Bin Laden's death - 'Finally, he's been brought to account'

There, and in simultaneous attacks elsewhere in the US, thousands died of many different nationalities, placing the man who masterminded the plan at the top of the international 'Most Wanted' list.

Today, almost a decade after those murderous attacks, events have come full circle with the death of Osama bin Laden in an attack by US military forces.

Other than his own diehard followers, the world will not mourn him, and nor do we.

But no-one should think for a moment that bin Laden's death ends the threat from Al-Qaeda. If anything, the global threat around the world may rise as terrorists plot revenge for his death.

Intelligence services have warned for some time that the fundamentalist groups which bin Laden inspired were not under his direct control.

Rather, they operate as their own terrorist bubbles, often with little or no control from outside their own immediate members and driven forward only by their own fanaticism.

That is why, amid the understandable relief that will mark bin Laden's death, the world will need to remain vigilant against the extremists.

If ever a death was worth celebrating then it is surely that of the man who condemned thousands of others to die, all in the name of his own twisted view of religion's place in today's world.

We just hope that yet more innocent people do not die in his name, even after he himself has finally been brought to account.

Park strife

A bank holiday weekend is just when - sunshine allowing - families should be out and about enjoying life in our beautiful city.

It is appalling that one of the city's great simple pleasures, a picnic or stroll in the Meadows, has become impossible for some due to the yobbish behaviour of others.

Some grandparents are understandably reluctant to take youngsters to the beauty spot after repeatedly being confronted by "men urinating at every tree".

The louts who are simply too lazy to walk to the conveniences at Middle Meadow Walk deserve to be fined. But the wider solution is to improve public toilets.

We all know that the council is desperately short of cash - but introducing a 20p charge would go a long way towards covering the cost of a decent network of loos. And it might stop the Meadows being turned into Edinburgh's biggest public loo.