Margaret Thatcher: Queen leads mourners at funeral

The Queen has led mourners in St Paul's Cathedral at the funeral of Baroness Thatcher, Britain's longest serving prime minister of modern times.

More than 2,000 dignitaries from around the world paid their last respect at the biggest such occasion since the Queen Mother's funeral in 2002.
Lady Thatcher's coffin was carried through streets lined by mourners and members of the three armed forces.
PM David Cameron said it was a "fitting tribute" to a major figure.
Four thousand police officers are on duty in central London, which saw large crowds along the route of her funeral procession, which was conducted with full military honours. There were reports of some protests but not the large demonstrations some had predicted.
The congregation at St Paul's included Lady Thatcher's family and all surviving British prime ministers, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Sir John Major, the current cabinet and surviving members of Lady Thatcher's governments,
There were tears, and occasional laughter, as the Bishop of London, Right Reverend Richard Chartres paid tribute to her forthright character in a simple service, which, at Lady Thatcher's personal request, did not include any eulogies.

"After the storm of a life led in the heat of political controversy, there is a great calm," said The Right Reverend Chartres.

"The storm of conflicting opinions centres on the Mrs Thatcher who became a symbolic figure - even an ism.
"Today the remains of the real Margaret Hilda Thatcher are here at her funeral service.
"Lying here, she is one of us, subject to the common destiny of all human beings."
The funeral service began with readings from the King James Bible by Mr Cameron and Lady Thatcher's granddaughter Amanda, with hymns chosen by the former prime minister.
A gun carriage drawn by six black horses carried Lady Thatcher to St Paul's, where a congregation of more than 2,300 guests gathered to pay their final respects.
'Beloved mother' Earlier the longest-serving British prime minister in modern times left Parliament for the last time as a hearse took her body from the crypt chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster to the start of the military procession at St Clement Danes in The Strand.
A white floral arrangement on top of the funeral bore a had-written card, from her children Carol and Sir Mark, reading: "Beloved mother, always in our hearts."
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, gave the blessing before the coffin was borne out of the cathedral and returned to a hearse which took it to the Royal Hospital Chelsea ahead of a private cremation at Mortlake Crematorium in south west London.
Lady Thatcher, who was Conservative Prime Minister from 1979 until 1990, died on 8 April, following a stroke, at the age of 87.
She was accorded a ceremonial funeral with military honours, one step down from a state funeral.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Prime Minister David Cameron said it would have been seen as extraordinary not to commemorate her life.
Asked about those who wanted to challenge his view of Lady Thatcher, the prime minister said: "Of course people have the right to disagree and take a different view.

"But when you're mourning the passing of an 87-year-old woman who was the first woman prime minister, who served for longer in the job than anyone for 150 years I think it's appropriate to show respect."
There were more than 50 guests associated with the Falkland Islands, including veterans from the 1982 conflict with Argentina, but Argentina's ambassador to London, Alicia Castro declined an invitation to attend.
Alan Southern, a former member of the Parachute Regiment who fought in the Falklands War, said: "Lady Thatcher was an absolutely wonderful lady. She loved the armed forces and she did so much for the country, she put the 'great' back in Great Britain."
Roads closed In total, two current heads of state, 11 serving prime ministers and 17 serving foreign ministers from around the world attended.
Notable absences were former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who could not attend due to ill health, and former US first lady Nancy Reagan, who was also unable to come.
Six police forces from outside London sent specialist officers to help with escorting foreign dignitaries.
Various roads along the route were closed from 07:30 BST, and Transport for London has advised drivers to avoid Westminster and the City of London. The roads are expected to be re-opened as soon as possible following the funeral.
There were union jacks on display, as well as flags from the US, Canada, Scotland, Poland and the Falkland Islands.

Wednesday's House of Commons sitting has been delayed until 14:30 BST, meaning the cancellation of Prime Minister's Questions, in order to allow MPs to attend - a move approved in a Commons vote on Tuesday.

The Metropolitan Police said it had been contacted by a small number of protesters to say they were planning action on the funeral route in protest at the impact of some of Lady Thatcher's policies while she was in power.
BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said although Monday's bomb attack at the Boston Marathon was not believed to have led to any significant changes in security for the funeral, it was expected that the police and public would be more vigilant.
Senior officers acknowledged they had a "difficult" balance to strike between allowing people to express their opinions and maintaining order, he added.
Lady Thatcher's union jack-draped coffin was placed in the Palace of Westminster's Chapel of St Mary Undercroft overnight on Tuesday.
The House of Commons speaker's chaplain kept vigil in the chapel through the night.
St Paul's has published a full funeral order of service.
 source:-BBC

 

Boston Marathon bombing: FBI reveals pressure cooker clues

Bombs that targeted the Boston Marathon on Monday may have been packed in pressure cookers, investigators say.

Images from a joint Homeland Security and FBI bulletin show the remains of a dark backpack, a detonation device and mangled pieces of metal.
Three people were killed and more than 170 injured when two bombs exploded near the finish line of Monday's race.
Those who died were an eight-year-old boy, a woman aged 29 and a postgraduate student from China.
The BBC's Paul Adams, in Boston, says vigils for the victims were held across the city on Tuesday night as Bostonians still wrestled with why anyone would want to attack their much-loved marathon.

President Barack Obama will travel to Boston on Thursday for a memorial.

'Someone knows'
FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers told a news conference that pieces of nylon had been recovered from the scene, along with fragments of ball bearings and nails that were "possibly contained in a pressure-cooker device".
He said they were being sent to the agency's laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, where experts would reconstruct the devices to determine their make-up and components.
He added: "The investigation is in its infancy. There are no claims of responsibility and the range of suspects and motives remains wide open."
Mr DesLauriers urged people to report anyone they had seen acting suspiciously.

"Someone knows who did this," he said.
Associated Press quoted a source close to the investigation as saying that the bombs consisted of explosives placed in 1.6-gallon pressure cookers, one with shards of metal and ball bearings, the other with nails.
The bombs were put into black bags and left on the ground, the source said.
Our correspondent says it has also been reported that a circuit board and battery pack - parts of a triggering mechanism - were also recovered.
Doctors treating the wounded say their injuries indicate that the bombs contained metal shards and other shrapnel. A number of victims have had limbs amputated.

Speaking at the same news conference, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said the Boston community would "recover and heal" from the attack.

"This is one community. We are all in this together," he said.
President Obama will address an interfaith service in Boston for the victims on Thursday morning.
The White House said Mr Obama had cancelled a planned trip to Kansas to speak.
Earlier, President Obama condemned the bombings as a terrorist act.
He said the attack was "heinous and cowardly" but stressed it was not yet known whether an organisation - either domestic or foreign - or a "malevolent individual" was responsible, nor what the motive might have been.
"Everything else at this point is speculation," he said.
"It will take time... but we will find whoever harmed our citizens and we will bring them to justice."

One of those who died has been named as eight-year-old Martin Richard, from the Dorchester area of Boston.
He was at the finishing line with his mother and sister, who were both seriously injured.
"They were looking in the crowd as the runners were coming to see if they could identify some of their friends when the bomb hit," Congressman Stephen Lynch, a friend of the Richard family, told Associated Press.
Flowers and tributes were being placed outside the family's home on Tuesday.
A second victim was named as Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager.
Her mother, Patty, shaking with emotion, told reporters that "you couldn't ask for a better daughter".

"Everybody who knew her loved her... she had a heart of gold. This doesn't make any sense."

Boston University said the third person who died was a graduate student.
The Chinese consulate in New York confirmed that she was a Chinese national. "At the request of her family, the victim's personal information will not be disclosed," said a statement from the consulate.
She has been identified, however, by a Hong Kong TV channel which said she was from Shenyang in north-east China.
The university said she was with two friends watching the race near the finish line. One of the friends, named as Zhou Danling by Chinese TV, was said to be in a stable condition in hospital.
The consulate said it was providing "all necessary assistance" to the two families.
The first explosion went off close to the finish line at about 14:50 local time (18:50 GMT) on Monday.
Seconds later, as rescuers were rushing to help the injured, another explosion went off nearby.
Speaking at an earlier press conference, Mr DesLauriers moved to reassure the public, saying there was no longer any "known imminent physical threat" to Boston.
"We will go to the ends of the Earth to identify the subject or subjects who are responsible for this despicable crime, and we will do everything we can to bring them to justice," he said.
Police have asked the public to send in any videos or photographs they may have from the day.
The London Marathon - the next major international marathon - is to go ahead on Sunday, with police saying they have well-rehearsed security plans.
Organisers have said they will hold a 30-second silence at the start as a mark of respect.
 Source:-BBC