Gwinnett Daily Post

Thatcher admitted to hospital

LONDON -- Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has been admitted to the hospital following a recent bout of flu, officials said Tuesday.

Prime Minister David Cameron's office said he wished the former leader a ''speedy recovery.''

''We understand from Lady Thatcher's office that she has been admitted to hospital for precautionary tests following her recent bout of flu,'' a Downing Street statement said.

Thatcher, who was prime minister from 1979 to 1990, had to skip a reception in honor of her 85th birthday last week because of the flu. She wrote a letter of apology to the 150 friends and colleagues who attended the reception, which was hosted by Cameron at 10 Downing Street.

UN envoy in Iraq escapes bombing

BAGHDAD -- The chief U.N. envoy to Iraq escaped unharmed from a bombing that hit his convoy Tuesday after a meeting with the nation's top Shiite cleric about how to unsnarl Iraq's stalemated government. The U.N. said a member of the Iraqi security forces was killed and several others were injured in the attack.

Officials have long worried that the political impasse that has gripped Iraq for more than seven months may lead to violence, and the attack on U.N. Special Representative Ad Melkert underscored those fears.

The U.N. pulled out of Iraq after a 2003 bombing of its Baghdad headquarters killed then-envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 employees and a series of other attacks against aid workers. But the world body returned in 2004 and has stepped up its presence over the years as violence ebbs and the U.S. military begins to leave Iraq.

Lawmaker: Mine collapse warning ignored

SANTIAGO, Chile -- A Chilean legislative commission is investigating reports that mining operators ignored danger warnings from a man who was later among 33 later trapped when a mine collapsed.

Deputy Carlos Vilches, a commission member, said Tuesday that miner Juan Illanes has alleged that operators refused his request to leave the mine three hours before it collapsed on Aug. 5. Illanes reportedly had heard loud sounds that indicated a collapse could be brewing.