Britons yesterday remembered the victims of the London terrorist bombings a week ago with two minutes of silent reflection. Taxis and buses pulled over to the side of the road and workers put down their tools in honor of the dead and wounded.
Police in London handed out leaflets asking for help in tracking down the bombers, and authorities in the northern city of Leeds -- where investigators believe the suspects came from -- searched another address in their hunt for evidence.
Office workers streamed outside and construction crews stood with their hard hats at their sides. Thousands were heading for Trafalgar Square for a show of unity and defiance.
PHOTO: AP
At Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth II emerged just before noon and stood silently in the main gateway to the palace.
As Big Ben chimed at noon, tourists and Londoners alike stopped on the sidewalks outside the Houses of Parliament and bowed their heads.
The usually thronging hordes of tourists outside Westminster Abbey were also silent. Many closed their eyes and clutched their hands together as if in prayer. Vehicles came to a standstill in the usually busy Parliament Square as taxi drivers and motorists ignored the green signals on traffic lights.
British television interrupted normal broadcasting to show photos of the aftermath of the July 7 attacks: soot-faced commuters fleeing in fear and paramedics tending to the injured.
In Leeds, hundreds gathered outside the Hamara Living Center, where one of the suspects had counseled disabled youth. With heads bowed, they faced the center and marked the moment.
"We condemn these terrorists and what they have done," said Munir Shah, the imam of the Stratford Street mosque near the Leeds neighborhood that police were searching. "We refuse to call them Muslims. They are not. Islam does not agree or teach about the killing of innocent people."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair marked the two-minute silence in the garden of his official residence at 10 Downing Street, where he was hosting a reception for police officers receiving bravery awards not related to the bombings. In the House of Commons and the House of Lords, lawmakers broke off debates to join in the silence.
Trucks, cars and mounted police all paused along the busy Euston Road outside King's Cross station, where a memorial garden has been a focus of the city's grief. London Mayor Ken Livingstone laid a wreath there, and hundreds stood outside to observe the silence at the station near the worst of the attacks -- a subway bombing that killed at least 21 people.
People across Europe also paused for two minutes of silence yesterday to honor the victims.
In Paris, where Bastille Day celebrations were under way, sirens wailed across the city and French President Jacques Chirac and visiting Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula de Silva stood at attention outside the Elysee Palace.
In Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country that hopes to start EU membership talks in October, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and two other ministers stood in silence for two minutes, interrupting a meeting in Ankara.
NEW LEADS
The Times newspaper, quoting unidentified police sources, said detectives were interested in locating M. Asi el-Mashar, 33, an Egyptian-born academic who recently taught chemistry at Leeds University. The Times said he was thought to have rented one of the homes being searched in Leeds.
Neighbors reported that el-Mashar had recently left Britain, saying he had a visa problem, the Times reported.
The Daily Telegraph said police were trying to identify a man seen standing near the four suspects on the platform at Luton railway station, where they apparently boarded a train for London on the morning of the bombings.
The Evening Standard reported on Wednesday that police had spotted a fifth man on a tape showing the group at King's Cross about 20 minutes before the explosions.
Late on Wednesday, Scotland Yard said anti-terror police had raided a residence northwest of London as part of their investigations into the bombings. No arrests were reported.
News reports have identified three Britons of Pakistani descent as suspects in the July 7 attacks on three underground trains and a bus in London that killed 52 and injured 700.
Britain's Press Association, citing police sources, said that police had identified a fourth suspect but no name or details were reported.
The BBC has reported that a fifth suspect was being sought, citing unidentified sources.
also see story:
Bomb victim IDs may take weeks: coroner
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS