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| CA-NEWS Summary Monday, Apr 08, 2013 12:29 PM PDT "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher dead at 87 LONDON (Reuters) - Margaret Thatcher, the "Iron Lady" who transformed Britain and inspired conservatives around the world by radically rolling back the state during her 11 years in power, died on Monday following a stroke. She was 87. Britain's only woman prime minister, the unyielding, outspoken Thatcher led her party to three election victories, governing from 1979 to 1990, the longest continuous term in office for a British premier in over 150 years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tribesmen, army deserters clash in Yemen, seven killed Monday, Apr 08, 2013 12:28 PM PDT  SANAA (Reuters) - Seven people were killed in clashes between army deserters and tribesmen in south Yemen on Monday, officials and residents said, in another sign of disorder in a country of multiple conflicts next to oil export giant Saudi Arabia. Restoring security in Yemen is a priority for the United States and its Gulf allies to contain threats from al Qaeda militants and separatist tribes to Saudi Arabia and nearby sea lanes where oil tankers pass. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gay rights activists, topless protesters greet Putin Monday, Apr 08, 2013 12:22 PM PDT  By Alexei Anishchuk and Thomas Escritt AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin defended Russia's treatment of homosexuals on Monday in Amsterdam, where 1,000 gay rights activists waved pink and orange balloons and blasted out dance music to press home their protest. Western nations need Russia for energy and as a market for exports but are uneasy about Putin's human rights policies and his treatment of opponents in his new Kremlin term. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian reporter dies five years after savage beating Monday, Apr 08, 2013 12:18 PM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian reporter who was savagely beaten in 2008 in what press freedom campaigners said was symptomatic of a culture of fear and impunity under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, died on Monday. Mikhail Beketov, 55, lost three fingers, part of his lower leg and sustained so much brain damage he could no longer speak, died in hospital after food clogged his breathing tube, a foundation set up to help with his medical costs said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Serbia rejects Kosovo deal, begs EU for more time Monday, Apr 08, 2013 12:12 PM PDT  By Aleksandar Vasovic and Matt Robinson BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia on Monday rejected a European Union-brokered plan to tackle the ethnic partition of its former province Kosovo, a move that could hurt Belgrade's hopes of starting membership talks with the bloc. But the coalition government called for the "urgent" continuation of negotiations to reach an accord, with the EU set to consider this month whether to recommend the start of accession talks with Serbia. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher dead at 87 Monday, Apr 08, 2013 12:04 PM PDT  By Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Margaret Thatcher, the "Iron Lady" who transformed Britain and inspired conservatives around the world by radically rolling back the state during her 11 years in power, died on Monday following a stroke. She was 87. Britain's only woman prime minister, the unyielding, outspoken Thatcher led her party to three election victories, governing from 1979 to 1990, the longest continuous term in office for a British premier in over 150 years. ... Full Story | Top |
| All Syria chemical arms claims need examining: U.N.'s Ban Monday, Apr 08, 2013 12:02 PM PDT By Anthony Deutsch THE HAGUE (Reuters) - An advance team of U.N.-mandated experts has gone to Cyprus and is awaiting permission from the Syrian government to investigate allegations of chemical weapons attacks, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday. Syria has asked the United Nations only to investigate what it says was a rebel chemical attack near Aleppo. The opposition blames President Bashar al-Assad's forces for that strike and also wants the U.N. team to look into alleged chemical attacks by the government side elsewhere. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suicide car bomber kills 15 in central Damascus Monday, Apr 08, 2013 12:02 PM PDT  By Oliver Holmes and Mariam Karouny BEIRUT (Reuters) - A suicide car bomb killed at least 15 people and wounded 53 in the main business district of Damascus on Monday in what the Syrian prime minister said was a response to army gains against rebels around the capital. The bomb near a school in the Sabaa Bahrat district, which also houses the Central Bank and Finance Ministry, set cars ablaze and damaged buildings, state television footage showed. ... Full Story | Top |
