CA-NEWS Summary

Britain's "iron lady" Margaret Thatcher dies: spokesman

LONDON (Reuters) - Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died following a stroke, a spokesman for the family said. "It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announced that their mother Baroness Thatcher died peacefully following a stroke this morning," Lord Tim Bell said.

North Korea suspends last project with South, Putin cites Chernobyl

PAJU, South Korea (Reuters) - North Korea suspended its sole remaining major project with the South on Monday after weeks of threats against the United States and South Korea, as Russian President Vladimir Putin said any nuclear conflict may make Chernobyl look like a fairy tale. Reclusive North Korea's decision to all but close the Kaesong industrial park coincided with speculation that it will carry out some sort of provocative action - another nuclear weapons test or missile launch - in what has become one of the most serious crises on the peninsula since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

Suicide car bomber kills 15, brings chaos to Damascus

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A suicide car bomb exploded in the main business district of Damascus on Monday, killing at least 15 people, setting cars ablaze and damaging buildings, according to state television. A Damascus resident who described the blast as the biggest she had heard in the capital during the two-year-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad said large plumes of black smoke were rising from the Sabaa Bahrat district.

Second person dies from Egypt cathedral clashes

CAIRO (Reuters) - A second Egyptian died on Monday of wounds sustained in clashes at Cairo's Coptic cathedral the previous day in an outbreak of sectarian violence that the government and Muslim and Christian leaders sought 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 on Friday.

U.N.'s Ban says chemical weapons team ready to deploy in Syria

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said a team to investigate claims of chemical weapons use in Syria was ready to deploy within 24 hours and urged the Syrian government to give the go-ahead so work could begin. Ban, who met the head of the global chemical weapons monitoring body in The Hague on Monday, said an advance team had been sent to Cyprus. "We are ready, it is a matter of time," he said. The full team will consist of 15 experts, including inspectors, medical experts and chemists.

Kremlin urges Germany to punish topless protest against Putin

HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) - Russia urged Germany to punish a group of women who staged a bare-breasted protest against President Vladimir Putin on Monday during a visit to a trade fair in Hanover with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Three members of the women's rights group Femen, which has staged protests against Russia's detention of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot around Europe, disrupted a visit by Putin and Merkel to an industry fair focusing on Russian business.

Pakistan's Musharraf entangled in treason accusation

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered former President Pervez Musharraf to respond to an accusation of treason, a move that could hurt his ambitious bid to win back influence in the country. Lawyer Iqbal Haider has filed a complaint which states that Musharraf had committed treason when he declared emergency rule while in power, in 2007.

Roadside bomb kills nine civilians in Afghanistan

KABUL (Reuters) - A roadside bomb exploded under a bus in Afghanistan on Monday killing nine civilians, police said, two days after 11 children and a woman were killed during a NATO attack on militants in another part of the country. Also on the weekend, a car bomb killed five Americans, including three U.S. soldiers, a young diplomat and a U.S. Defense Department contractor, in the southern province of Zabul.

In mid-term doldrums, Canada's Conservatives hope to reboot

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Voter fatigue with Canada's ruling Conservatives and signs of stress within the government are putting Prime Minister Stephen Harper under pressure to freshen up his team and policies as the telegenic son of Pierre Trudeau starts snapping at his heels. Even though the election is 30 months away - in October 2015 - the next few months will be a critical time for Harper, given mounting evidence in opinion polls that the Conservatives risk losing power after what would be nearly a decade in office.

Lebanon's new premier says election delay likely

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's June election faces a possible delay, prime minister-designate Tammam Salam said, as he prepared to form a government which aims to resolve months of dispute over the vote and shield the country from war in neighboring Syria. Salam, a moderate who won broad political support to become premier, said he would try to bring all of Lebanon's rival factions into a government whose main priority was paving the way for the parliamentary election.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-025650088.html

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