3 May 2011

Death of bin Laden dominates papers

7:12 am on 3 May 2011

All the morning papers on Tuesday are dominated by the death of Osama bin Laden.

NZ Herald

The front page of The New Zealand Herald is devoted to a headline reading: 'How They Got Him'.

The Al Qaeda leader is pictured in traditional garb, with a story which says the hunt took 10 years - but death came in less than 40 minutes.

With his body already buried at sea, Americans took to the streets on Sunday night to rejoice.

Dominion Post

The Dominion Post has a one word headline: 'Utu'.

But even as the United States gets its man, the paper asks will the world be any safer? It says questions remain over what will happen to more than 100,000 Allied troops, including New Zealanders, fighting in Afghanistan.

An accompanying article says leaked diplomatic cables after the Urewera police raids reveal that United States officials were alarmed New Zealand had no law to deal with local or international terrorism.

The Press

The Press headline is 'How they killed bin Laden.'

A picture of him is transposed over an image of the burning World Trade Centre, along with a quote from President Barack Obama that 'the death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in the nation's effort to defeat Al Qaeda.'

In the lead article, a Canterbury University academic and Muslim leader says Osama bin Laden should have been captured, not killed.

Mohamed Musa describes his death as a missed opportunity and says he should have been brought to trial instead.

ODT

The Otago Daily Times features four key points resulting from the death: Osama bin Laden's burial at sea, the threat of retaliation, DNA testing which proves it was in fact him and a lift in the value of the dollar as a result of his demise.

And as the US celebrates justice being done, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key says the death has made the world a safer place.