President promised the US would defend freedom at any cost as America adjusted its thinking to a 'new type of enemy'.
He added: "The resolve of the military has never been stronger."
5:00 PM - Afghan soldiers gather at Pakistan border missing!
US airlines cut schedules by 20%
4:25:57 PM
Delta, American, Northwest and United airlines have all cut their schedules by 20% in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks in America.
Over the weekend Continental Airlines laid off 12,000 workers while Virgin Airlines have followed suit by announcing planned redundancies of 1,200.
Airline stocks have been hit hardest after the New York Stock Exchange reopened today.
Virgin sheds 1,200 jobs
4:22:41 PM
Some 1,200 jobs are to go at Virgin Atlantic as the transatlantic airline reduces its flights to the US in the wake of last week’s atrocity.
Virgin said the ‘exceptional circumstances’ following the terrorist attacks in America led to their decision to cut back on its US route.
Virgin plans to ground five aircraft and scale down its transatlantic activity of 20%. This will involve cutting three flights daily to the US and Canada.
Smaller planes will also be used on some routes. However, all flights will operate normally in the coming weeks to help clear the backlog caused by massive delays in air travel because of the atrocity.
The airline is to seek volunteers for redundancy which will be across the board, including pilots, cabin crew, office staff and other personnel.
Virgin has not yet announced the terms of any redundancy package but it promised to take all possible measures to avoid compulsory redundancies.
Other airlines are expected to make similar redundacy annonuncements over the coming week.
Airline stocks have dropped in trading on New York's reopened stock exchange.
Tearful scenes as workers return to terrorist hit district
3:04:05 PM
Many workers returning to the district burst into tears as they left the subway station and were confronted by the pall of dust which hangs in the air, the streets boarded over while they wait to be repaired and the sight of National Guard troops patrolling the streets proving too much for some to bear.
One trader, who refused to give his name, said he was finding it difficult to return to work when he had still not heard from two friends who were in the World Trade Centre at the time of the attack.
Fighting back tears, he said: ‘‘I want to believe the best but I’m scared they’re gone and it feels too weird coming back when I know they could still be in there.
‘‘But there was no question of not coming back, I know it’s for the best that we get things up and running again.’’
Unlike much of the city, the streets were not emblazoned with the faces of the missing, as relatives had been unable to reach the area to put up posters and appeals.
But many firms were hanging American flags and messages of support in the windows as they prepared for the opening ceremony inside the Exchange.
Trader Thomas Cook, of Rock Island Security, made his walk to work with an American flag draped around his shoulders.
He said: ‘‘It’s never too soon to come back. America is all about being free.’’
Meanwhile, the clean up operation on the streets continues with diggers moving in to continue shifting rubble and the only vehicles in sight were those of the emergency services and the camouflage trucks of the National Guard.
Trader Peter Grossman, of the Monaco Brokerage Corporation, said he had been working in the Exchange since 1987 but was stunned by the scenes which confronted him today.
‘‘It’s going to be tough, a lot of major firms got seriously hurt by what happened, but we have been in tough jams before and we will get it back again,’’ he said.
‘‘I have been amazed by the response to what has happened. I work in contact with a lot of British firms and I thought it was really moving when they played the Star Spangled Banner at Buckingham Palace.
‘‘It was a really moving symbol and it meant a lot to me.’’
Mayor attends reopening of New York Stock Exchange
2:49:39 PM
Attending the reopening of the New York Stock Exchange this morning Mayor Rudy Giuliani said the spirit of Americans was now ‘ten times stronger’ than it was last Monday. They are ‘united as never before’ he said.
He added:' This is a day in which we will reaffirm our confidence in America.
‘‘They tried to destroy us. They took an attack right at the financial capital of American and the world.
‘‘We are going to be stronger and better than we ever were before.’’
Richard Grasso, chairman of the exchange, stood with Mayor Giuliani, New York senator and former first lady Hillary Clinton, New York Governor George Pataki, and a firefighter, policeman and ambulance worker as he prepared to sound the opening bell.
‘‘These wonderful men and women who put their lives on the line allow us to do what we do,’’ he said.
‘‘This could not happen without their great goodness and help that encircles this great country.
‘‘We would not be here without this fabulous partnership.’’
The bustling floor of the exchange fell silent at 2.30pm Irish time for two minutes, before a member of the Marines sang ‘‘God bless America’’.
And at the end of the silence, a firefighter, police officer and ambulance worker jointly pushed the button which activates the opening bell to thunderous applause, signalling the return to trading of the world’s busiest exchange.
In early trading, the markets have fallen. Earlier the Federal Reserve cut interest rates in a bid to bolster the economy.
