Washington  - Residents along the Texas co

Washington/New York  - The seventh commemoration of the 2001 terrorist attacks on Washington and New York began Thursday morning with a nationwide solemn moment of silence at 8:46 am, the time that one of four hijacked passenger planes smashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York.

Family members of the more than 2,500 who died in New York gathered outside the site of Ground Zero, where the towers once stood, and prepared to descend into what is now a construction site.

Children of the dead and other relatives started reading the names of the victims.

Washington  - The top US military officer acknowledged Wednesday that the mission in Afghanistan is not succeeding and said a broader international approach was needed to stabilize the war- torn country.

"I'm not convinced we're winning it in Afghanistan," Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a House committee. "I am convinced we can."

Washington  - The United States on Wednesday opposed a decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut oil production by
520,000 barrels per day.

"We certainly disagree with it. We would like to see more oil on the market, not less," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

OPEC cited falling oil prices and lower demand earlier Wednesday in its announcement that it would cut output. The price of crude oil has fallen by some 30 per cent since a July record, but remains at about 100 dollars per barrel.

Washington  - The United States accused Russia Wednesday of violating its ceasefire agreement by failing to withdrawal thousands of troops from Georgia soil.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin are using "excuses" to justify the presence of thousands of Russian soldiers in Georgia.

"These guys are trying to - at every turn - trying to wiggle out of a commitment they made and that their president put his name to," McCormack said.