| UAE man jailed 10 months for tweeting on father's trial Monday, Apr 08, 2013 11:53 AM PDT DUBAI (Reuters) - A court in the United Arab Emirates sentenced a man to 10 months in jail on Monday after he tweeted details of the trial of his father and 93 other people accused of plotting to seize power in the Gulf Arab state, an Emirati activist said. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said last week that Abdulla al-Hadidi was arrested on March 21 on charges of publishing "in bad faith" false details of a public trial session on the Internet. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. envoy says must fight mistrust for Middle East peace Monday, Apr 08, 2013 11:52 AM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday he is trying to break down mistrust on both sides of the "festering" conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and would not rush into a new peace process. Making his third visit to the region in less than three weeks, Kerry met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Sunday night and was to sit down to dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday night. "I am intensely focused on this issue ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Bissau president implicated in U.S. drugs case Monday, Apr 08, 2013 11:51 AM PDT  By Richard Valdmanis DAKAR (Reuters) - Guinea-Bissau's caretaker president may have cooperated with the planners of a doomed cocaine-and-weapons smuggling scheme meant to arm Colombian rebels, according to U.S. court filings reviewed by Reuters on Monday. The documents cast a shadow on international efforts to restore order in the tiny West African state, which has suffered a string of coups since 1974 independence and which has since become a transhipment hub for narcotics bound for Europe. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ceremonial funeral for Britain's Thatcher Monday, Apr 08, 2013 11:22 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - The British government said a ceremonial funeral with military honors, a tribute usually reserved for senior members of the royal family, would be held for former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, 87, who died on Monday. The ceremony is expected to be held at London's St Paul's Cathedral next week. In line with her family's wishes, the occasion will not be a full state funeral, which another former British leader Winston Churchill was given in 1965. ... Full Story | Top |
| French photographer escapes Afghan kidnappers after four months Monday, Apr 08, 2013 11:19 AM PDT By Hamid Shalizi and Dylan Welch KABUL (Reuters) - A French photographer kidnapped in Afghanistan four months ago fled his captors on Monday and was now safe in the hands of officials from his embassy, the Afghan Interior Ministry said. A second French hostage in Afghanistan was freed by his captors, a spokesman for France's foreign ministry said, without providing any details. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU's Ashton urges Serbia to make last effort to seal Kosovo deal Monday, Apr 08, 2013 11:13 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Monday she regretted Serbia's rejection of an EU-brokered plan to tackle the ethnic partition of its former province Kosovo and urged Belgrade to make a last effort to reach a deal. Serbia's decision earlier on Monday to reject proposals hammered out in talks mediated by Ashton could hurt its hopes of starting membership talks with the EU. "I believe that all the elements for an agreement on northern Kosovo are on the table ...," Ashton said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thatcherism: the radical ideology that became the global norm Monday, Apr 08, 2013 11:11 AM PDT By Jeremy Gaunt LONDON (Reuters) - More than three decades after Margaret Thatcher became Britain's prime minister, her economic legacy - reviled and revered - still ripples across the world. Whether it is euro zone finance ministers demanding debt-laden countries privatize state-run companies, U.S. politicians seeking spending cuts and curbs on unions, or Britain itself putting its Royal Mail on the auction bloc, the tenets of Thatcherism, for better or worse, are alive. Thatcher, who died on Monday aged 87, stood for deregulation, a smaller state, free markets and privatization. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thatcher hailed for changing political landscape of the world Monday, Apr 08, 2013 11:04 AM PDT By Kevin Liffey LONDON (Reuters) - Loved or loathed in death as in life, Margaret Thatcher left no one indifferent, finding some of her most ardent admirers among her political opponents. "Very few leaders get to change not only the political landscape of their country but of the world. Margaret was such a leader," said Tony Blair, the centre-left Labour leader who brought his own party back to power not least by heeding the lessons of "Thatcherism". ... Full Story | Top |
