Al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden has been killed

Al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden

Al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden has been killed in a firefight with US forces deep inside Pakistan, US President Barack Obama says, declaring “justice has been done” a decade after the September 11 attacks.

The death of the reviled US enemy sparked jubilation across the United States, with a huge crowd gathering outside the White House just before midnight on Sunday (Monday afternoon AEST), chanting “USA, USA” as Obama made a dramatic nationwide address to Americans.

“Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children,” Obama said.

Obama said in the historic address from the White House that he had directed the US armed forces to launch an attack against a compound in Pakistan on Sunday, acting on a lead that first emerged last August.

“A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties.

“After a firefight, they killed Osama bin laden and took custody of his body.”

“Justice has been done.”

Pakistani intelligence officials also confirmed bin Laden’s death.

“Yes I can confirm that he was killed in a highly sensitive intelligence operation,” an official told Agence France-Presse ahead of Obama’s announcement.

Asked whether Pakistani intelligence participated in the operation he said only: “It was a highly sensitive intelligence operation.”

US armed forces have been hunting the Saudi terror kingpin for years, an effort that was redoubled following the attacks by hijacked airliners on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon which killed 3000 people in 2001.

But bin Laden always managed to evade US armed forces and a massive manhunt, and was most often thought to be hiding out in Pakistan and Afghanistan border areas.

Bin Laden was top of America’s most wanted list, and was blamed by Washington for masterminding a string of other attacks, including the attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Africa in 1998.

Chants of “USA, USA” rang out from a huge and quickly building crowd outside the White House as the news of bin Laden’s death sent a electric charge through Washington.

People cheered waved the US flag and sang the US national anthem.

Despite the decade that has elapsed since the September 11 attacks, the event, one of the most traumatic in US history, still stirs raw emotions, and his demise will be celebrated across the United States.

The death of bin Laden will raise huge questions about the future shape of al-Qaeda and also have steep implications for US security and foreign policy 10 years into a global anti-terror campaign.

It will also provoke fears that the United States and its allies will face retaliation from supporters of bin Laden and other Islamic extremist groups.

The US State Department on Sunday issued a global travel alert to all US citizens, saying there could be an outbreak of anti-American violence.

Meanwhile, the US dollar rose against the euro and the yen when it emerged that Obama would announce the death of the al-Qaeda leader, nearly 10 years after the September 11 attacks.

The US dollar rose against the euro, which fetched $US1.4764 from $US1.4864 in earlier trade. The dollar was at 81.66 yen from 81.19 earlier.

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Bill Gates' philanthropy costs him richest-man title

Gates’ philanthropy costs him richest-man title

Bill Gates didn’t lose his title as the world’s richest man last year; he gave it away by plowing billions into his charitable foundation, experts say.

Forbes will release its 2011 billionaires list on Wednesday and Gates, investor Warren Buffett and last year’s richest man, Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, will almost certainly be in the top three. The trio has topped the list for the past five years.

But it would be no contest if Microsoft co-founder Gates had not already given away more than a third of his wealth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which focuses on global health and development and US education.

“It wouldn’t be a competition,” said David Lincoln, director of global valuations at wealth research firm Wealth-X. “(Gates) would have a comfortable margin if he had never discovered philanthropy.”

Lincoln said Gates was currently worth about $US49 billion ($48.4 billion), behind Slim, whose fortune he estimated at $US60 billion. Buffett, also a philanthropist, is now worth some $US47 billion.

But had Gates not given away any money, he would be worth $US88 billion, Lincoln said.

Gates and his wife Melinda have so far given $US28 billion to their foundation, the largest in the United States.

Forbes’ 2010 billionaires list put Gates’ fortune at $53 billion, but he was knocked into second spot by Slim’s $53.5 billion, losing the crown for only the second time since 1995.

Slim has said businessmen do more good by creating jobs and wealth through investment, “not by being Santa Claus,” and while he has still pledged several billion dollars to charity, his efforts have been a fraction of Gates’ philanthropy.

Buffett, who Forbes ranked as the third richest man in the world last year with $47 billion, has also pledged almost all of his fortune to the Gates Foundation and has given $8 billion to the organization since 2006.

But Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc has fared better than Gates’ Microsoft. Microsoft shares now trade about where they were a decade ago, while Berkshire shares have roughly doubled. Since the end of 2009, Microsoft shares have fallen 16 percent, while Berkshire shares are up 29 percent. Slim’s major companies, which include Mexico’s former state telecoms monopoly Telmex, have also seen gains in their stock prices.

