the world is a safer place

"The world is safer. It is a better place because of the death of Osama bin Laden," declared President Barack Obama, hours after U.S. forces killed the al-Qaida leader.

This is how we know it's safer...

[US] Metro officials are stepping up security measures after the announcement that Osama bin Laden has been killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan.

The National Naval Medical Center base in Bethesda is on a heightened level of security following the announcement Sunday evening that Osama bin Laden has been killed in a raid on his compound in Pakistan.

Robins Air Force Base is operating at a heightened security level in response to the death of Osama bin Laden.

FORT HOOD - As the nation reacts to news about Osama bin Laden's death, there are some fears of retaliation.

On Sunday, the president, along with the Defense Department, gave the order to raise the security level to "Bravo" on military posts across the country.

Some military branches have heightened their security level in Hawaii following Sunday’s announcement of Osama bin Laden’s death in Pakistan.

Israeli police have raised their security level in the country in the wake of the elimination of Osama Bin-Laden.

Western countries step up security after bin Laden killing

Berlin - Several Western countries on Tuesday announced increased security measures at potential terrorist targets after US forces this week killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a raid in Pakistan.

The United States announced it was halting public services at its embassy and consulates in the Pakistani cities of Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi, though a spokesman said the offices would remain open for other business, including emergency support of US citizens.

Spain was boosting security at its embassies in North Africa, the Sahel region, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said.

Madrid would also advise Spanish aid workers and companies operating in those regions to step up security measures, the minister said.

The Foreign Ministry meanwhile advised Spanish citizens not to travel to Pakistan, warning of 'a high risk of terrorism and sectarian violence' in the country.

In Italy, security has been tightened at airports, train stations and foreign embassies, officials said, without giving further details.

On Monday, Interior Minister Roberto Maroni had instructed police and other security agents to monitor US and Pakistani business interests in Italy which, according to officials, could be targeted in the event of retaliatory attacks.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon also said Monday that the government had instructed its embassies in 'sensitive' countries to step up security around French interests, including schools and companies.

In France, the security level remains unchanged. With the security level at red, France was already 'practically at the maximum level of vigilance,' he pointed out in an interview with France 2 public broadcaster.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that the security situation remained unchanged, but warned that the danger of terrorism was not banished.

'Terrorists are present in places where we may not expect it,' the chancellor said, in reference to last week's arrest of three suspected al-Qaeda operatives in the city of Dusseldorf.

Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said there was presently no reason to extend anti-terrorism laws introduced after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US, which are due to expire at the end of 2011.

Meanwhile a spokeswoman for British Prime Minister David Cameron, when asked about increased security levels said Tuesday: 'The message for people is to remain vigilant.'

Twin bomb attacks on a paramilitary force academy in north-west Pakistan have killed 80 people, police say... The Pakistani Taliban said they carried out the attack to avenge the death of Osama Bin Laden earlier this month.

BBC News, 13th May 2011

Remain vigilant. The world is much, much safer now.