McCain and Obama attend 9/11 ceremony

Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are set to bury their political differences when they attend a service near Ground Zero in New York today, to remember those who died in the September 11 attacks seven years ago today. In a joint statement, the two rivals vowed to come together "as Americans" and suspend their political campaigns for 24 hours. "All of us came together on 9/11 - not as Democrats or Republicans - but as Americans," the two men said.

Family members and students representing countries that lost individuals will read the names of the 2,974 people who died at the World Trade Centre Site. At the Pentagon, President George W Bush will dedicate a memorial to the 184 people who died when an airliner crashed into the United States military headquarters.

Meanwhile former US president Bill Clinton met with families of the victims of 9/11 on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the attacks on New York and Washington, and called for unity to return to the United States. "I will always remember the way New York and America came together on 9/11," he said. "Every time we fail to do that when our national interest is involved, I wish we could recover it."