Robert Owen, a senior judge acting as coroner, said on Friday keeping some of the evidence secret would make it impossible to hold a “full, fair and fearless inquiry” into the death of the vocal critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Litvinenko, 43, died after drinking polonium-210, a radioactive isotope, that had been slipped into his tea at a London hotel in 2006. In a deathbed statement, he accused Putin of ordering his murder, a claim Russia has denied.

His death plunged relations between London and Moscow to a post-Cold War low, although British Prime Minister David Cameron visited Russia this month as part of efforts to improve ties.

In a written ruling, the coroner partially upheld a request by British Foreign Secretary William Hague to withhold evidence relating to the possible involvement of the Russian state in Litvinenko’s death and whether it could have been prevented.

The coroner also agreed to keep secret information that could undermine trust in the British government or “cause real harm to the UK’s international relations”.

Without being able to assess all the evidence in open hearings, Owen said he would be unable to “discharge my duty to undertake a full, fair and fearless inquiry into the circumstances”.

“The inquiry would be incomplete and a verdict potentially misleading and/or unfair,” he wrote in the ruling, which was partly censored for security reasons.

Those involved have two weeks to respond and a further hearing is due on June 11 when the coroner will announce what happens next. A British government spokesman said: “The government will carefully consider this judgment.”

The British authorities could now order a form of inquiry that would allow evidence to be heard in secret instead of an inquest, a hearing held under British law to determine the cause of death when a person dies unexpectedly.

Litvinenko’s widow Maria said she was “utterly dismayed” by the ruling, which she described as a political fix to help Russia and Britain rebuild their relations.

“All those concerned with exposing the truth will be shocked and saddened that a political deal has been done between the two governments to prevent the truth from ever seeing the light of day,” she said in a statement.

At a pre-inquest hearing in February, the Litvinenko family’s lawyers said Britain was trying to cover up his work for its Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI6, and material showing Russia was behind his death.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in December that the claims were unfounded and Moscow hoped that an investigation would show them to be so.

(Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Conservative rebels have been pushing him to take a hard line on Europe, resurrecting party splits that contributed to the downfall of former prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major in the 1990s. An election is due in 2015.

Cameron’s promise in January to claw back powers from the EU and then put Britain’s membership of the bloc to a vote by 2017 failed to silence eurosceptics and halt the rise of the anti-EU UK Independence Party.

He bowed to pressure this week when he agreed to guarantee his pledge in law, despite opposition from pro-EU Liberal Democrats coalition partners whose leader warned it would be a “calamitous mistake” to leave Britain’s biggest trading partner.

Liberal Democrat and Labour opposition and a lack of parliamentary debating time mean it may never become law, and any new law could be repealed by the next government.

Conservatives remain keen to debate the bill in parliament to show voters that they are serious about holding a referendum.

That has strained relations within the coalition and within the party. More than 100 Conservatives, a third of the total, criticised him in parliament on Wednesday over his stance.

Seeking to draw a line, Cameron said all Conservatives must support the referendum law in parliament. Party enforcers will impose a “three-line whip”, their strictest order for MPs to back a vote or face disciplinary action.

The opposition Labour Party, which has a 10-point poll lead, said the Conservative party was in chaos, led by eurosceptic members who see the EU as a wasteful “superstate” that threatens Britain’s sovereignty.

“This is a prime minister who has lost control of the agenda and lost control of his party,” said Labour foreign affairs spokesman Douglas Alexander.

The referendum bill is not a government proposal because it is opposed by the Liberal Democrats. Instead, Conservative James Wharton will propose the bill in a personal capacity.

Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, said the government should focus on fixing the economy.

Tensions between EU nations in and outside the euro zone were highlighted on Thursday when French President Francois Hollande called for a euro zone economic government with its own budget, a harmonised tax system and a full-time president.

(Additional reporting by William James; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Conservative rebels have been pushing him to take a hard line on Europe, resurrecting party splits that contributed to the downfall of former prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major in the 1990s. An election is due in 2015.

Cameron’s promise in January to claw back powers from the EU and then put Britain’s membership of the bloc to a vote by 2017 failed to silence eurosceptics and halt the rise of the anti-EU UK Independence Party.

