Tuesday 3 May 2011

Newspaper review

3 May 2011 Last updated at 06:15 Front pages of papers on 3 May 2011 News of Osama Bin Laden's death is on the front of every newspaper - and takes up many inside pages too.

The headline in the The Times, which has 23 pages of coverage, is a quote from President Obama: "Justice is done".

In its leader, the paper says the death of Bin Laden brings relief to the families of his victims, bolsters US morale and hastens al-Qaeda's decline.

According to the Daily Mail, "humanity is rid of the most ruthless terrorist of our time".

Pakistan's Aldershot Guardian front page on 3 May 2011 The Guardian wonders how Bin Laden remained undetected

In the Guardian's words, a terrible life that brought misery to thousands is over. But the paper asks "how could he hide for so long?

The US is now pressing Pakistan for an explanation, the Guardian reports..

It adds few suspected Bin Laden would be found in tranquil Abbottabad.

Reporting from the town, Peter Oborne in the Daily Telegraph says instead of going down in the Afghan mountains or a hideout, Bin Laden met his death in Pakistan's answer to Aldershot.

'Evil master'

The Daily Telegraph also joins the Daily Express and Daily Mirror in focusing on the claim Bin Laden used one of his wives as a human shield.

The headline in the Daily Express says he was a "coward to the end".

The Mirror also joins the Daily Mail in covering reports that president Obama viewed the operation on a live video link.

Daily Express front page on 3 May 2011 The Express is among the papers to report the raid in detail

In its editorial, the Mirror says for many Bin Laden's death "will mean justice has finally been done" but the "terror war outlives its evil master".

Under the headline "Bin Bagged", the Sun says the "world's most evil man" has been consigned to history.

The Independent says a decade of running and hiding has ended with a bullet to the head and "it feels like the closing of a traumatic chapter".

The Financial Times reckons the death of the al-Qaeda leader has ended a long national disgrace for Americans.

In a moment of national release, they can put aside fear of decline and partisan squabbles, it says.