25th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks commemorated in New York

The 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the deadliest such attacks in US history, was commemorated Friday with a ceremony in New York City.

The ceremony was held at the site of the former World Trade Center and attended by US Vice President JD Vance, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, as well as former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Former New York City Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg were also in attendance.

The ceremony opened with a moment of silence, followed by relatives of the victims taking turns reading aloud the names of those who died in the attacks.

As is customary, no political speeches were delivered during the ceremony. Music was performed at intervals throughout the approximately five-hour event while the names of the victims were read.

For the first time this year, a moment of silence was also held to honor people who were exposed to toxic dust clouds following the collapse of the Twin Towers and later died from cancer and other illnesses.

The brief interaction between Giuliani and Mamdani was also noted by US media. Despite Giuliani’s previous calls for Mamdani to stay away from the Sept. 11 commemorations, the two shook hands and exchanged a few words during the ceremony.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, attended a separate memorial ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.