He bowed to pressure this week when he agreed to guarantee his pledge in law, despite opposition from pro-EU Liberal Democrats coalition partners whose leader warned it would be a “calamitous mistake” to leave Britain’s biggest trading partner.

Liberal Democrat and Labour opposition and a lack of parliamentary debating time mean it may never become law, and any new law could be repealed by the next government.

Conservatives remain keen to debate the bill in parliament to show voters that they are serious about holding a referendum.

That has strained relations within the coalition and within the party. More than 100 Conservatives, a third of the total, criticized him in parliament on Wednesday over his stance.

Seeking to draw a line, Cameron said all Conservatives must support the referendum law in parliament. Party enforcers will impose a “three-line whip”, their strictest order for lawmakers to back a vote or face disciplinary action.

The opposition Labour Party, which has a 10-point poll lead, said the Conservative party was in chaos, led by eurosceptic members who see the EU as a wasteful “superstate” that threatens Britain’s sovereignty.

“This is a prime minister who has lost control of the agenda and lost control of his party,” said Labour foreign affairs spokesman Douglas Alexander.

The referendum bill is not a government proposal because it is opposed by the Liberal Democrats. Instead, Conservative James Wharton will propose the bill in a personal capacity.

Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, said the government should focus on fixing the economy.

Tensions between EU nations in and outside the euro zone were highlighted on Thursday when French President Francois Hollande called for a euro zone economic government with its own budget, a harmonized tax system and a full-time president.

(Additional reporting by William James; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Though the revolt was defeated, the rebellion could undermine Cameron’s leadership, as scores of his own party’s lawmakers took the highly unusual step of voting to criticize his government’s legislative plans, a week after they were first put before parliament.

The rebels are angry that the government’s policy proposals did not include steps to make Cameron’s promise of a referendum on Britain’s EU membership legally binding.

The party turmoil has fuelled talk of Britain sliding towards the EU exit and has stirred memories of Conservative infighting that contributed to the downfall of former prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

While the vote was non-binding, the scale of the mutiny, less than two years before the next parliamentary election, will embolden eurosceptics pushing him to take a harder line on Europe.

Just before the vote, Cameron played down its significance, saying he was “extremely relaxed” about what was a free vote for Conservative lawmakers, except ministers.

“It’s a free vote, and as I’ve said I’m relaxed about that, so I don’t think people can read in anything to the scale of that free vote,” he told reporters in New York, where he is on an official trip.

Labor deputy leader Harriet Harman said earlier that Cameron was “becoming a laughing stock”.

A total of 130 lawmakers voted against the government. More than 100 of them were expected to be confirmed as Conservatives when the full voting figures are released later. The center-right party has 305 members of parliament.

CAMERON’S DILEMMA

Cameron had hoped to end party squabbling over Europe in January when he promised to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the EU and hold a referendum on its membership before the end of 2017, provided he wins the next general election in 2015.

But Conservative eurosceptics soon began pushing for a law before 2015 to guarantee the referendum would take place. Some even called for an earlier referendum.

Cameron’s offer on Tuesday of draft legislation that would make his pledge legally binding received a lukewarm reception. Rebels say it will be blocked by the Conservatives’ coalition partner, the pro-EU Liberal Democrats.

Wednesday’s parliamentary vote underscored how Cameron is boxed in over Europe.

Keen to avoid a rift with the Liberal Democrats, he must also avoid alienating Conservative eurosceptics who see the EU as an over-mighty “superstate” that threatens Britain’s sovereignty.

The success of the anti-EU UK Independence Party in local elections this month only intensified Conservative pressure for Cameron to go further on Europe. A YouGov poll in April put support for withdrawal at 43 percent, with 35 percent wanting to stay in.

(Additional reporting by William James in London and Andrew Osborn in New York; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Will Waterman)

In a further blow to Cameron’s leadership, up to 100 Conservative MPs will take the highly unusual step of voting to criticise his government’s legislative plans, a week after they were first put before parliament.

