Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Mid Day International News

Mid Day International News

'Uh oh, now I'm the guy who live-blogged Osama raid'

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Tweeted Sohaib Athar, the man who inadvertently provided minute-to-minute updates on the operation

A Pakistani provided live Twitter updates on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, without realising it. IT consultant Sohaib Athar took to Twitter in the early hours of yesterday when he heard helicopters in the night sky above his home close to the compound where bin Laden was cornered and killed by US forces. Posting as @ReallyVirtual, Athar wrote, "Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1 am (is a rare event)."

Minutes later he reported, "A huge window shaking bang here in Abbottabad Cantt. I hope its not the start of something nasty." Athar went on to describe gunfire, explosions and the sound of a helicopter crashing as the raid continued. He estimated he was around two miles away from the firefight.

Getting the link
It was only hours after the raid took place that the he eventually connected the explosions to an announcement by President Barack Obama that a US military team killed bin Laden in strike at a mansion in Abbottabad. "There goes the neighborhood," Athar tweeted. "Uh oh, now I'm the guy who live-blogged the Osama raid without knowing it."

After his unknowing reportage, Athar was being followed by more than 17,000 Twitter users as he tried to play down his role, "I am JUST a tweeter, awake at the time of the crash. Not many twitter users in Abbottabad, these guys are more into facebook. That's all."


Pak Taliban vows revenge, as Hamas condemns killing of 'holy warrior'

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Pakistan's main Taliban faction yesterday threatened to attack Pakistan and the United States after the US confirmed that Osama bin Laden had been killed near the Pakistani capital. "If he has been martyred, we will avenge his death and launch attacks against American and Pakistani governments and their security forces," spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told media organisations by telephone from an undisclosed location.



"Now Pakistani rulers, President Zardari and the army will be our first targets. America will be our second target," "These people are in fact the enemies of Islam," he added. The Taliban spokesman said the militia had not itself managed to confirm bin Laden's death, which was announced by US President Barack Obama. "If he has become a martyr, it is a great victory for us because martyrdom is the aim of all of us."

Hamas reacts
The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas condemned the killing by US forces of Osama bin Laden and mourned him as an "Arab holy warrior." "We regard this as a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood," said Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip.


Are corpse pics too gruesome?

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White House debates releasing photographs of bin Laden's body

washington: The Obama administration has photographs of Osama bin Laden's dead body and officials are debating what to do with them and whether they should be released to the public, officials tell ABC News.
"There's no doubt it's him," says a US official who has seen the pictures and also reminds us that Osama was 6'4".

The argument for releasing them: to ensure that the public knows and can appreciate that he's dead. There is of course skepticism throughout the world that the US government claim that it killed bin Laden is true.
The argument against releasing the pictures: they're gruesome. He has a massive head wound above his left eye where he took the bullet, with brains and blood visible.

In July 2003, the US government released photographs of Saddam Hussein's dead sons Uday and Qusay Hussain but not until after they'd been touched up by a mortician, making them look not quite real. Meanwhile, a senior US official said DNA tests confirmed that Osama was dead. The official confirmed that a DNA match had been established with bin Laden's body before it was buried at sea after the raid.

Scholars question sea burial
Muslim clerics said Osama bin Laden's burial at sea was a violation of Islamic tradition that may further provoke militant calls for revenge attacks against American targets. Although there appears to be some room for debate over the burial -- as with many issues within the faith -- a wide range of Islamic scholars interpreted it as a humiliating disregard for the standard Muslim practice of placing the body in a grave with the head pointed toward the holy city of Mecca.

Sea burials can be allowed, they said, but only in special cases where the death occurred aboard a ship.
A US official said that the burial decision was made after concluding that it would have been difficult to find a country willing to accept the remains. There also was speculation about worry that a grave site could have become a rallying point for militants. Obama said the remains had been handled in accordance with Islamic custom, which requires speedy burial.


Oops...! Obama dead, flashes us channel

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Every news provider in the world was buzzing yesterday, broadcasting stories on the death of Osama bin Laden. However, an oversight at Fox News' Sacramento affiliate Fox40 News saw the US TV channel use titles onscreen reporting that 'Obama Bin Laden' had died.

The typo, which mixes the name of the deceased terrorist leader with that of US President Barack Obama, has caused much hilarity on Twitter. Viewers watched as 'Breaking News. Reports: Obama Bin Laden Dead' popped up on screen, but Fox has responded by saying it was an easy mistake to make.

