07/07: Terror in London: WORLD UNITES FOR 2 MINUTES; Ireland joins in mourning for 53 victims of bomb atrocity.

Byline: By FIONA WYNNE

IRELAND came to a standstill yesterday as we joined the rest of the world to remember the victims of the London bomb atrocity.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern led the nation in the two-minute silence for the 53 people killed and the 700 injured in the four blasts last Thursday.

Mr Ahern was joined by Tanaiste Mary Harney, Finance Minister Brian Cowen and the heads of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Irish Business and Employers Confederation at Dublin Workplaces around the country fell silent at noon and thousands of employees left their buildings and stood on the street as a mark of respect.

In the UK millions poured out on to the streets in an impenetrable wall of unity.

At King's Cross station, hundreds gathered to pay their respects to the Tube bomb dead.

There were similar scenes at other blast sites in Aldgate and Edgware Rd. In Tavistock Square, mourners laid flowers to victims of the bus explosion.

The driver George Psaradakis, 48, led the tributes at his HQ in Stratford, East London.

The Queen stood at the gates of Buckingham Palace to observe the silence. Tony Blair reflected on the losses at No10.

In Leeds, shocked neighbours of suicide bomber Shehzad Tanweer, 22, paid their respects to the dead - and waved banners proclaiming Islam is against murder.

Friends gathered near the home of bomber Mohammed Sidique Khan's widow Hasina for their silent tribute to victims.

Christians stood side by side with Muslims in Liverpool for the ceremony.

Millions across the globe also mourned our dead. They took to the streets in Paris, Venice, Berlin and Kabul. There were tributes in America, Turkey, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Bali.

British and Irish Tourists in Benidorm, Spain, stood in silence by pools and on beaches.

CAPTION(S):

STANDSTILL: Streets around Trafalgar Square are filled yesterday at noon as Londoners remember those stolen lives; SOLEMN: Tanaiste Mary Harney & Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at Dublin Castle; TRIBUTE: Jacques Chirac in Paris and cabbie stops at Big Ben for silence; SO YOUNG: Children at Dublin summer school; RESPECT: Members of B Watch at Dublin Fire Brigade Headquarters; REMEMBRANCE: Thousands gather outside station