The rebels are angry that the government’s policy proposals did not include steps to make Cameron’s promise of a referendum on Britain’s EU membership legally binding.

The party turmoil has fuelled talk of Britain sliding towards the EU exit and has stirred memories of Conservative infighting that contributed to the downfall of former prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

While the vote is non-binding, a big mutiny would be an embarrassment for Cameron less than two years before the next parliamentary election and would embolden eurosceptics pushing him to take a harder line on Europe.

Cameron, who will miss the showdown because he is visiting the United States, played down its significance, saying he was “extremely relaxed” about what is a free vote for Conservative MPs, except ministers.

“I keep reading about the number of rebels. I hope someone will define for me how you can rebel on a free vote,” he said.

The opposition Labour Party, which has a 10-point opinion poll lead, said the revolt showed Cameron was “panicked” over Europe and had lost control of his party.

“We have a prime minister who is not just indecisive, not just weak, but fast becoming a laughing stock,” Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman told parliament.

CAMERON’S DILEMMA

Cameron had hoped to end party squabbling over Europe in January when he promised to renegotiate Britain’s EU role and hold a referendum on its membership before the end of 2017, provided he wins the next general election in 2015.

But his gamble failed when Conservative eurosceptics soon began pushing for a law before 2015 guaranteeing the referendum will take place. Some even called for an earlier referendum.

Cameron’s offer on Tuesday of draft legislation that would make his pledge legally binding received a lukewarm reception. Rebels say it will be blocked by the Conservatives’ coalition partner, the pro-EU Liberal Democrats.

Wednesday’s parliamentary vote, to be held after a debate that ends at 7 p.m., underscores how Cameron is boxed in over Europe.

Keen to avoid a rift with the Liberal Democrats, he must also avoid alienating Conservative eurosceptics who see the EU as a powerful “superstate” that threatens Britain’s sovereignty.

The success of the anti-EU UK Independence Party in local elections this month only intensified Conservative pressure for Cameron to go further on Europe. A YouGov poll in April put support for withdrawal at 43 percent, with 35 percent wanting to stay in.

Cameron must balance the hardening anti-EU mood at home with the need to keep good ties with Britain’s biggest trading partner. His pledge to claw back powers from Brussels angered France and Germany, who cautioned him against “cherry picking”.

Eurosceptic Conservative lawmaker Bill Cash said Cameron should call a referendum before voters go to the polls in 2015.

“If we don’t do that, we’ll never have a referendum and we’ll lose the general election,” he told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by William James in London and Andrew Osborn in New York; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Giles Elgood)

In a further blow to Cameron’s leadership, up to 100 Conservative lawmakers will take the highly unusual step of voting to criticize his government’s legislative plans, a week after they were first put before parliament.

The rebels are angry that the government’s policy proposals did not include steps to make Cameron’s promise of a referendum on Britain’s EU membership legally binding.

The party turmoil has fuelled talk of Britain sliding towards the EU exit and has stirred memories of Conservative infighting that contributed to the downfall of former prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

While the vote is non-binding, a big mutiny would be an embarrassment for Cameron less than two years before the next parliamentary election and would embolden eurosceptics pushing him to take a harder line on Europe.

Cameron, who will miss the showdown because he is visiting the United States, played down its significance, saying he was “extremely relaxed” about what is a free vote for Conservative lawmakers, except ministers.

“I keep reading about the number of rebels. I hope someone will define for me how you can rebel on a free vote,” he said.

The opposition Labour Party, which has a 10-point opinion poll lead, said the revolt showed Cameron was “panicked” over Europe and had lost control of his party.

“We have a prime minister who is not just indecisive, not just weak, but fast becoming a laughing stock,” Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman told parliament.

CAMERON’S DILEMMA

Cameron had hoped to end party squabbling over Europe in January when he promised to renegotiate Britain’s EU role and hold a referendum on its membership before the end of 2017, provided he wins the next general election in 2015.

But his gamble failed when Conservative eurosceptics soon began pushing for a law before 2015 guaranteeing the referendum will take place. Some even called for an earlier referendum.

