The day bin Laden died

It's not often that the White House holds a news conference late on a Sunday night. Especially an unscheduled one.

So when it was announced, around 9:45 p.m. ET on May 1, that President Obama would be addressing the nation within the hour, you knew it had to be important.

Had there been a major development in Libya? Things had been heating up since NATO started intervening against Moammar Gadhafi's forces.

Were U.S. troops going into another part of the Arab world?

Had there been another terrorist attack?

Or was it the news that many Americans had been waiting on for nearly a decade: that Osama bin Laden, leader of al Qaeda, had finally been brought to justice for the tragic events of September 11?

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The White House announcement provided no details, so it was up to everyone else to fill in the blank. Speculation was rampant, especially online and on social media. What was so important that it couldn't wait until morning?

By the time Obama finally spoke at 11:30 p.m., the world already knew the news: "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."

The president never had a chance to avoid the mother of all spoilers -- not with how fast news travels today. An hour before his speech, the cat was out of the bag, thanks to Keith Urbahn, chief of staff for former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

"So I'm told by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden. Hot damn," Urbahn tweeted.

It didn't take long after that for major news organizations to confirm that the news was indeed true: the most-wanted terrorist in the world was dead, eight years to the day after President Bush delivered his "Mission Accomplished" speech.

"It was an incredibly symbolic event," said William Keylor, a professor of history and international relations at Boston University. "It was closure to 9/11. ... Al Qaeda had been pretty much degraded, but (bin Laden) was still on the run."

As confirmation quickly spread of bin Laden's death, emotional celebrations began taking place across the country. Many were caught on camera.

People in the nation's capital flocked to the White House, carrying American flags, singing the national anthem and cheering the news in front of television cameras. At a baseball game in Philadelphia, fans of both teams stopped to chant "U-S-A, U-S-A!"

Celebrations also were held at New York's ground zero, the site of the former World Trade Center.

"I never thought this night would come, where we would actually capture or kill bin Laden. And, thank the Lord, he's been eliminated, to put it politely," said Bob Gibson, a retired New York City police officer. "A lot of us ... gave up. But it did come, and a lot of us are overjoyed that it happened."

'The most intense 38 minutes of my life'

By the next morning, the national conversation had started to change. The emotional impact of the announcement was subsiding, and the public wanted more detail, more explanation.

How did the United States find bin Laden? Why was he killed and not captured? Who exactly killed him?

It was soon learned that an elite team of Navy SEALs had flown two helicopters into Abbottabad, Pakistan, where bin Laden was living in a three-story compound with approximately two dozen people, including his relatives and one of his most trusted couriers. The United States had been tracking the courier for years, and the CIA informed the president in September 2010 that bin Laden might be living at the compound, a $1 million home surrounded by large privacy walls topped with barbed wire.

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On April 29, 2011, after several meetings with his National Security Council, Obama authorized an attack on the compound.

In an operation that lasted nearly 40 minutes, the SEALs breached the compound's walls and methodically went through the house, floor by floor. Bin Laden and his wife were found on the third floor, White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a news conference. Carney said a SEAL fatally shot bin Laden when bin Laden made a threatening move.

An iconic photo, released by the White House, shows Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and other officials in the White House Situation Room, following developments as the raid went down. Clinton later called it "the most intense 38 minutes of my life."

Today, there have already been several books written about the raid, and a movie is said to be in the works.

"I think the fact that it was such a tremendous success was the reason that the administration decided to publicize it: 'We're going to put out all the facts and let the chips fall where they may,' " Keylor said. "And, of course, the downside of that was that it really antagonized the Pakistanis."

The United States and Pakistan had been working together for years trying to track down bin Laden and fight extremists near the Afghanistan border. But the United States, fearing that a leak could jeopardize its mission and tip off bin Laden, kept its raid a complete secret from Pakistan.

The Pakistanis were outraged and humiliated by the blatant violation of their national sovereignty. U.S. officials questioned their ally's motivations, as bin Laden was "hiding in plain sight."

The CIA director at the time, Leon Panetta, told U.S. lawmakers in a closed-door session that Pakistani officials were either "involved or incompetent," adding that "neither is a good place to be."

