Osama Bin Laden is dead

ONE of the biggest mass murderers in history, Osama Bin Laden is dead.  He was shot dead in the town of Abbottabad, around 50 miles away from the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad in the early hours of this morning.  Bin Laden has finally been captured after a decade of search from US troops.  This followed the event that changed everyone’s lives.

     Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda planned a terrorist attack to such detailed plan that it was going to have deadly results.  On Tuesday September 11, 2001, planes were hijacked and flew into some of America’s landmark buildings in New York.  Both towers of the World Trade Centre collapsed with hundreds trapped inside the burning buildings.  The casualties on this day were horrendous and the War on Terror began.

     Bin Laden wasn’t a stranger to the terrorist network.  US embassies had been bombed in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.  However, it was the events of 9/11 that put him into global context as the world’s most wanted man.  Within months, America, with Britain’s help went into Afghanistan and they began air strikes to get their man.  However, George Bush would never seek his prize and it has taken a decade before the news of his demise could be broken this morning by his replacement Barack Obama.

     With backing from the Taliban, Bin Laden set-up training camps and hence, many extremist groups have been created since.  With Bin Laden’s death, it might be a massive setback on Al-Qaeda that their figurehead is no longer around, but the War on Terror will still go on and there is likely to be a backlash on his death from Al-Qaeda.  This morning, Foreign Office leader William Hague has insisted that British embassies across the world review their security policies in a heightened alert of a possible attack.  Currently, Britain, like America – remains at the second highest terrorist threat level possible, not at the critical mark yet.  US officials have said that after being shot in the head, Bin Laden's body was buried at sea, according to Islamic traditions.  Three other men, including one of Bin Laden’s sons were also killed in the mission.  The whole operation took approximately 40 minutes to complete.

     There might be now some justice for the families who have lost their lives in terrorist atrocities; not just those in America, but those killed in Bali (2002), Istanbul (2003), Madrid (2004) and London (2005). 

     There is no doubt that the world is still nowhere near a safe place.  In fact, everyone still has to totally remain vigilant, especially as risks may well rise in the US and the UK in the coming weeks.  However, there can be no doubt that Osama Bin Laden’s death is a historical news moment and the biggest news story of 2011.  The War on Terror goes on and will for generations to come, but this is a victory for the West and in particular for Barack Obama, who now will get high praise for keeping all this quiet and earn a second term in office as American President.  The world’s most wanted-man has finally been taken out of the picture for good and for the families, some form of justice has now been done, even though it won’t bring their loved ones back.

WORLDWIDE REACTION TO BIN LADEN’S DEATH

George W. Bush (Former American President) – “The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakeable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done.”

David Cameron (Prime Minister) – “It is time to thank those who work around the clock to keep us safe from terrorism.  Their work will continue.  I would like to congratulate Barack Obama and those responsible for carrying out this operation.”

Tony Blair (Former Prime Minister) – “This is a huge achievement in the fight against terrorism, but we know the fight against terrorism and the ideology that Bin Laden represents, continues and is as urgent as ever.”

William Hague (Foreign Secretary) – “It is unequivocally a good thing that he is no longer able to pursue terror, murder and mayhem in the world.”

Angela Merkel (German Chancellor) – “Bin Laden was a symbol for the international terror that did not respect life, only killed and only destroyed.  His death is good news.”

Britain paralysed by the Big Freeze

BRITAIN’s travel network has been paralysed by the latest instalment of the big freeze, leaving many cars stuck in mammoth traffic jams; sporting fixtures cancelled and frustrated passengers trapped in airport terminals.

CHAOS: Frustrated passengers vent their anger at Heathrow

Only a handful of flights have left the busiest European airport all weekend, as Heathrow was hit significantly by the snow.  However, they have been severely criticised by its lack of snow strategy and lack of communication.  For the third consecutive day, the reputation of Heathrow airport has been buried in the tons of snow and ice.  It is a national embarrassment and the transport secretary Phillip Hammond is taking a lot of stick to explain Heathrow’s halts.

With hotels fully booked up, thousands of passengers have slept on the floors of airport terminals for the weekend, with some operators like Thomson being heavily criticised by disgruntled customers for not giving their passengers blankets and pillows.  Other airport operators such as British Airways and Monarch have also been taking stick of a lack of simple supplies to stranded passengers.  Today, BAA has said that travellers should not head for Heathrow unless their flight is definitely confirmed. 

LACK: Planes are not leaving Heathrow, almost grounded

There may be a mammoth task to clear the sheet rinks of ice across the runways, but at Gatwick, they have dealt far better.  Under new owners, it puts far more scrutiny on BAA and Heathrow for being inadequately prepared.  Getting into the UK also seem to be as much of a problem as getting out, with heavy backlogs on Saturday at Birmingham airport after the luggage conveyor belts broke down.  The backlog across the country has also led to heavy disruption at Luton, Belfast, Exeter and Aberdeen airports amongst others.  Further delays and cancellations in the coming days are expected. 

It isn’t just the aviation industry that has suffered, as the trains have also been badly hit.  Today, queues of upto five hours built up outside Eurostar’s St. Pancreas station in London.  It is running a limited service, and has already said that no more tickets will be sold before Christmas Eve at the earliest.  Some London Underground tube services have been affected, but they were mainly back to normal today.  London Midland, Virgin Trains and other railways across East Anglia have also been slated for inadequate information.  Like the planes, it is advisable to check with National Rail before travelling.

