UK Snubs Argentina at Thatcher Funeral

The latest fallout from the Britain-Argentina Falkland Islands feud: A government source tells Reuters that Argentine President Cristina Fernandez is not invited to Margaret Thatcher's funeral next week because Thatcher's family doesn't want her there. Thatcher led Britain during the Falklands war, and "it's about adhering to her family's wishes," the source says; Fernandez has been increasingly vocal about the issue. Meanwhile, Downing Street has released a list of those who were invited, including all surviving US presidents and British prime ministers, a representative of Ronald Reagan's family (Nancy Reagan is reportedly too frail to travel), Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, and other global bigwigs including Hillary Clinton and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

More than 2,000 invitations are going out, most of them tomorrow, and St. Paul's Cathedral is expected to be full to capacity, the BBC reports. But one notable Thatcher contemporary won't be there: Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, 82, is in poor health, Reuters reports. "He is not feeling very well," a spokesperson says. "One must take into account his age." (More Margaret Thatcher stories.)