| Thatcher not mourned by all as some Britons party Monday, Apr 08, 2013 10:58 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Controversial in life, British ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher continued to divide the nation in death, with somber plans for a funeral and eulogies rejected by some in favor of celebrations and parties. As Britain buzzed with the news on Monday afternoon that the "Iron Lady" had died, not everyone was in mourning. In Brixton, south London - the scene of fierce rioting in the 1980s, blamed on deep social divisions as well as racial tensions - a hastily convened party was gathering pace. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama leads U.S. tributes to Margaret Thatcher Monday, Apr 08, 2013 10:53 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama led an outpouring of affection for late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on Monday, saying "America has lost a true friend" who helped win the Cold War. Thatcher, the "Iron Lady" of British politics, died on Monday after a stroke. She was an important ally to American leaders throughout the 1980s, developing close ties with Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and was embraced as a soul mate by U.S. conservatives. ... Full Story | Top |
| France's Giscard hails "untameable" Thatcher Monday, Apr 08, 2013 10:51 AM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - Margaret Thatcher was a formidable politician who made Britain shine around the world but in person had a tendency to crush people whom she considered weak, former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing said on Monday. A contemporary of Thatcher's on the world stage, Giscard d'Estaing said he had "fond" memories of Thatcher as an "untameable" character whom he admired for the frankness with which she defended Britain. She died on Monday aged 87. "She had an unshakeable will, an untameable character," Giscard d'Estaing told French media. ... Full Story | Top |
| Putin says Russia does not discriminate against gays Monday, Apr 08, 2013 10:40 AM PDT AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Russia does not discriminate against homosexuals, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters in Amsterdam on Monday where he was greeted by gay rights and other activists critical of Russia's track record. "In the Russian Federation - so that it is clear to everybody - there is no infringement on the rights of sexual minorities," Putin told a press conference. "These people...enjoy all the same rights and freedoms as everyone else." (Reporting by Alexei Anishchuk in Amsterdam and Alissa de Carbonnel in Moscow; Writing by Sara Webb; Editing by Michael Roddy) Full Story | Top |
| Falkland Islands mourn Thatcher, Argentines bitter over past Monday, Apr 08, 2013 10:37 AM PDT By Hilary Burke and Karina Grazina BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Falkland Islanders mourned Margaret Thatcher on Monday, revering her as their liberator after a 1982 invasion by Argentine forces, but many Argentines bitterly recalled her role in defending the South Atlantic territory. Flags flew at half-staff on the Falklands after news of Thatcher's death on Monday aged 87. The head of the local legislative assembly said it was a day of great sadness and another resident praised her as "our Winston Churchill. ... Full Story | Top |
| British parliament recalled to pay tribute to Thatcher Monday, Apr 08, 2013 10:31 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's parliament will be recalled from a holiday break to hold a special session in honor of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who died on Monday. "To show its respect, the Speaker has agreed to recall Parliament on Wednesday for a special session in which tributes will be paid," said Prime Minister David Cameron, who cut short a visit to Europe to return to Britain after the news of Thatcher's death was announced. ... Full Story | Top |
| Against German reunification, but Thatcher was "great" says Kohl Monday, Apr 08, 2013 10:26 AM PDT LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany (Reuters) - Helmut Kohl, the chancellor who oversaw the reunification of Germany - a process that was opposed at the time by Margaret Thatcher - hailed the late British prime minister on Monday as "great". "She was a great woman and there was no substitute for her ... She was one of the most exceptionally gifted prime ministers there ever was," Kohl told Reuters TV after news that Thatcher had died at the age of 87. "In many situations and in confrontations with the economy she stood her ground. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico backs Japan's bid to join Trans-Pacific trade talks Monday, Apr 08, 2013 10:22 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Mexico on Monday gave its support to Japan's bid to join trade talks in the Asia-Pacific region that would create the world's largest free trade zone. Japan asked to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in March and is awaiting a formal decision by the 11 current participating countries, which could come as early as this month. "We express our sympathy, support and backing for the interest that Japan has shown in participating in the TPP," Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mulroney recalls Thatcher in conservative alliance at G7 Monday, Apr 08, 2013 10:12 AM PDT By Randall Palmer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Brian Mulroney, a Cold War ally of Margaret Thatcher who died on Monday, recalled an aggressive, articulate and well-prepared colleague who, he said, transformed Britain into a superpower. In an interview with Reuters, Mulroney noted the heavy weighting of conservatives within the powerful G7 group of major nations - including himself, Thatcher, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany. France's Francois Mitterrand, a socialist, also took a hard line on Moscow. ... Full Story | Top |
