World News 11-11-2004 Yasser Arafat 1929-2004 who: Yasser Arafat what: Dies, aged 75 where: Paris when: Early this morning snippet: "The veteran Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who dominated his people`s struggle for 40 years, has died in a French hospital, aged 75," says the BBC. "The news prompted mass mourning in the Palestinian territories." "Mr Arafat suffered a brain haemmorrhage two days ago and fell into a coma," says The Financial Times. "The official announcement of his death came after days of conflicting reports about his health." "Yasser Arafat, president of the Palestinian Authority, died at the military hospital Percy, Clamart on November 11, 2004, at 3.30 (0230 GMT)," Christian Estripeau, chief doctor and hospital spokesman, announced at the hospital in the Paris suburb of Clamart, says The Guardian. He will be buried at his West Bank headquarters in a stone coffin in the hope that one day, following the formation of a Palestinian state, he might be re-interred in Jerusalem. Tributes from world leaders have been unsurprisingly mixed, says The Independent. US president George W Bush says today is "a significant moment in Palestinian history"; "however others viewed him," remarks Bill Clinton, "the Palestinians saw him as the father of their nation"; while Israeli justice minister Yosef Lapid accuses him of starting a culture of terrorism that "spread to the entire world". [... more]

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