The stock market is just three blocks away from the doomed World Trade Centre under which more than 4,000 people are buried under the rubble.
Re-opening the stock exchange was seen by New Yorkers as a gesture of defiance.
Federal Reserve cuts interest rates in bid to stop recession
Blair speaks with Pakistan president
2:42:39 PM
Prime Minister Tony Blair today spoke by telephone to Pakistan’s President Pervaiz Musharraf as part of what Downing Street described as a ‘‘continual conversation’’ with world leaders on the current crisis.
Downing Street said that the 15-minute conversation was ‘‘good and helpful’’ and that the leaders would remain in touch.
A spokesman had earlier said that Mr Blair welcomed Pakistan’s condemnation of the US attacks and agreement to co-operate with efforts to track down the perpetrators.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw this morning revealed that British intelligence had independently confirmed the US belief that bin Laden was the ‘‘prime suspect’’ for masterminding the attacks on New York’s World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, in Washington.
Did bin Laden also make a stock market killing?
2:27:08 PM
Germany’s stock market regulator is investigating claims of suspicious short-selling ahead of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington last week but said it was too early to say what shares might be involved.
The German statement came amid market rumours that Osama bin Laden may have tried to profit from stock trading ahead of the attacks.
Reports have said European and US investigators were checking stock movements of three big European reinsurance companies Germany’s Munich Re, Switzerland’s Swiss Re and AXA of France.
Sabine Reimer, a spokeswoman for Germany’s federal securities regulator, said it was looking at shares as part of routine market observation of share price developments and trade volume, ‘‘within the scope of our usual responsibilities.’’
Reimer stressed it was too early to say what shares might be involved or what kind of investigation might result, ‘‘but the devastating events of last week make routine examination of shares all the more important.’’
So far, she said, there has been no need to work with authorities in other countries over the issue.
Reinsurance companies provide coverage for losses by insurers.
EU leaders called to emergency summit
12:44:48
The EU has called an emergency summit on Friday to discuss the terrorist attacks on the US.
The summit is to be held in Brussels as Belgium currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU.
Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt will tour the EU capitals ahead of the meeting.
The idea for a European summit was first raised by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder two days after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
In the aftermath of the attacks, the EU nations have promised to support the United States in its war on terrorism.
10,000 Afghans flee to Iran
12:21:47 AM
Almost 10,000 Afghans have crossed the border to Iran in the past few days, reports claim.
The Afghan people are fleeing the country in fear of an American retaliation after last Tuesday's terrorist attacks which the US believe Osama Bin Laden was behind.
Federal Reserve cuts interest rates in bid to stop recession
13:34:20
The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates from 3.5% to 3% in a bid to bolster US markets and the US economy as well as stave off recession.
The eighth rate cut this year was widely anticipated as the Fed tries to boost consumer spending following last week's terror attacks on the US.
Today's cut puts the cost of borrowing at its lowest point for more than seven years.
Smoke clears for latest satellite view of New York
11:04:01 AM
The latest satellite image of downtown Manhattan shows the true extent of the destruction there.
Debris previously hidden beneath smoke and dust can be seen scattered over several blocks.
Many of the emergency and rescue vehicles in the streets surrounding the disaster area are also visible.
In the picture, smoke can still be seen billowing from the fires raging in the wreckage of the World Trade Centre and surrounding buildings.
Please click on the following address to see the images:
http://breaking.tcm.ie/usa/gallery/aerial.asp
The one-metre resolution image was taken by Space Imaging's Ikonos satellite on Saturday, four days after the attack.
The satellite was travelling 423 miles above the Earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour when the photo was taken.
EU-wide probe into pre-attack share deals
08:36:00
European Union finance officials are stepping up efforts to sniff out suspicious insider trading before the attacks on the US.
German central bank president Ernst Welteke says an examination by market regulators in his country has found unusual movements.
He says these involved not only in stocks from heavily affected industries, such as airlines and insurance companies, but also gold and oil markets.
"If you look at movements in markets before and after the attack, it makes your brow furrow," Mr Welteke says.
Belgian finance minister Didier Reynders, who chaired an informal EU meeting of finance ministers in the Belgian town of Liege, says investigations into suspicious trading are also under way in Belgium, France and other countries.
Mr Reynders says ministers have ordered supervisory agencies in all 15 EU countries to work together to prepare a joint report on the results of their investigations by October 16.
The first finance ministers' meeting since the attacks, intended to focus on preparations for the introduction of euro notes and coins next year, was instead dominated by the fall-out from the crisis.
Ministers agreed on a formula for government guarantees to keep their airlines flying after insurance companies cancelled war and terrorism insurance policies following the suicide hijackings.