“Dramatic philanthropic influence”

Gates and Buffett have joined forces to encourage other billionaires to publicly pledge to give away at least 50 percent of their wealth during their lifetimes or upon their death as part of a campaign called The Giving Pledge.

Glen Macdonald, president of the Wealth and Giving Forum, said Gates’ philanthropy had influenced the way other rich people in the United States approach their own philanthropy.

“Encouraging people and leading by example – there’s no question that’s going to have influence on people’s giving patterns,” said Macdonald. “They are going to give sooner and they are going to give in greater amounts.”

But Macdonald, whose group has advised 600 wealthy US families on their philanthropy, disagrees with the public nature of The Giving Pledge, which requires billionaires to release a letter explaining their intentions.

So far 59 billionaires have joined The Giving Pledge, publishing their letter at http://www.givingpledge.org. The campaign does not accept any money nor tell people how to give away their wealth, it just asks for a moral commitment.

Paul Schervish, director of the Centre on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College, said Gates’ influence had been “dramatic” and likened philanthropy to a gem, saying Gates was “changing the facets by learning and teaching others.”

“He would be the first to admit that he is not the origin of the movement, of all the ideas in the movement, for which he is a leader,” Schervish said.

“One of the things we’re dramatically finding is (many more) people beginning foundations and endowing them at higher levels while they are still alive,” he said.
theage.com.au

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Bill Gates’ philanthropy costs him richest-man title

Gates’ philanthropy costs him richest-man title

Bill Gates didn’t lose his title as the world’s richest man last year; he gave it away by plowing billions into his charitable foundation, experts say.

Forbes will release its 2011 billionaires list on Wednesday and Gates, investor Warren Buffett and last year’s richest man, Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, will almost certainly be in the top three. The trio has topped the list for the past five years.

But it would be no contest if Microsoft co-founder Gates had not already given away more than a third of his wealth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which focuses on global health and development and US education.

“It wouldn’t be a competition,” said David Lincoln, director of global valuations at wealth research firm Wealth-X. “(Gates) would have a comfortable margin if he had never discovered philanthropy.”

Lincoln said Gates was currently worth about $US49 billion ($48.4 billion), behind Slim, whose fortune he estimated at $US60 billion. Buffett, also a philanthropist, is now worth some $US47 billion.

But had Gates not given away any money, he would be worth $US88 billion, Lincoln said.

Gates and his wife Melinda have so far given $US28 billion to their foundation, the largest in the United States.

Forbes’ 2010 billionaires list put Gates’ fortune at $53 billion, but he was knocked into second spot by Slim’s $53.5 billion, losing the crown for only the second time since 1995.

Slim has said businessmen do more good by creating jobs and wealth through investment, “not by being Santa Claus,” and while he has still pledged several billion dollars to charity, his efforts have been a fraction of Gates’ philanthropy.

Buffett, who Forbes ranked as the third richest man in the world last year with $47 billion, has also pledged almost all of his fortune to the Gates Foundation and has given $8 billion to the organization since 2006.

But Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc has fared better than Gates’ Microsoft. Microsoft shares now trade about where they were a decade ago, while Berkshire shares have roughly doubled. Since the end of 2009, Microsoft shares have fallen 16 percent, while Berkshire shares are up 29 percent. Slim’s major companies, which include Mexico’s former state telecoms monopoly Telmex, have also seen gains in their stock prices.

“Dramatic philanthropic influence”

Gates and Buffett have joined forces to encourage other billionaires to publicly pledge to give away at least 50 percent of their wealth during their lifetimes or upon their death as part of a campaign called The Giving Pledge.

Glen Macdonald, president of the Wealth and Giving Forum, said Gates’ philanthropy had influenced the way other rich people in the United States approach their own philanthropy.

“Encouraging people and leading by example – there’s no question that’s going to have influence on people’s giving patterns,” said Macdonald. “They are going to give sooner and they are going to give in greater amounts.”

But Macdonald, whose group has advised 600 wealthy US families on their philanthropy, disagrees with the public nature of The Giving Pledge, which requires billionaires to release a letter explaining their intentions.

So far 59 billionaires have joined The Giving Pledge, publishing their letter at http://www.givingpledge.org. The campaign does not accept any money nor tell people how to give away their wealth, it just asks for a moral commitment.

Paul Schervish, director of the Centre on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College, said Gates’ influence had been “dramatic” and likened philanthropy to a gem, saying Gates was “changing the facets by learning and teaching others.”

“He would be the first to admit that he is not the origin of the movement, of all the ideas in the movement, for which he is a leader,” Schervish said.

“One of the things we’re dramatically finding is (many more) people beginning foundations and endowing them at higher levels while they are still alive,” he said.
theage.com.au