Sometimes, when people come together like this, it's easy to forget there is evil in the world ...
LONDON, England -- Millions of people around the world have joined a two-minute silence to pay tribute to the victims of the London bombings one week earlier.
In the British capital Thursday workers left their offices to stand in the street, taxis and buses pulled over and financial markets paused to remember the 52 people who are so far confirmed dead.
Tributes were also paid in the Spanish capital Madrid and the Indonesian island of Bali -- both targeted by bombers from the Islamist al Qaeda network in the past -- and in cities across Europe.
Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI, on holiday in the Italian Alps, prayed for peace.
In America, the three locations struck on September 11, 2001 -- New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania -- also joined together to observe the silence.
New York Governor George Pataki said the London attacks were a reminder of the "very real and serious threat" that terrorism posed around the world.
"The people of Great Britain were there for New Yorkers and Americans in the days and weeks after September 11 and we proudly come together with our friends and neighbours in Virginia and Pennsylvania in this show of support of our friends in Great Britain," he said.
"Our hearts go out to those who lost loved ones last week."
In Trafalgar Square in central London, London Mayor Ken Livingstone told CNN : "In Madrid, Bali and New York people have stood in silence with us, and in cities which have yet to be touched by terror."
In Downing Street, Prime Minister Tony Blair appeared in the garden of his official residence, where he was presenting bravery awards to police officers.
Queen Elizabeth II stood in silence on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace as Big Ben struck 12.
Play even stopped on the first round of the 134th British Open so players and fans could pay tribute to the victims.
A klaxon sounded at midday, Reuters reported. Leading player Tiger Woods stood with head bowed as the flag over the clubhouse at St. Andrews flew at half-staff.
"It's good that they're doing this," world number two Vijay Singh from Fiji, told the news agency.
"It has happened before. We had stoppages during a few tournaments after 9/11 (the 2001 attacks in the U.S.) and also as a tribute to Payne Stewart."
In Paris, as sirens wailed across the city, French President Jacques Chirac stood with visiting Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula de Silva on the steps of the Elysee Palace after delaying his annual Bastille Day television address.
Government offices, railway stations and airports paused in Italy, as did buses, trams and underground trains in the German capital Berlin, Reuters reported.
And in Brussels, hundreds of European Union officials gathered outside the 25-nation bloc's headquarters as blue-and-gold EU flags flew at half-staff, The Associated Press reported.
In predominantly Muslim Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other ministers interrupting a meeting to join the silence.
In Stockholm, Sweden's Prime Minister Goran Persson joined other senior politicians for a brief ceremony at government offices.
"We have gathered here today to express our solidarity, our sympathy with the victims and their families and show our support for the open society," Persson told AP.
The ceremony ended with two minutes of silence.
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