The roads have also suffered a catalogue of problems, thanks to crashes, stranded cars and jack-knifed Lorries.  The M4 and M25 have been often left at a standstill and it took four hours for me to be navigated home from the University of Northampton on Saturday night.  This is a journey through the M1 to Milton Keynes that traditionally takes no more than 40 minutes.  The gritters are working around the clock, but some councils are already warning that they are running out of supplies. 

FROZEN: Heavy snow at the Emirates postponed Arsenal's game

Sporting fixtures have been practically wiped out for safety reasons.  The Premiership top of the table clash at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Manchester United was postponed yesterday, with games at West Brom, Blackpool, Wigan Athletic, Liverpool, Arsenal and Birmingham City all falling foul to the weather.  Tonight’s Premiership match at Eastlands goes ahead, as Manchester City aim to go top by beating Everton.  Rugby fixtures and horse racing meetings have also been severely hit, with doubts over the King George VI beating the weather at Kempton on Boxing Day. 

ALONE: A cyclist braves the bitter weather in Brighton

The amount of snow on Saturday was the heaviest that the country has seen for any December since 1990.  If the trend continues, we are set for the coldest December since 1910, when records began.  Temperatures have plummeted as low as -20 degrees in some areas of the Midlands and there are still severe weather warnings in place for Yorkshire, the North East of England and Scotland.  The shadow Home Secretary Allan Johnston thinks that Hammond should resign.  He told Sky; “On this area, don’t forget, Scotland’s transport secretary resigned.  It is a big issue when people believe the government has left them to it: ‘Get a shovel or stay at home.”  “Governing is about more than that when you hit a crisis.” 

Hammond has though been defended by the Foreign Secretary William Hague, who admitted that; “We might have to look at this again if these things are to occur frequently.”

Whatever the outcome and whoever is to blame, it seems like many families Christmas plans have been well and truly ruined.

Gordon Goes, What Will Happen Next?

At 5pm today, Prime Minister Gordon Brown came out of No.10 Downing Street, to make a statement that shook the political world to the core.  He announced he was to step down as Labour leader as soon as possible.  He announced a leadership election for the party, and hoped that the new leader would be selected before Labour’s annual party conference this autumn.  He also said he would not play any part in the electoral process, nor back any candidate personally.  It was a dignified and gracious speech, but where does this leave the country now.  Lost and confused seems the best way to explain it.

The day started with William Hague, the Conservative Shadow Chancellor announcing to the media of another positive round of talks between the Tories and the Liberal Democrats.  Their leaders Nick Clegg and David Cameron have been locked in talks throughout the weekend.  However, the stumbling block of the Lib Dems determination to push forward its voting reform seem to have put all negotiations at a stalling process.  Later on, after a meeting with MP’s, Clegg confirmed that the PR scheme, which he hadn’t initially pushed for, was now a condition the Conservatives must meet.  At this stage, he also announced that he was to open talks with the Labour party.  So, was Brown pushed by his own party, did he step down on his own accord, or has Clegg pushed him out of Downing Street.

Throughout the election campaign, Nick Clegg has always maintained that he would not work with Gordon Brown, even calling him a ‘desperate politician’ at one stage.  With Brown suddenly leaving, some are already speculating that for the Lib Dems to do a deal with Labour, one of the conditions was for Gordon to quit.  Brown insisted that he had made the decision last week, after Labour’s overwhelming defeat, though not by a majority in the General Election.  Tonight, William Hague has launched a final set of negotiations for the Liberal Democrats, a ‘take it or leave it’ offer, which included a referendum on voting reform. 

For a Labour/Lib Dems coalition government to go through, it would still need to get past the magical 326 mark in the House of Commons.  Together, they can’t reach that figure, which means bringing in smaller parties, including Plaid Cwyrmu and the SNP (Scottish National Party).  That government just has ‘disaster’ written all over.  We haven’t heard much from David Cameron today, which is quite surprising, but with Brown stepping down, he can technically go to the Queen, to request and form a minority government.  Nick Clegg’s tactics are not smart at all, he is now playing off the two major parties, and it looks like he will sell out to the biggest party, which is what some people I know closely predicted around a fortnight ago.  Clegg and the Liberal Democrats political reputations are on the line, and their reluctance to do a deal, must worry the British people.  Some are probably wondering already, ‘Why did we vote, if we were going to get in this mess?’

Today’s announcement brings down the curtain-raiser on Gordon Brown’s long career in politics.  Starting out as a strong, political student at Edinburgh University, he got his first break in the Labour party in 1983, with younger hair, alongside a certain Tony Blair.  He was a strong figure in the Neil Kinnock regime, but the implications in May 1994 were going to have a sudden part in how today’s politics is shaped. 

The sudden death of the Labour leader John Smith, from a fatal heart attack looked to have set the path for Brown to take over as Labour leader.  Reluctantly and under pressure from many Labour figureheads, he gave way to Blair, who swept into power in 1997 via a landslide majority.  Brown was always seething in private, even if he put a brave face in public, but as the cracks started to appear in the Blair regime over Iraq, Brown did little to support.  At times, there seemed to be complete civil war between the pair.  Eventually, he got the long-awaited keys to No.10 in June 2007, when Blair decided to step aside.  However, he was never elected as a Prime Minister and at the first opportunity; the people decided he wasn’t good enough to run the country anymore.  Charity and volunteer work destined for the soon to be incumbent Labour Prime Minister.

This story is far from over, and with MP’s due back for business in Westminster next Tuesday, something needs to happen and quickly.  Gordon Brown’s shock decision has put Labour firmly back in the race, but all that we know tonight, is that the British political system is in shock and chaos and the country lost and confused?  What happens next is anyone’s guess….