The gaffe is one many have been making in the wake of the news of Bin Laden's death. Among the most cringeworthy examples was MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell, who tweeted, 'Obama shot and killed' before quickly correcting her mistake.


Operation a violation of sovereignty: Musharraf

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Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said yesterday that the American operation against Osama bin Laden in Pakistani soil was a "violation of our sovereignty" and felt the Gilani government should have been kept in the loop. Musharraf, who has repeatedly denied US intelligence that the world's most wanted terrorist was inside Pakistan, said he was surprised how bin Laden was found in a mansion in Abbottabad.



The former Pakistan Army Chief, however, said the killing of the al Qaeda boss was a "victory" for the people of Pakistan and all peace-loving people of the world. "American troops coming across the border and taking action in one of our towns, Abbottabad, is not acceptable to the people of Pakistan and is a violation of our sovereignty, our sensitivity," he told TV channels. "The Pakistani government should have been kept in the loop."

"We are fighting al-Qaeda, we have to fight the Taliban and we have to be together strategically. I know that Pakistan is totally on board in fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban," he said. Expressing surprise at how bin Laden was present in the military garrison town of Abbottabad, he said, "I don't know whether he was staying there, I don't know whether he was coming and going there or only his family was living there," he said. Musharraf said, however, that he did not think that there was any local official collusion with the Al Qaeda chief.


After Osama's elimination, FBI updates its most wanted list

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has updated its most wanted list. The list now shows Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, the number one wanted on the list as deceased.

According to the web site digitaljournal.com, the remaining nine most wanted terrorists in the world are as follows:

2 - Adam Yahiye Gadahn, age 32: Born Adam Perlman in Oregon and raised in California, Gadahn converted to Islam at the age of 17. Gadahn is being sought on charges of treason and giving material support to the Al Qaeda terrorist network. The charges are related to Gadahn''s alleged involvement in a number of terrorist activities, including providing aid and comfort to Al Qaeda and services for Al Qaeda. Reward offered for his capture is $1 million.

3 - Daniel Andreas San Diego, age 33: An American citizen and reported to be a computer network specialist, San Diego is wanted for his alleged involvement in the 2003 bombing of two office buildings in the San Francisco, California, area. San Diego has ties to extremist animal rights groups according to his FBI profile. Reward for his capture is $250,000.

4 - Ayman Al-Zawahiri, age 59: An Egyptian national, Al-Zawahiri is wanted for his alleged role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of the United States Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. Al-Zawahiri is a physician and the founder of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) and is now involved with Al Qaeda. It is believed that Al-Zawahiri has been the operational commander of Al Qaeda and was essentially second-in-command of the organization before Bin Laden''s death. The U.S. government is offering a $25 million for his capture.

5 - Fahd Mohammed Ahmed Al-Quso, age 36: A citizen of Yemin, Al-Quso is being sought for his alleged role in the October 12, 2000, bombing of the U.S. Navy ship, USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, in which 17 American sailors were killed. Reward for his capture is $5 million.

6 - Jamel Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Badawi, age about 50: Al-Badawi is also wanted for his alleged connection with the October 12, 2000, bombing of the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen and the death of 17 American sailors. Al-Badawi was being held by Yemeni authorities in connection with the attack when he escaped from prison in April of 2003. He was recaptured in March of 2004, but again escaped Yemeni custody on February 3, 2006. Reward for his capture is $5 million.

7 - Mohammed Ali Hamadei, age 46: Thought to be a member of the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah, Ali Hamadei is wanted for his alleged role and participation in the June 14, 1985, hijacking of a commercial airliner, TWA flight 847 over Greece which resulted in the assault on various passengers and crew members, and the murder of U.S. Navy sailor and American citizen Robert Stetham. The reward for his capture is $5 million.

8 - Ali Atwa, age about 50: Atwa has also been connected with the group Hezbollah and is wanted in connection with his alleged role and participation in the June 14, 1985, hijacking of TWA flight 847 over Greece which resulted in the assault on various passengers and crew members, and the murder of American Robert Stetham. Reward for his capture is $5 million.

9 - Hasan Izz-Al-Din, age 47: Also linked to Hezbollah in Lebanon, Izz-Al-Din is wanted for his role in planning and participating in the June 14, 1985, hijacking of TWA flight 847 which resulted in the assault on various passengers and crew members, and the murder of American Robert Stetham. Reward for his capture is $5 million.

10 - Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, age 47: An Egyptian, Abdullah is wanted for his alleged involvement in the August 7, 1998, bombings of the United States Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. Reward for his capture is $5 million.
Posted by Harshad at 7:14 AM

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