W O R L D

Somalia Prez, Kenya minister escape deadly bomb attack
Mogadishu, September 12
Somalia's new President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the visiting Kenyan foreign minister today escaped an apparent suicide bomb attack on a Mogadishu hotel where they were holding a news conference unscathed, witnesses said.

The African Union Mission in Somalia stand guard by two bodies at a Mogadishu hotel on Wednesday, and (inset) President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. — AFP

UN: Taliban raised $400 million from donations, extortion
United Nations, September 12
The Taliban raised about $400 million last year through donations, taxes on Afghanistan's poppy cultivation and extortion from narcotics dealers and construction companies, a UN report has said.

US helicopters on Osama mission flew over India!
Washington/New Delhi, Sept 12
The flight path taken by two American MH-47 Chinook helicopters to Abbottabad in Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden in May last year has triggered a controversy with questions being raised as to whether they flew over the Indian air space.

British PM hails role of Indian immigrants
London, September 12
Prime Minister David Cameron today said the thousands of Indians and other Asians who arrived in Britain after being expelled from Uganda 40 years ago had made an "extraordinary contribution" to the fabric of British life.

Over 1 lakh spy cams watching UK students, even in loos
London, September 12
Students across the UK are being watched by over 1,00,000 spy cameras, with the surveillance devices installed even inside the bathrooms. CCTV surveillance has been set up in playgrounds, classrooms and even toilets and changing rooms. The average secondary school has 24 cameras and an academy 30.

Kayani’s service extension challenged in Pak HC
The extension in service given to Pakistan army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has been challenged by a retired army officer in the Islamabad High Court. Col (retired) Inam-ur-Rahim, the convener of the Ex-Servicemen Legal Forum, said in a petition filed in the high court that the forum was of the opinion that the extension was "immoral and unconstitutional".

Somalia Prez, Kenya minister escape deadly bomb attack
* Mogadishu hotel targeted, 8 killed
* Qaida-linked Al-Shabaab claims responsibility

Mogadishu, September 12
Somalia's new President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the visiting Kenyan foreign minister today escaped an apparent suicide bomb attack on a Mogadishu hotel where they were holding a news conference unscathed, witnesses said.

Somalia's Al-Shabaab rebels said they had carried out the attack, which killed at least eight person and came just two days after Mohamud was elected in the first presidential vote in Somalia in decades.

Two explosions shook the Somali capital, underscoring the huge security challenges facing Mohamud who came to power in a process that was billed as an historic break with 20 years of violent anarchy.

"We were behind the Mogadishu hotel blasts. It was a well-planned Mujahideen operation," said Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, a spokesman for Al-Shabaab's military operation.

A television journalist accompanying Kenyan Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Ongeri said she had seen "pieces of meat flying all over the place" after the first blast.

"Then I saw a second guy shooting as he stormed towards the hotel," said Jamila Mohammed, who was outside the hotel when the assailants struck.

Mohamud's election by Somali lawmakers on Monday was hailed by his supporters as a vote for change in the war-ridden Horn of Africa country that has lacked effective central government since 1991.

Although he is a relatively new face in Somali politics, the former academic faces old problems: a stubborn Islamist insurgency, acrimonious clan politics, rampant corruption and maritime piracy.

"First and foremost, we will address the security issue. Our priority is security," Mohamud said moments after the blasts.

A witness said the body of what appeared to be a suicide bomber could be seen outside the hotel. A severed head lay in a large crater in the road. — Reuters

Security Threat

• Suicide bomber targeted a Mogadishu hotel where Somalia President Mohamud was holding news conference at the time
• The attack came just two days after Mohamud was elected in the first presidential vote in Somalia in decades
• Two explosions shook Somali capital of Mogadishu underscoring the huge security challenges facing Mohamud

UN: Taliban raised $400 million from donations, extortion

United Nations, September 12
The Taliban raised about $400 million last year through donations, taxes on Afghanistan's poppy cultivation and extortion from narcotics dealers and construction companies, a UN report has said.

A team of UN Sanctions experts said in its report to the UN Security Council that the Taliban raised $400 million in the year that ended in March 2012.

Of this money, about $275 million went to the Taliban leadership, while $125 million was collected, spent or misappropriated at the local level.

The main source of revenue for the militant group has been donations as well as extortion money collected from drug traffickers and the billions pumped into Afghanistan for development projects.

"The team understands Taliban funding as follows: revenue raised from taxing the local economy serves primarily to support local operations and is only in a few cases channelled upwards," the report said.

"Revenue extorted from nationwide enterprises such as narcotics producers and traffickers, construction and trucking companies, mobile telephone operators, mining companies and aid and development projects goes to the Taliban Financial Commission which answers to the Taliban leadership," the report said, adding that donations are a "major" source of funding for the militia leaders.