| World powers see enough substance in Iran talks to continue Monday, Apr 08, 2013 09:54 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - World powers believe talks with Iran over its contentious nuclear program have been substantial enough for diplomacy to continue, a senior Western diplomat said on Monday, days after a meeting in Kazakhstan failed to yield a breakthrough. "There is enough substance for these negotiations to continue," the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters. "I would not expect a breakdown. ... Full Story | Top |
| Montenegrin president re-elected, opposition cries foul Monday, Apr 08, 2013 09:43 AM PDT  PODGORICA (Reuters) - Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic was re-elected to the largely ceremonial post in the tiny Adriatic republic with 51.2 percent in a Sunday election, electoral authorities said, dismissing a claim of victory by the opposition. With 100 percent of votes counted, the state electoral commission said opposition challenger Miodrag Lekic trailed with 48.8 percent. Lekic claimed to have narrowly won after polls closed on Sunday and his Democratic Front says it will not accept a third term for Vujanovic. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Margaret Thatcher in the words of enemies and friends Monday, Apr 08, 2013 09:39 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Here are some quotes about former British Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who died on Monday at the age of 87: "She has the eyes of Caligula but the mouth of Marilyn Monroe" - then French President Francois Mitterrand. "The great She-Elephant - she has an impenetrably thick hide, she is liable to mount charges in all directions and she is always thinking on the trot" - Denis Healey, opposition Labour member of parliament and former finance minister. "Isn't she marvelous" - former U.S. Republican President Ronald Reagan. ... Full Story | Top |
| Whistleblower asks Kerry to recommend withholding U.N. funds Monday, Apr 08, 2013 09:35 AM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.N. whistleblower who was awarded a fraction of the damages he says he suffered at the hands of the United Nations urged Washington on Monday to withhold 15 percent of the U.S. contribution to the world body in accordance with U.S. law. American James Wasserstrom was last month awarded 2 percent of the $3.2 million he wanted by a tribunal that found U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the U.N. Ethics Office failed to properly review claims he suffered retaliation for alleging U.N. corruption in Kosovo. According to Section 7049(a) of the 2012 ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain's Margaret Thatcher, in her own words Monday, Apr 08, 2013 09:27 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Here are some quotes from the political life of Margaret Thatcher who died on Monday at the age of 87: "In politics if you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman." 1965 "I don't think there will be a woman prime minister in my lifetime." - as Education Secretary in 1973. She became Britain's first, and so far only, woman prime minister in 1979. "Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope. ... Full Story | Top |
| For Thatcher and Reagan, it was a very "special relationship" Monday, Apr 08, 2013 09:26 AM PDT  By David Storey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It was ideological love at first sight for Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, who made the most unlikely but dominant international pairing of the late 20th century, triumphing side-by-side in the Cold War. Thatcher, who died on Monday in London, defied illness to attend Reagan's funeral in Washington in 2004. ... Full Story | Top |
| France to publish ministers' assets as scandal deepens Monday, Apr 08, 2013 09:22 AM PDT  By Catherine Bremer PARIS (Reuters) - France's Socialist government promised on Monday to publish details of individual ministers' assets next week as it scrambled to stem a deepening scandal over a former budget minister's secret foreign bank account. Jerome Cahuzac quit his post in March and was placed under formal investigation for alleged tax fraud last week as he acknowledged he had been caught "in a spiral of lies" over his previous denials of holding a Swiss bank account. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Venezuela's Maduro faces tricky post-Chavez panorama Monday, Apr 08, 2013 09:18 AM PDT  By Brian Ellsworth CARACAS (Reuters) - Acting President Nicolas Maduro may struggle to advance the late Hugo Chavez's socialist policies if he wins Venezuela's election on Sunday, lacking both his predecessor's iron grip on a disparate ruling coalition and the robust state finances that cemented his rule. Maduro holds a wide lead in opinion polls over opposition candidate Henrique Capriles for the election triggered by Chavez's death last month after a two-year battle with cancer. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: British reaction to the death of Margaret Thatcher Monday, Apr 08, 2013 09:12 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Here are some of the British reactions to the death of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher on Monday: DAVID CAMERON, PRIME MINISTER, CONSERVATIVE LEADER "Today is a truly sad day for our country. We've lost a great prime minister, a great leader, a great Briton. "As our first woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher succeeded against all the odds, and the real thing about Margaret Thatcher is that she didn't just lead our country, she saved our country. And I believe she'll go down as the greatest British peacetime prime minister. ... Full Story | Top |
| Witness: Thatcher's dramatic 1990 fall - "Stabbed in the front" Monday, Apr 08, 2013 08:54 AM PDT (David Storey, now an editor in Washington, was Reuters political correspondent in London during the final months in power of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, whose death was announced on Monday. Here he recalls the drama of her sudden political demise in November 1990.) By David Storey (Reuters) - At some point in her 11-year rule, Margaret Thatcher adopted the royal prerogative of referring to herself in the plural - as when she announced the birth of a child to her daughter Carol in 1989. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two more dead after sectarian clashes in Egypt Monday, Apr 08, 2013 08:34 AM PDT  By Paul Taylor CAIRO (Reuters) - Two more deaths were reported on Monday after sectarian violence at Cairo's Coptic cathedral that the Egyptian government and Muslim and Christian leaders scrambled to calm. A security source said a 21-year-old Muslim man, named only as Mohamed, died of a fractured skull in hospital after fighting between local Muslims and Copts who had been attending a funeral for four Christians shot dead in a town near Cairo. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libya appeals Egypt court decision on Gaddafi cousin extradition Monday, Apr 08, 2013 08:33 AM PDT TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya has appealed an Egyptian court decision barring the extradition of a cousin of Muammar Gaddafi, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said, adding Tripoli was also seeking the handover of the ousted dictator's former foreign minister elsewhere. Last week, an Egyptian court ruled Gaddafi's cousin Ahmed Gaddaf Alddam should be tried in Egypt. Alddam, who is wanted in Libya for alleged counterfeiting, forgery, fraud and money laundering, is also under investigation on suspicion of attacking Egyptian police during his arrest last month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Witness: "The Iron Lady" - my part in her ascent Monday, Apr 08, 2013 08:32 AM PDT  (Robert Evans, now a correspondent in Geneva, was Reuters bureau chief in Moscow 1975-81 and 1986-91. Here he recalls his part in how Margaret Thatcher, who died on Monday, came to be known as the Iron Lady during her rise to become Britain's first woman prime minister.) By Robert Evans GENEVA (Reuters) - It was largely for lack of any other news that I launched Margaret Thatcher's favorite soubriquet "The Iron Lady" on the world one quiet but miserably slushy Moscow winter Saturday in January 1976. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. allies plan big Gulf naval exercise in May Monday, Apr 08, 2013 08:27 AM PDT  DUBAI (Reuters) - The United States and its allies will stage a naval exercise in the Gulf in May to practise minesweeping and escorting ships, the U.S. Navy said on Monday, a maneuver likely to be seen in the region as guarding against a potential threat from Iran. Representatives from more than 30 nations will gather in Bahrain for the International Mine Countermeasures Exercise (IMCMEX) 13 from May 6-30, eight months after they staged a previous edition of the exercises at a time when Israel and Iran were trading threats of war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thatcher not mourned by all as some Britons plan parties Monday, Apr 08, 2013 08:22 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Controversial in life, British ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher continued to divide the nation in death, with somber plans for a funeral and eulogies rejected by some in favor of celebrations and parties. As Britain buzzed with the news on Monday afternoon that the "Iron Lady" had died, not everyone was in mourning. A quickly rising 180,000 people had "liked" the isthatcherdeadyet.co.uk website, which had been updated with a large block-capital "Yes. ... Full Story | Top |
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