Cameron’s offer on Tuesday of draft legislation that would make his pledge legally binding received a lukewarm reception. Rebels say it will be blocked by the Conservatives’ coalition partner, the pro-EU Liberal Democrats.

Wednesday’s parliamentary vote, to be held after a debate that ends at 1800 GMT, underscores how Cameron is boxed in over Europe.

Keen to avoid a rift with the Liberal Democrats, he must also avoid alienating Conservative eurosceptics who see the EU as a powerful “superstate” that threatens Britain’s sovereignty.

The success of the anti-EU UK Independence Party in local elections this month only intensified Conservative pressure for Cameron to go further on Europe. A YouGov poll in April put support for withdrawal at 43 percent, with 35 percent wanting to stay in.

Cameron must balance the hardening anti-EU mood at home with the need to keep good ties with Britain’s biggest trading partner. His pledge to claw back powers from Brussels angered France and Germany, who cautioned him against “cherry picking”.

Eurosceptic Conservative lawmaker Bill Cash said Cameron should call a referendum before voters go to the polls in 2015.

“If we don’t do that, we’ll never have a referendum and we’ll lose the general election,” he told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by William James in London and Andrew Osborn in New York; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Giles Elgood)

Lawson’s intervention piles pressure on Cameron just days after his Conservative Party was shaken in local elections by the surging anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP).

Cameron came to power in a coalition government in 2010 with a plea to his party to “stop banging on about Europe”, an issue that has divided the Conservatives for decades and helped bring down two of his predecessors, Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

But his promise in January to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s EU membership and to hold an “in-out” referendum if he is re-elected in 2015 has failed to stop party squabbling over Europe or halt UKIP’s rise.

Lawson, who served as Thatcher’s finance minister from 1983 to 1989, is the most senior member of Cameron’s Conservative Party to call for Britain to withdraw from the EU.

Cameron’s attempts to repatriate powers from Brussels would probably only secure “inconsequential” results, Lawson said, echoing warnings from France and Germany.

Britain would be better off outside a 27-nation bloc that has become a “bureaucratic monstrosity”, he wrote in Monday’s Times newspaper.

“I strongly suspect that there would be a positive economic advantage to the UK in leaving the single market,” Lawson wrote in an article that stirred memories of a Conservative civil war over Europe that raged for large parts of the 1980s and 1990s.

“In my judgment the economic gains would substantially outweigh the costs.”

Lawson, who voted to stay inside the EU’s forerunner in Britain’s last referendum on Europe in 1975, said the euro zone debt crisis had fundamentally changed the EU and he would choose to leave if another vote is held.

Some Conservatives have called on Cameron to bring forward legislation enshrining his referendum pledge in law from the next parliament to this one.

BREXIT?

Both sides on the debate over Britain’s EU future have been setting out their stalls since Cameron’s referendum pledge in January.

More than 500 business leaders backed Cameron’s renegotiation policy in April, saying a new, looser relationship with Europe would boost the British economy. Others fear the referendum pledge has created years of dangerous uncertainty that will deter foreign investment in Britain and upset allies in the EU, Britain’s biggest trading partner.

Cameron, trailing in the polls by around 10 points, supports Britain’s continued membership of a club it joined at the third attempt in 1973.

Responding to Lawson’s article, Cameron’s spokesman said the prime minister wants the EU must change and “wake up to the modern world of competition”.

“Europe has to reform,” his office said in a statement. “But our continued membership must have the consent of the British people, which is why the PM has set out a clear timetable on this issue.”

(Editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

Lawson’s intervention piles pressure on Cameron just days after his Conservative Party was shaken in local elections by the surging anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP).

Cameron came to power in a coalition government in 2010 with a plea to his party to “stop banging on about Europe”, an issue that has divided the Conservatives for decades and helped bring down two of his predecessors, Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

But his promise in January to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s EU membership and to hold an “in-out” referendum if he is re-elected in 2015 has failed to stop party squabbling over Europe or halt UKIP’s rise.

Lawson, who served as Thatcher’s chancellor from 1983 to 1989, is the most senior member of Cameron’s Conservative Party to call for Britain to withdraw from the EU.