The Taliban also collects money from taxes, including a 2.5 per cent tax on wealth and a 10 per cent tax on harvest, mostly on poppy cultivation. The Taliban also taxes water and electricity supplies and other services in certain areas, acting like local administrators. — PTI

Minting Money

• Of $400 million, about $275 million went to the Taliban leadership, while $125 million was collected, spent or misappropriated at the local level
• The main source of revenue for the militant group has been donations as well as extortion money collected from drug traffickers and the billions pumped into Afghanistan for development projects
• The Taliban also collects money from taxes, including a 2.5 per cent tax on wealth and a 10 per cent tax on harvest, mostly on poppy cultivation

US helicopters on Osama mission flew over India!

Washington/New Delhi, Sept 12
The flight path taken by two American MH-47 Chinook helicopters to Abbottabad in Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden in May last year has triggered a controversy with questions being raised as to whether they flew over the Indian air space.

A just-published book, containing a first-hand account of the raid on the Al-Qaida leader's hideout in Pakistan garrison town near Islamabad, contains a map showing the flight path of the two helicopters after they took off from Jalalabad in Afghanistan in the dead of the night on May 1.

The map shows the helicopters crossing Pakistan's eastern border with India before looping around and approaching Abbottabad from the South East. The book -- 'No Easy Day: The Autobiography of a Navy SEAL' -- is written by one of the US Navy SEALS Matt Bissonnette, who participated in the operation, using pseudonym "Mark Owen".

Questions about whether the helicopters flew over the Indian air space have been raised by a popular US website Redstate, described as a leading conservative news blog. This has set off a debate in the cyber world.

The blog states that "this apparent use of Indian air space" raises questions, including whether the Indian Government had advance knowledge about the Abbottabad mission and whether the US had sought and was granted permission to use the Indian air space. — PTI

British PM hails role of Indian immigrants

London, September 12
Prime Minister David Cameron today said the thousands of Indians and other Asians who arrived in Britain after being expelled from Uganda 40 years ago had made an "extraordinary contribution" to the fabric of British life.

Responding to a question from Indian-origin Conservative MP Shailesh Vara in the House of Commons, Cameron said those in Britain who had opposed their immigration in 1972 were "completely wrong", and also lauded Vara's contribution to parliament.

Vara, MP from north-west Cambridgeshire, was born in Uganda and migrated to Britain with his family in the early 1970s.

Vara recalled that the then Conservative government had allowed the Uganda Asians to migrate here after being expelled by Idi Amin despite much opposition at the time in Parliament and other parts of the country.

In August 1972, the Uganda Indians were not welcome in the east Midlands city of Leicester, where over 10,000 of them migrated, and went on to prosper in one of the most remarkable success stories of the Indian diaspora.

The Leicester city council had then paid for advertisements in the Uganda press, informing that it was "in your own interests and those of your family... not come to Leicester".

As the community of Uganda Asians mark 40 years of their expulsion and immigration to Britain, the Leicester city council is planning to publicly thank them for transforming the city and region after facing racism and other hurdles as they rebuilt their lives.

Sundip Meghani, son of one of the many Indians expelled from Uganda, has proposed a motion in the same city council thanking the Indians and other Asians from Uganda for their contribution to the city. — PTI

Over 1 lakh spy cams watching UK students, even in loos

London, September 12
Students across the UK are being watched by over 1,00,000 spy cameras, with the surveillance devices installed even inside the bathrooms. CCTV surveillance has been set up in playgrounds, classrooms and even toilets and changing rooms. The average secondary school has 24 cameras and an academy 30.

Some schools have a camera for every five children in the name of controlling violence, vandalism and theft, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

In a development, that has already provoked outrage, more than 200 schools have CCTVs operating in changing rooms or toilets. The extent of pupil surveillance was made public in a report by 'Big Brother Watch', a watchdog group, based on Freedom of Information replies.

It found there are 1,06,710 spy cameras in secondary schools and academies across England and Wales - a quarter of the total used to monitor all of London's streets. — PTI

Kayani’s service extension challenged in Pak HC
Afzal Khan in Islamabad

The extension in service given to Pakistan army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has been challenged by a retired army officer in the Islamabad High Court. Col (retired) Inam-ur-Rahim, the convener of the Ex-Servicemen Legal Forum, said in a petition filed in the high court that the forum was of the opinion that the extension was "immoral and unconstitutional".

“It would adversely affect the entire fibre of command - a hallmark of any disciplined force,” the petitioner said, while requesting the court to set aside the extension order and send Gen Kayani home.

Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman directed Rahim on Tuesday to show how he had been affected by the government's decision to give Kayani an extension and to submit copies of relevant documents annexed with the petition. The judge then adjourned the matter.