US President George W Bush has toured Ground Zero in New York, where 2,801 people were killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center exactly one year ago.

Although they died in tragedy, they did not die in vain

President Bush on the victims

Mr Bush flew into the city after earlier leading tributes to the victims of the terror attacks at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the last of the four hijacked planes was brought down.

Accompanied by his wife, Laura, the president met family and friends of victims of the attacks in New York, and took part in a wreath-laying ceremony in memory of those who died.

Later he went to Ellis Island for a speech to the nation with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop, ending a day of high emotion and remembrance across America and the world.

The eternal flame was lit below the Sphere, a sculpture recovered from the ruins

World leaders attended an evening ceremony in Battery Park, near Ground Zero, where an eternal flame was lit by New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and firefighter John Vigiano who lost both his sons in the attacks.

The United Nations Security Council in New York also held a special memorial service.

	:	In pictures
The world remembers

Solemn roll-call

The day in New York began with the city's firefighters and police, who lost hundreds of their members on 11 September last year, marching to the site from each of the city's five boroughs to the mournful tune of bagpipers.

Many mourners held pictures of the relatives they lost

As thousands of people gathered at Ground Zero, a minute's silence was observed at 0846 (1246 GMT), the moment when the first of two hijacked passenger jets was crashed into the World Trade Center.

Hundreds of relatives of those who died in the attacks - many clutching pictures of their lost loved ones - stood as former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani began a solemn roll-call of the names of each of the victims.

Relatives, emergency workers and other prominent New Yorkers took part in the reading, as a cellist played in the background.

The Governor of New York, George Pataki, read the Gettysburg Address made by Abraham Lincoln as he dedicated a national Civil War cemetery. There was also a reading from the US Declaration of Independence.

Two moments of silence were observed marking the precise time when the planes crashed into the towers. A bell was rung at 1029 local time (1429GMT) - when the second tower collapsed.

Bush tribute

Visiting the Pentagon earlier, George Bush paid tribute to the 184 people who were killed in the 11 September attack on the building.

I still get upset at the thought of these poor children who lost their parents - I pray for them all

Alison C, West Midlands, UK

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"Although they died in tragedy, they did not die in vain," he said.

Mr and Mrs Bush then laid a wreath in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the last of the four planes crashed after passengers tried to overpower the hijackers.

The couple met the families of the 40 people who died there, as hundreds of friends and relatives, clutching flowers and American flags, gathered at the field where the plane came down.

The president was joined by about 100 of his own White House staff, who believe that their lives may have been saved by the passengers who prevented the hijackers from flying the aircraft into a target in Washington.

Pledge against terror

At the UN headquarters, the Security Council called on all states to continue the fight against terrorism.

A passenger rebellion brought the plane down in Shanksville

Secretary General Kofi Annan told the commemorative meeting that terrorism could be defeated if the international community worked together in a broad coalition.

"More than 90 nations lost sons and daughters of their own - murdered that day, for no other reason than they had chosen to live in this country," he said.

"Today, we come together as a world community because we were attacked as a world community."

Addressing the session, US Secretary of State Colin Powell thanked the world for its support and said the international fight against terrorism was weakening "terrorism's deadly grip on various parts of the globe, not least on Afghanistan".

Security has been tightened within the US and at potential Western targets across the globe amid fears that the anniversary may be marked by further attacks.

Fighter planes have been patrolling the skies above key American cities - which are also being protected by missile batteries - while some Western embassies in potential hotspots have been closed.