New York marks 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks

NEW YORK, United States (AFP)—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.