9/11

The September 11 attacks (often referred to as 9/11) were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by Islamic extremists belonging to the al-Qaeda movement upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners.^[1][2] The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the building, causing both buildings to collapse within two hours, destroying at least two nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania, after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C. There are no known survivors from any of the flights.

Excluding the 19 hijackers, 2,974 people died in the attacks. Another 24 are missing and presumed dead. The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 90 different countries. In addition, the death of at least one person from lung disease was ruled by a medical examiner to be a result of exposure to dust from the World Trade Center's collapse, as rescue and recovery workers were exposed to airborne contaminants following the buildings' collapse.

The United States responded to the attacks by declaring a War on Terrorism, launching an invasion of Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, who had harbored al-Qaeda terrorists, and enacting the USA PATRIOT Act. Many other nations also strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded law enforcement powers. Stock exchanges closed for almost a week, and posted enormous losses upon reopening, especially in the airline and insurance industries. The economy of Lower Manhattan ground to a halt, as billions of dollars in office space was damaged or destroyed.

The damage to the Pentagon was cleared and repaired within a year, and a small memorial was built on the site. Rebuilding the World Trade Center site has proven more difficult, with controversy over possible designs as well as the pace of construction. Construction delays, revised cost estimates, security concerns, and public criticism have all lead to significant changes and delays to the final plans in rebuilding the complex.

Muslim sprinter wins Olympic sprint dressed head to toe in a hijab

Sprinters have long been squeezing their muscular frames into the most eye-wateringly skimpy, tight and revealing costumes imaginable.

But one female athlete at this year’s Olympics is bucking the trend for bulging lycra and naked torsos.

In 2004, Bahrain's Ruqaya Al Ghasara, a devout Muslim, was the first athlete to ever take part in an Olympics wearing a hijab.

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Bahrain's Roqaya Al-Gassra powers to victory in her 200m sprint heat today

Today, Al Ghasara won her heat of the women’s 200m sprint at the Bird's Nest stadium - despite being clothed head to foot.

Al Ghasara finished first followed by France's Muriel Hurtis-Houairi and Sri Lanka's Susanthika Jayasinghe.

Admittedly, Al Ghasara 's hijab is a rather sportier version of the traditional dress.

Clinging to her body as she powers down the track the hijab completely covers her head, arms and legs.

Known as a Hijood - or hijab combined with a sports hood - the costume was specially designed for Al Ghasara by an Australian sports clothing company.

It allows Muslim athletes to compete while still adhering to the strict modesty required of their faith.

Al-Gassra prays as she celebrates winning her 200m heat

Al Ghasara, who was the Bahrain flag-bearer at last week’s opening ceremony, jas said the Hijood has improved her performance.

'It’s great to finally have a high performance outfit that allows me to combine my need for modesty with a design made from breathable, moisture-controlled fabric,” she said.

'It’s definitely helped me to improve my times being able to wear something so comfortable and I’m sure it will help me to give my best performance at Beijing.

'I hope that my wearing the hijood sports top will inspire other women to see that modesty or religious beliefs don’t have to be a barrier to participating in competitive sports.'

In 2004 Al Ghasara defied objections from fundamentalists in her village to take part in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, running in the 100 metres.

And in 2006 she won the women’s 200m final at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, making her the first Bahraini-born athlete to win a major international athletics gold medal.

Egypt indexes drop as Goldman Sachs report hits OT

CAIRO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Egypt's stock indexes declined on Sunday, led by a 2.77 percent dip in heavyweight Orascom Telecom ORTE.CA(ORTEq.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) after Goldman Sachs downgraded it, citing continuing operating difficulties in Pakistan and Algeria.

Orascom Telecom shares ended at a fresh year closing low of 47.65 Egyptian pounds ($8.81), helping drag the benchmark CASE 30 index .CASE30 0.7 percent lower to 8,342.25 points. The Hermes index .HRMS lost 0.78 percent to 723.28 points.

"The Goldman Sachs report had an impact," said Teymour el-Derini of Beltone Financial. "OT took the market down."

Goldman Sachs dowgraded OT on Friday to "neutral" from "buy" and cut its price target to 65 pounds from 100. The news had helped pull OT's GDR shares down 5.68 percent on Friday, dealers said.

Overall on Sunday, Egypt's broader CIBC index .CIBC was 0.02 percent lower at 404.74 points as local investors dominated trade.

But a surge in real estate developer Talaat Moustafa TMGH.CA helped temper market losses, gaining 12.58 percent to 6.71 pounds as it continued to recover from declines after the firm's former chairman was charged in a murder case last week.

Traders said investors were returning to the stock after the company said last week it had replaced its chairman and would meet all its project obligations on time.

"To an extent, nothing worse can happen to the stock now," said Mohamed Tawfiq of Delta Rasmala Securities.

Market heavyweight Orascom Construction Industries OCIC.CA(OCICq.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) also gained, adding 2.11 percent 363 pounds as traders engaged in bargain hunting. The shares are well below a year closing high of 485 pounds set in April.

But several other big caps slipped lower, with investment bank EFG-Hermes HRHO.CA(HRHOq.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) losing 3.16 percent to 47.52 pounds. Telecom Egypt ETEL.CA(ETELq.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) dropped 4.34 percent to 15 pounds, and dealers said it was following OT lower. ($1 = 5.4061 Egyptian pounds) (Writing by Cynthia Johnston)