German finance minister Hans Eichel said the ministers had agreed on a "common position" to serve as insurer of last resort for Europe's flag-carriers, many of which had warned their fleets would be grounded as of midnight on Monday due to lack of sufficient insurance.
The measures would be short-term and limited to war and terrorism liability, he said, adding that they hoped to give airlines and insurance companies time to work out a solution on their own.
Airline officials in Dublin to discuss crisis
7:34:29 AM
Representative of the world’s leading airports and airlines are in Dublin today for discussions that will focus on the fall-out from last Tuesday’s attacks on the United States.
The Aer Rianta-hosted conference was organised long before last week’s attacks, but instead of discussing expansion and new routes, delegates are expected to concentrate on how to save the industry from collapse.
Some airlines have already reduced their services and begun laying off staff, while others have sought protection from bankruptcy.
Tuesday’s hijackings and suicide attacks will certainly lead to a huge drop in passenger numbers, but many officials fear that the prospect of a war in the Middle East will also cause thousands of civilians to shelve any travel plans.
Mayor strikes grim note as NY struggles back
7:12:00 AM
With hopes fading that any more survivors would be found amid the dust, steam and gore that is now the World Trade Centre, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani urged New Yorkers not to cower before terrorism.
‘‘The life of the city goes on,’’ Mr Giuliani said yesterday.
He said 180 people had been confirmed dead, 115 of whom had been identified. Eighteen city firefighters were among the confirmed dead, including two top officials. The total number of missing was raised by more than 100 yesterday, to 5,097.
‘‘The recovery effort continues and the hope is still there that we might be able to save some lives. But the reality is that in the last several days we haven’t found anyone,’’ Mr Giuliani said.
A high ranking police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said workers weren’t even finding bodies, only body parts.
No one has been pulled alive from the wreckage since Wednesday, the day after two hijacked jetliners were crashed into the trade centre’s twin towers.
‘‘We can’t even find concrete; it’s dust. What we’re calling bodies aren’t really bodies,’’ the official said.
An additional 188 people remained missing and presumed dead in Washington where another hijacked plane slammed into the Pentagon.
A fourth hijacked plane, possibly on course to Washington, crashed in rural Pennsylvania, after passengers are thought to have struggled with the hijackers.
Much of downtown Manhattan was to reopen today, as was the New York Stock Exchange, which has been closed since Tuesday. The Empire State Building, which has been dark since the attacks, was lit last night in red, white and blue.
Speaking at a morning press conference, Mayor Giuliani said one way to deal with the trauma is to ‘‘show how strong we are and how terrorists can’t cower us.’’
‘‘Go ahead and go about the everyday activities,’’ he urged. ‘‘Go to church on Sunday. If you go to a park and play with your children, do that. If you like to go out and spend money I would encourage that. It’s always a good thing.’’
Mr Giuliani also encouraged people from around the country to ‘‘come here and spend money’’.
Barbara Anschuetz, a trauma therapist from Toronto in town to work with victims and survivors of the attacks, offered similar advice - and meant to follow it herself.
Standing in Times Square with a team of colleagues, she was looking to purchase tickets for the theatre.
‘‘We thought coming to a show in the evening, some time next week, when we’ve had pretty intense days, would help provide a sense of normalcy and relief for us,’’ Ms Anschuetz said.
Later yesterday, Mr Giuliani offered a personal story about perseverance.
Addressing a ceremony in which 168 firefighters were being promoted, the mayor said he had an uncle whose legs were broken when he was thrown from a ladder truck answering a false alarm.
‘‘One of my earliest memories is his talking about wanting to go back to work. It was the thing that got him through, the thing that sustained him,’’ he said.
The Fire Department, in the worst tragedy it has experienced since its first engine companies were formed in 1865, lost about 300 members in the trade centre carnage.
Through black and white swirls of smoke, rusty-looking remains of the centre’s once-shining exterior stood at precarious angles. But the rescue work - dusty, sweaty and very probably in vain - continued.
Among the grisly finds have been a pair of hands, bound together, found on a rooftop.
The New York Times reported on Saturday that one rescuer found the body of a flight attendant, whose hands were bound.
Another was the torso of a Port Authority police officer, identified by the radio still hanging from his belt.
James Monsini, a volunteer and demolition expert from Massachusetts, said he and some fellow workers were concentrating on sub-basement level garages and shops.
He said they were hoping for air pockets that would allow victims perhaps trapped in their cars to breathe.
‘‘I saw a car with an interior light on, and I got really hopeful that it was a sign (of life),’’ he said. ‘‘But the person was dead.’’
Another volunteer, steamfitter James Drew, said there was so much glass, hot metal and other debris on the ground that search dogs had to wear protective covers for their feet.
Drew said rescuers have been tapping in rhythm on steel or concrete, hoping for taps in response.
No one has been answering.
Man arrested after spate of attacks on Muslims
7:02:43 AM
US police have arrested a 42-year-old man in connection with a spate of attacks on Arabs which left an Indian immigrant dead.
Frank Roque was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and three counts of drive-by shootings after allegedly killing the Indian man, opening fire on a Lebanese-American worker at another petrol station and at the home of a family of Afghan descent.
Detectives are investigating if the shootings were a one-man retaliation for last week’s attacks in New York and Washington
Pakistan to seek bin Laden handover
6:57:14 AM
A delegation of senior Pakistani officials will go to Afghanistan tomorrow to demand that the ruling Taliban militia hand over Osama bin Laden to the US, a top Government official said.
The decision was made today amid countrywide demonstrations by hard-line Muslims, who oppose Pakistan’s decision to give its ‘‘full support’’ to the US should it retaliate against Afghanistan’s Taliban for harbouring bin Laden and his organisation Al Qaida.
Demonstrators burned US flags, shouted slogans in support of bin Laden and the Taliban and warned the Pakistani Government that they would fight on the side of Afghanistan’s Islamic militia.
‘‘If Afghanistan is attacked we will take part in the fight against America,’’ shouted militant Muslim leader, Abdul Ahad, to an estimated 1,000 demonstrators in northwest Pakistan, near the Afghan border.
In the capital of Islamabad, demonstrators chanted anti-American slogans.
The Pakistani delegation which is travelling to the Taliban’s headquarters in the southern city of Kandahar.
There, they will issue an ultimatum to the religious militia - either deliver bin Laden or risk a massive retaliatory assault.
The Taliban will be told that the international community has been mobilised to attack Afghanistan if the Taliban, a devoutly Muslim militia that rules roughly 95% of the country, refuse to turn over bin Laden, the official said.
There was no indication that the Taliban would be given a deadline to decide.
Bin Laden, the exiled Saudi millionaire already indicted in the US on charges of masterminding the bombings of two US embassies in Africa in 1998, has been living in Afghanistan since 1996.
The Taliban have steadfastly refused to hand him over despite two rounds of United States sanctions that have cut off funds to the national airline and isolated Taliban leaders.
The Taliban say bin Laden is a guest. The Taliban’s reclusive leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, has said in the past that delivering bin Laden to non-Muslims would be akin to betraying a tenet of Islam.
Newspapers in Pakistan received an electronic mail from a man purporting to be bin Laden. The e-mail railed against the US, issued an order to kill Americans and ‘‘their allies, civilian and military,’’ calling it a duty of every Muslim.
There was no way to prove that the electronic mail came from bin Laden, although the Taliban deny he has access to any communications.
Also today, the Taliban called an ‘‘urgent’’ meeting of clerics from throughout Afghanistan.
At that meeting the clerics voiced their support for the Taliban, condemned the US and demanded proof of bin Laden’s involvement in the airborne attacks on the World Trade Centre’s twin towers and the Pentagon.
In Pakistan, President General Pervez Musharraf met with politicians and Islamic clerics to get their support for Islamabad’s promise to give ‘‘full support’’ to the US to retaliate for the attacks, which could include the deployment of international troops in Pakistan.
It could also mean the use of Pakistani airspace.
Gen Musharraf sought to assure Islamic clerics, said the state-run news agency, Associated Press of Pakistan.
‘‘Every decision of the Government is directed toward the objective of unity, integrity and welfare of the nation,’’ said Gen Musharraf. ‘‘Hence it is imperative that all should join hands to consolidate the integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan.’’
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said support to the US would not include Pakistani participation in a multinational force should there be an invasion of Afghanistan.
‘‘Pakistan does not expect in anyway to participate in any military operation outside its borders,’’ Sattar told reporters yesterday.
Already some of Pakistan’s religious leaders have been approached by the army-led rulers here to use their influence with the Taliban to get them to hand over bin Laden.
They have refused.
‘‘We told the Government that we’re very sorry but we can’t do that and we don’t have that kind of influence over the Taliban,’’ said Amir-ul Azeem, a spokesman for Pakistan’s best-organised religious party, Jamaat-e-Islami, or Party of Islam.
Thousands of Afghans live in Pakistan and thousands more are now crossing the border because of the likelihood that the US will launch an attack on Afghanistan.
