Holiday | LifestyleLetters to the editor

THE WEEK THAT WAS

14/05/2013 00:00

After a man hunt lasting almost ten years a US special services unit shot dead the al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden during a raid on his home in a town near Islamabad, Pakistan. As a whole the American nation praised the leadership of President Obama and the skill of those responsible for finding and killing the man responsible for the devastating 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and other targets. However, the government of Pakistan was not informed in advance about the US mission; its initial reaction was disappointment at best and anger at worst.

Britain's first test of public opinion since the general election in May 2000 was a disaster for the Liberal Democrats, both in the council voting and the referendum defeat of a change to the Alternative Vote system for general elections. In Scotland the Scottish National Party won a majority for the first time and promised a referendum on Scottish independence within five years.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation said that it would be a member of a consortium developing a long-term plan for the future of the Formula One championship. Fiat, a share- in Ferrari racing car, is also a member of the consortium.