LONDON (AP) - Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, whose conservative ideas made an enduring impact on Britain, has died. She was 87.
Her former spokesman says Thatcher died this morning of a stroke.
Thatcher, the country's first female prime minister, re-made Britain's economic landscape after coming into office in 1979 with a free-market philosophy and the goal of privatizing state industries. And she would wage some hard-nosed battles with the country's labor unions.
Her influence was felt long after she left office in 1990. Tony Blair, whose Labor Party languished in opposition as the Conservative Thatcher held power for more than a decade, ended up adopting many of her views.
Thatcher's forceful personality and hard-driving style earned her the nickname of the "Iron Lady." It was a term that was reinforced when she led Britain into war against Argentina in 1982 after the Argentines invaded the Falkland Islands. She forced them to retreat.
In 1984, she escaped a brush with terrorism. An I-R-A bomb exploded in a hotel hosting the annual conference of the Conservative Party. It narrowly missed Thatcher, but killed five others.
The badly-divided Conservatives eventually pushed her from power in 1990, and the party has struggled since then to regain its footing.
In her later years, she grew frail after a series of small strokes, and gave up most public speaking on the advice of her doctors.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea's point man on North Korea says there is an "indication" that Pyongyang is preparing for a fourth nuclear test.
Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae told a parliamentary committee Monday that "there is such an indication," according to two ministry officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Ryoo was answering a lawmaker's question about increased personnel and vehicle activities at the North's nuclear test site.
Ministry officials cite Ryoo as telling the lawmakers he wouldn't provide further details because they involve confidential intelligence affairs.
South Korean defense officials previously said the North completed preparations for a nuclear test at two underground tunnels. The North used one tunnel for its Feb. 12 nuclear test. The second remains unused.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has come to a standstill for two mournful minutes as sirens pierced the air to remember the 6 million Jews systematically murdered by German Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust in WWII.
Israelis stopped what they were doing and stood in silence as sirens wailed nationwide Monday at 10:00 a.m.
People stood with heads bowed in reflection. Traffic froze as drivers stopped their cars and stepped outside in respect for the solemn day.
Ceremonies are held around the country. The main wreath laying ceremony is held at the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked worldwide on Jan. 27, the date of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. Israel's annual Holocaust memorial day coincides with the Hebrew date of the Warsaw ghetto uprising.
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