The Taliban has issued a veiled warning to Pakistan, saying it will attack any of its neighbours which helps the US to attack Afghanistan. For this reason, it seems the Pakistani leaders are focusing on diplomatic efforts for the moment.
However, with pressure from the US growing, it seems likely that President Pervez Musharraf will have to help the Americans in the event of an attack on Afghanistan.
This would lead to further instability in the country, which is 50% Sunni Muslim, the same branch of Islam practiced by the Taliban.
Several Islamic militant groups also act with impunity in Pakistan and if the US does use the country as the staging ground for attacks, the current Government could be toppled in a coup.
'Air force was ordered to shoot down stray jets'
6:44:54 AM
US Vice-President Dick Cheney has admitted that he and President George W Bush ordered the air force to shoot down any passenger jets that were being used in attacks against US landmarks.
Mr Cheney said that on Tuesday, after the first two planes had smashed into the World Trade Centre in New York, fighter jets were ordered to shoot down any plane that failed to respond to orders to divert.
This admission follows confusion over the fourth hijacked plane, which crashed near Pittsburg before it could reach its target.
The US Government has denied that the plane was shot down.
Clinton 'okayed action against bin Laden’
6:39:35 AM
President Bill Clinton signed a secret directive in 1998 authorizing US efforts to capture or disrupt Osama bin Laden and his terrorism network, and several unsuccessful attempts were made, a person familiar with the effort revealed yesterday.
Non-Americans in Afghanistan, promised a bounty if they succeeded, had an ‘‘active, constant and unsuccessful effort to capture bin Laden or take him out’’, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity. ‘‘There were several attempts.’’
The CIA and other US agencies monitored the efforts, the source said, stressing that no Americans were involved directly in the activity.
CBS television reported last night that in one such attempt, non-Americans hired by the CIA launched rocket-propelled grenades at a bin Laden convoy but hit the wrong vehicle.
A second source, a Government official also speaking on condition of anonymity, would say only that the US Government was informed of a failed attempt on bin Laden last year.
The CIA had no comment on the report.
President Gerald Ford signed an order prohibiting foreign assassinations 25 years ago, but that could be countermanded by any subsequent presidential order.
A number of members of Congress have said recently the presidential ban on assassinations should be lifted.
Bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi exile living in hiding in Afghanistan, has been identified by US President George Bush as the prime suspect in Tuesday’s terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York City and the Pentagon as well as the crash of an airliner in Pennsylvania.
US officials have long accused bin Laden of running a global terrorist network, a charge he and the ruling Taliban Government have denied.
It was reported last week that during Clinton’s final days in office, senior officials weighed a military strike against bin Laden after receiving intelligence on his whereabouts.
The plan was rejected over concerns the information was stale and could result in a miss or civilian casualties. The information spurred high-level discussion inside the White House in December 2000.
‘‘There were a couple of points, including in December, where there was intelligence indicative of bin Laden’s whereabouts,’’ former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger said. ‘‘But I can categorically tell you that at no point was it ripe enough to act.’’
Some in Congress have expressed anger that the United States has not been able to get to bin Laden after years of intelligence linking him to global acts of terrorism.
Iran closes it's border with Afghanistan
1:55:54 AM
Iran has closed it's border with Afghanistan.
Earlier, reports claimed that more than 10,000 Afghans had crossed into Iran from Afghanistan in fear of an American attack.
US 'Green Seals' arrive in Pakistan - claim
12:09:30 AM
Reports from Pakistan claim foreign troops have already arrived in the country.
The reports say a special plane carrying over two dozen foreigners landed at the Chakala airbase.
A Pakistan newspaper, The News, quotes an eyewitness as saying he saw a small contingent of US troops landing in Islamabad. There is no official confirmation of the reports.
The paper says, according to unofficial reports, over 50 personnel from the Special Services Group of the US Marines' Green Seals have landed.
It adds they plan to conduct 'target-oriented' operations against Osama bin Laden, prime suspect behind the terrorist strikes in the US.
Diplomatic sources have confirmed the arrival of two American aircraft but refused to give further details, the Press Trust Of India reports.
The Pakistani Army has taken over Karachi airport and has increased its presence at other airports in the area, according to media reports.
It's unclear whether the army takeover is in preparation for a strike against neighbouring Afghanistan.
Pakistan is under intense pressure from both the US and Afghanistan's Taliban regime following Tuesday's terrorist attack
Afghanistan opposition group ready to back US
12:05:55 AM
The Afghanistan opposition group, the Northern Alliance, has said it will support America's assault against the ruling Afghan Taliban.
A spokesperson for the Northern Alliance said: " We have 15,000 trained soldiers and another 15,000 supporters who are willing to fight with the US."
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