Cameron’s attempts to repatriate powers from Brussels would probably only secure “inconsequential” results, Lawson said, echoing warnings from France and Germany.

Britain would be better off outside a 27-nation bloc that has become a “bureaucratic monstrosity”, he wrote in Monday’s Times newspaper.

“I strongly suspect that there would be a positive economic advantage to the UK in leaving the single market,” Lawson wrote in an article that stirred memories of a Conservative civil war over Europe that raged for large parts of the 1980s and 1990s.

“In my judgment the economic gains would substantially outweigh the costs.”

Lawson, who voted to stay inside the EU’s forerunner in Britain’s last referendum on Europe in 1975, said the euro zone debt crisis had fundamentally changed the EU and he would choose to leave if another vote is held.

Some Conservatives have called on Cameron to bring forward legislation enshrining his referendum pledge in law from the next parliament to this one.

BREXIT?

Both sides on the debate over Britain’s EU future have been setting out their stalls since Cameron’s referendum pledge in January.

More than 500 business leaders backed Cameron’s renegotiation policy in April, saying a new, looser relationship with Europe would boost the British economy. Others fear the referendum pledge has created years of dangerous uncertainty that will deter foreign investment in Britain and upset allies in the EU, Britain’s biggest trading partner.

Cameron, trailing in the polls by around 10 points, supports Britain’s continued membership of a club it joined at the third attempt in 1973.

Responding to Lawson’s article, Cameron’s spokesman said the prime minister wants the EU must change and “wake up to the modern world of competition”.

“Europe has to reform,” his office said in a statement. “But our continued membership must have the consent of the British people, which is why the PM has set out a clear timetable on this issue.”

(Editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

Business for Britain, a new lobby group, said it backed
Cameron’s plan to repatriate powers from Brussels and hold a
referendum on Britain’s EU membership, provided his Conservative
Party wins the next election.

France and Germany have attacked Cameron’s stance, saying
they will block any attempts by London to “cherry pick” EU
policy. The United States has said it wants Britain to remain
inside the EU.

Other business groups say the referendum pledge risks
creating uncertainty that will deter investment, isolate Britain
and stifle the stagnant British economy.

However, the new lobby group said cutting regulation,
scrapping a planned financial transaction tax and allowing
looser ties between its 27 members would benefit Britain and
boost growth across a continent shaken by a debt crisis.

“Many would have you believe that business doesn’t want
politicians to try and renegotiate a better deal from Europe,”
said Alan Halsall, the group’s co-chair and chairman of Silver
Cross, a company that makes baby products. “Jobs and economic
growth depend on a more flexible, looser relationship with the
EU.”

BATTLE LINES

Since Cameron came to power in 2010, the long and bitter
debate over Britain’s place in Europe has resurfaced. Groups on
both sides of the argument have begun drawing up battle lines
before an election due in 2015.

Cameron, who wants to stay inside the EU, trails the Labour
Party in the polls and is threatened by the UK Independence
Party, an increasingly popular anti-EU group wooing disgruntled
Conservatives.

The British leader is under pressure to appease Conservative
lawmakers who want him to take a tougher line with Brussels,
seen by euro sceptics as a wasteful, interfering bureaucracy
eroding British sovereignty.

On the other side of the debate, the pro-EU camp says close
ties with the EU, Britain’s biggest trading partner, are vital
at a time of intense global competition.

Among the 500 signatories of a letter sent by Business for
Britain to newspapers to launch its campaign were Simon Wolfson,
chief executive of retailer Next Plc ; Stuart Rose,
chairman of online retailer Ocado Group Plc, and
Richard Burrows, chairman of British American Tobacco Plc
.

Business for Britain describes itself as an independent,
cross-party group funded by donations from business supporters.

A poll last week for the British Chambers of Commerce, a
lobby group that represents more than 100,000 companies,
suggested some support for the group’s position.

Nearly two-thirds of those polled (64 percent) said
Britain’s economic prospects would improve if it stayed inside
the EU on renegotiated terms.

Sixty percent said withdrawal would be bad for business and
the economy; 18 percent said it would have a positive impact.

