US: Families of the victims of the September 11th, 2001, attacks joined New York City's mayor and two state governors yesterday to lay the granite cornerstone of the "Freedom Tower" skyscraper at the site of the destroyed World Trade Centres.
Relatives of some of the nearly 2,800 people killed when two hijacked jets slammed into the twin towers attended the US Independence Day groundbreaking ceremony with New York Governor Mr George Pataki, New Jersey Governor Mr James McGreevey and New York City Mayor Mr Michael Bloomberg.
The tower will be the world's tallest building at 1,776 feet (541 metres), symbolising US independence from Britain on July 4th, 1776, when it is completed by 2009.
Mr Pataki, a Republican, said the September 11th hijackers "attacked us to break our spirit. Instead, they broke our hearts." But he said they underestimated the city's and nation's resolve and unity, as represented by the start of the $1.5 billion project less than three years later.
"Today we lay the cornerstone for a new symbol of this city, and of this country, and of our resolve to triumph in the face of terror. Today, we build the Freedom Tower," he said.
Mr McGreevey, a Democrat, recalled the US Civil War and quoted from Abraham Lincoln's address at Gettysburg.
Mr Bloomberg said that by laying "this cornerstone of hope, we are reaffirming life at Ground Zero. . .The world's tallest building will rise in lower Manhattan."
Julian Davis, 13-year-old son of Port Authority Police Officer Clinton Davis, who was killed on September 11th, then read from the Declaration of Independence.
The cornerstone, from New York's Adirondack mountains, is inscribed: "To honour and remember those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and as a tribute to the enduring spirit of freedom. July Fourth, 2004." New York's tower, evoking the form of the Statue of Liberty, will contain some similar elements to the original twin towers that stood at 1,368 feet (417 metres).
Daniel Libeskind designed the "Freedom Tower" in uneasy collaboration with David Childs, the architect hired by site leaseholder Mr Larry Silverstein, who is himself under pressure to explain how he will pay to build four additional office buildings where the towers once stood.