Britain, Argentina mark 30th anniversary of Falklands war

Britain and Argentina on Monday marked 30 years since an Argentine invasion of the Falklands Islands triggered a bloody 74-day war, amid renewed tensions between the two countries. In Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city, some 5,000 people attended a remembrance vigil in honour of the 649 Argentines who died during the conflict.
President Cristina Kirchner was expected to make a speech to veterans of the war and unveil a monument to the dead. War veterans and Ushuaia residents braved zero degree Celsius temperatures to attend the vigil which began one minute after midnight. Later, Ushuaia Mayor Federico Sciurano inaugurated a cenotaph with the names of the 649 Argentines who perished during the war.
The anniversary was to be marked across the country, including in Buenos Aires where leftist parties planned to stage a demonstration outside the British embassy. In Britain, veterans of the conflict meanwhile gathered for a low-key service of remembrance, after Prime Minister David Cameron described the invasion of the South Atlantic islands as a "profound wrong."
The military junta that ruled Argentina stunned the world when it landed troops in the capital of the Falklands, Stanley, on April 2, 1982. The war ended in defeat for Argentina, costing the lives of 649 Argentine troops and 255 British servicemen, after Margaret Thatcher sent in a naval task force to reclaim the territory. Once the British troops had made the 8,000-mile (13,000-kilometer) sea voyage, they fought hilltop by hilltop until they wrested back control of the windswept islands Britain has ruled since 1833. Argentina reasserted its claims of sovereignty over what it calls the Malvinas two years ago when Britain authorised oil companies to explore the waters around the archipelago.
It has also accused Britain of militarising the seas around the islands, taking its complaints to the United Nations. Amid heightening tensions, the British Ministry of Defence said on Monday that HMS Dauntless, a British destroyer, will head to the South Atlantic on Wednesday for a six-month patrol.
At the United Nations in New York, the head of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) was to meet with UN chief Ban Ki-moon Monday to deliver a letter of support for Argentina in its row with Britain over the Falklands. The UN decolonization branch has called on London to open a dialogue on the islands, but Britain has refused.