This week marks 25 years since hijacked airliners struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, an attack that killed thousands. In its earliest dispatches from a stunned United States, The Independent described the events as “the biggest, most murderous and most spectacular terrorist onslaught in history”. Explore how the world reacted in this week’s archive snapshot, which also features reports of marooned Soviet cosmonauts, the sudden unmasking of a “suburban” spy, and the remarkable victory of an 18-year-old Emma Raducanu at the US Open.
7 September 1988 – Cosmonauts stranded in space
A Russian commander and his Afghan crewmate find themselves stranded in orbit with an oxygen supply limited to just two days. The crew prepares for a crucial third descent attempt after a series of automated glitches repeatedly halts their journey home. This final emergency effort ultimately proves successful, and the pair touch down safely in the Soviet Union just before their oxygen supply ran completely dry.
12 September 1989 – ‘Exodus’ of East Germans flee west through Hungary
East German officials express deep anger after Hungary opens its borders to allow thousands of refugees to safely cross into the West. In escalating rhetoric, the state news agency accuses West Germany of conducting a deliberate campaign to lure its population away and denounces Budapest for facilitating the “exodus”, likening the Hungarian government to Judas for allegedly accepting financial rewards in exchange for the refugees.
8 September 1992 – Dozens killed as troops fire on ANC protesters
A peaceful march organised by the African National Congress (ANC) ends in tragedy when Ciskei government troops unleash a barrage of gunfire. The fatal crackdown claims the lives of 28 demonstrators and leaves a further 200 severely wounded. The Bisho massacre, as it is now known, sparked widespread international outrage and escalated political tensions during the already fragile talks to dismantle the apartheid regime.
11 September 1993 – Israel and the PLO sign agreement of mutual recognition
Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin formally signs a landmark letter recognising the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. The historic gesture immediately follows a reciprocal agreement from PLO chairman Yasser Arafat officially acknowledging the right of Israel to exist in peace.
12 September 1999 – British pensioner unmasked as Soviet spy
An 87-year-old British pensioner is publicly identified as a former Soviet spy who passed atomic secrets during the Cold War. Ending 40 years of complete secrecy, Melita Norwood emerged from her suburban home to read a prepared statement to the international press at her garden gate. Her surprising exposure as a long-serving intelligence asset is expected to be followed by the unmasking of up to a dozen more British citizens who secretly worked for the KGB.
11 September 2001 – Thousands killed in 9/11 attacks
Thousands are killed when hijacked airliners destroy the World Trade Center and smash into the Pentagon. The Independent reports: “It was the day America’s luck ran out.” The text continues unfiltered: “The day you suspected might come but could not comprehend when it did – neither the dimension of the tragedy nor the motives of those who did it, and above all, perhaps, how they did it. Amid the numbed bewilderment and horror that united America yesterday, you could grasp one thing alone with certainty: this was the biggest, most murderous and most spectacular terrorist onslaught in history.”
13 September 2001 – Search continues for survivors
The United States launches a desperate double search for survivors and those responsible for 9/11. While rescue workers dig through the rubble of the World Trade Center, President George W Bush officially declares the strikes to be an act of war. Federal authorities simultaneously begin an urgent international manhunt for individuals linked to Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, the man widely suspected of orchestrating the attacks.
13 September 2002 – President Bush ‘beats drums of war’ at UN
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York, US president George W Bush officially shifts American focus toward confronting the Iraqi regime. Just over a year after the September 11 attacks, he warns world leaders that a war is inevitable unless the international community acts immediately to halt a “decade of defiance” by Baghdad.
13 September 2015 – Jeremy Corbyn elected Labour leader in landslide victory
Jeremy Corbyn secures a momentous victory to become the new leader of the Labour Party after winning nearly 60 per cent of the vote. The election result immediately sparks a fierce internal struggle to maintain political unity across the parliamentary party, as a string of senior figures resign from the shadow cabinet in protest.
12 September 2021 – Raducanu makes tennis history at US Open
Eighteen-year-old Emma Raducanu secures a historic victory over Leylah Fernandez to claim the US Open women’s singles title. Competing in her first-ever Grand Slam final, the British teenager became the first qualifier in tennis history to win a major tournament. Her remarkable championship run concluded without dropping a single set throughout the entire competition in New York.