From the raid, U.S. forces retrieved 10 hard drives, five computers and more than 100 storage devices containing intelligence from bin Laden's compound, according to a senior U.S. official.

They also found some homemade videos, including one that shows a graying bin Laden, wrapped in a blanket, watching himself on a small television.

"The fact that they killed (bin Laden) was significant, but they also demythologized him," said Thomas Mockaitis, author of "Osama bin Laden: A Biography." "They revealed him to be a megalomaniac, in many ways kind of a petty individual. Instead of this kind of great, powerful figure ... he looks like a bit of a narcissist. I think that, in some ways, was as important as actually killing him. It brought him down quite a bit it terms of his stature."

But perhaps the most talked about pieces of evidence from last year's raid have yet to see the light of day: photos of a dead bin Laden.

The administration decided to keep the photos classified, saying the graphic nature of the images would only incite further violence or be used for propaganda purposes. "We don't trot this stuff out as trophies," Obama told CBS News. "We don't need to spike the football."

However, many Americans, including prominent lawmakers, believe they have a right to see the images. And some people have another concern: How do they know bin Laden is dead if they can't see proof?

That isn't a concern of Sen. John McCain, one of several U.S. Congress members allowed to view the photos. The Arizona Republican, Obama's opponent in the 2008 presidential election, said there was no doubt that bin Laden is dead.

But the debate over the photos continues one year later. On Friday, a federal judge turned down a request for release of the photos, saying there were legitimate national security interests to deny disclosure.

The war on terror also continues. Bin Laden's death might have underlined the weakened state of al Qaeda, but affiliate groups, including the Taliban, al-Shabaab and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, "remain committed to the group's ideology," said a U.S. intelligence report released in January. "Lone wolf" terrorists are a threat as well, as we've seen recently in Norway and France.

The threats, however, should be no surprise to Obama, who warned that there was still work to be done when he announced bin Laden's death a year ago.

Bin Laden's death "does not mark the end of our effort," he said in his speech. "There's no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us.

"We must -- and we will -- remain vigilant at home and abroad."

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Eartquake in Aceh,tsunami allert issued

Panic spread across Indonesia today after tsunami warnings were issued following two massive earthquakes off its coast during a visit there by Prime Minister David Cameron.

Thousands of people in Aceh - 270 miles from the epicentre of the first 8.7 magnitude quake - fled to the hills fearing a repeat of the deadly 2004 Boxing Day disaster which devastated the province.

In the main city of Banda Aceh, terrified residents screamed 'God is great!' as they jumped into cars and the backs of motorcycles, clogging streets as they fled to high ground.

Panic: People in Banda Aceh scramble to ecsape the city after a tsunami warning was issued. There are fears that a tsunami could be as bad as the one on Boxing Day in 2004

Concern: An Acehnese woman with a child tries to stop a car to go to higher ground after tremors are felt

Buildings shook for four minutes and there were reports of people jumping from windows in a desperate attempt to escape.

Then, four hours later, a massive aftershock - with a similarly huge magnitude of 8.2 - struck only 110 miles further out to sea, unleashing even more panic.

A tsunami alert was issued for other countries across the Indian Ocean today, including India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Burma, Thailand, the Maldives and other Indian Ocean islands, Malaysia, Pakistan, Somalia, Oman, Iran, Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa and Singapore.

There are fears of a repeat of the 9.1-magnitude quake seven years go that triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people. Nearly three quarters lived in Aceh, which is on the Sumatra island.

The first quake, which was centred 20 miles beneath the ocean floor, was later thought unlikely to have triggered a fatal wave.

However, the aftershock, which  was centred 10 miles beneath the ocean around 380 miles from the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, may yet unleash a giant wave.

Roger Musson, seismologist at the British geological survey who has studied Sumatra's fault lines, said the first tremor was a strike-slip quake, not a thrust quake, which causes the sea bed to flip up.

Mr Cameron is visiting the country’s capital, Jakarta, which is 1,600 miles south-east of the province and on a different island, Java. No tremors have been felt there and the city is unlikely to be hit.

He told President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono: ‘Our thoughts should be with those who are affected.

‘Britain of course stands ready to help if help is required.

‘We will stand with you and your government and your people at this time of worry.

 Gone in a blur: Acehnese people escape in motorcycles and tuk tuks

Mr Yudhoyono moved to calm nerves, saying that there appeared to be no serious casualties and local residents had been taken to safety.

Visit: David Cameron talks to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after his arrival at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta today

Strike point: The spot where the earthquake hit and bubbles that show where the tsunami is most likely to hit

He added that ‘as of this time there is no threat of tsunami’ - despite an international warning being issued.

He added: ‘The situation is under control so far. It is a very different situation from 2004 when Aceh was faced with a deadly tsunami.’

The tremor was felt in Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia and India. A tsunami warning has been issued for cities all along the coast of Sumatra.

There were also reports of the water level dropping in the Thai resort of Phuket - a sign that the sea is drawing back in preparation to launch an enormous wave.

A tsunami watch means there is the potential for a tsunami, not that one is imminent. Since 2004 such warnings are issued after every earthquake in the Pacific.

Indonesia straddles a series of fault lines that makes the vast island nation prone to volcanic and seismic activity.

Last year's devastating tsunami in Japan was triggered by an earthquake with a similar hypocentre depth 20 miles below the surface. 

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Facebook Buys Instagram for $1 Billion

Facebook is not waiting for its initial public offering to make its first big purchase.

In its largest acquisition to date, the social network has purchased Instagram, the popular photo-sharing application, for about $1 billion in cash and stock, the company said Monday.

It’s a notable move for Facebook, which has exclusively focused on bite-size acquisitions, worth less than $100 million.

With Instagram, Facebook will get a formidable mobile player – an area that is seen as a weakness for the sprawling social network. Founded two years ago, the service — which lets users share photos and apply stylized filters – has become one of the most downloaded applications on the iPhone, with some 30 million users. Instagram released a version of its application for Google’s Android operating system last week.

On Monday, both companies expressed their commitment to run Instagram as an independent service.

 In a post on his profile page, Facebook’s chief Mark Zuckerberg said Instagram would continue to work with rival social networks. That will allow users to post on other services, follow users outside of Facebook, and to opt out of sharing on Facebook.

“For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family,” Mr. Zuckerberg wrote. “Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.”

In a separate blog post on Instagram’s Web site, the company’s chief executive, Kevin Systrom, also reiterated plans to preserve the service’s functionality and said he looked forward to leveraging the new parent company’s resources and talent.

The announcement comes as Facebook prepares for its highly anticipated initial public offering, widely expected to take place next month.

Though Facebook is known for smaller acquisitions, Instagram’s surging momentum likely compelled the social network to swiftly put together a billion-dollar offer. Last week, Instagram, which has just a handful of employees, closed a financing round worth more than $50 million with several prominent investors, including Sequoia Capital, an early backer of Google, Thrive Capital, the firm run by Joshua Kushner, and Greylock Capital, an early investor of LinkedIn. AllThingsD first reported last week that Sequoia was in the process of leading a $50 million round in Instagram.

That latest funding round valued Instagram at about $500 million, according to one person with knowledge of the matter, who requested anonymity because discussions were private. Facebook’s purchase, one week later, means that investment has now doubled in value.

The deal is expected to close later this quarter, according to Facebook’s statement.

Here is the news release from Facebook:

“Facebook announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire Instagram, a fun, popular photo-sharing app for mobile devices.

“The total consideration for San Francisco-based Instagram is approximately $1 billion in a combination of cash and shares of Facebook. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close later this quarter.”

Mark Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive of Facebook, posted about the transaction on his Facebook page:

“I’m excited to share the news that we’ve agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.

“For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.

“We believe these are different experiences that complement each other. But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.

“That’s why we’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.

“We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.

“These and many other features are important parts of the Instagram experience and we understand that. We will try to learn from Instagram’s experience to build similar features into our other products. At the same time, we will try to help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook’s strong engineering team and infrastructure.

“This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.

“We’re looking forward to working with the Instagram team and to all of the great new experiences we’re going to be able to build together.”

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