In an event comparable to that of Winston Churchill’s funeral in 1965, Thatcher’s coffin will be carried atop a horse-drawn gun carriage through streets lined with admirers, and some detractors, from parliament to the city’s most famous cathedral.

“She was the first woman prime minister, she served for longer in the job than anyone for 150 years, she achieved some extraordinary things in her life,” Prime Minister David Cameron, leader of Thatcher’s Conservative Party, told BBC radio.

“I think what is happening today is absolutely fitting and right,” he said, dismissing concerns by some Thatcher critics about the cost and pomp of the event.

The bells of London’s iconic Big Ben clock tower will fall silent in tribute for the first time since Churchill’s funeral and more than 700 armed forces personnel will honor a woman who led them to victory in the 1982 Falklands War.

Guns will fire from the Tower of London every minute while the procession is under way.

Thatcher, who governed Britain from 1979 to 1990, died on April 8 after suffering a stroke.

In life, the woman the Soviets christened the “Iron Lady” divided the British public with her free-market policies which sometimes wrought wrenching change on communities. In death it is no different.

People gathered along the funeral procession route early in the morning with placards that reflected a range of views.

“You gave millions of us hope, freedom, ambition,” read a placard held up by one man, while a short distance away another man held one that read: “Over 10 million pounds of our money for a Tory funeral”. Tory is another word for Conservative.

Polls have shown that many are unhappy that the estimated 10-million ($15 million) pound bill for the funeral is being picked up by the taxpayer, while some left-wing lawmakers say the pomp-filled funeral is excessive.

But her admirers, of which there are many in her party and in southern England, argue that she merits such a funeral.

“Some people say she divided the country: but if she was so divisive, how did she win three elections?” said Joseph Afrane, 49, a security officer from south London, who wore a cowboy hat, jacket, shoes and even watch emblazoned with the British flag.

“I VOW TO THEE MY COUNTRY”

More than 2,300 mourners will attend including 11 serving prime ministers from around the world, the British government’s entire cabinet, two heads of state and 17 foreign ministers.

But there will be notable absences. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Nancy Reagan, the widow of Thatcher’s great U.S. ally Ronald Reagan, are too frail to attend.

Thatcher struck up a close relationship with Reagan during the Cold War and was among the first to decide that Gorbachev was a man she could “do business with”.

The guest list for her funeral has prompted talk of diplomatic snubs. A spokesman for Cameron denied the United States had snubbed Britain by not sending anyone senior from the administration of President Barack Obama.

The Argentine ambassador refused to attend after Britain said it wouldn’t be inviting Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, following a request from the Thatcher family, amid increased tensions over the contested Falkland Islands.

Relations between the two countries remain strained after a 1982 war over the South Atlantic islands which Thatcher ordered a task force to retake after Argentine troops seized it.

Mourners at the funeral will hear her favorite hymns including the well-known early 20th century celebration of British patriotism “I vow to thee my country”.

St Paul’s, the 300-year-old cathedral where her funeral will take place, played host to the funerals of Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Churchill as well as to the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

The abiding domestic images of her premiership will remain those of conflict: huge police confrontations with mass ranks of coalminers whose year-long strike failed to save their pits and communities; Thatcher riding a tank in a white headscarf; and flames rising above Trafalgar Square in the riots over the deeply unpopular “poll tax” which contributed to her downfall.

But Cameron said that Thatcher’s battles, particularly her crushing of trade unions that dramatically reduced the number of days lost to strikes, had in fact reduced divisions.

“She was a bold politician who recognized the consensus was failing … She took tough and necessary decisions and in many ways created a new consensus … So in the end the breaking of the mould … led to less division, less strife,” he said.

Even Thatcher’s critics concede that – for better or for ill – she transformed the face of Britain.

In 1979, when she came to power, Britain was in the grip of a long post-war decline with notoriously troubled labor relations, low productivity and was being outperformed by continental rivals France and Germany.

Data show she turned that around by boosting home ownership and the service industry, breaking the power of the unions, and deregulating financial services.

But the price – growing inequality and the closure of large swathes of the country’s industrial base – left parts of the country struggling to create new jobs and rebuild decimated communities, leaving a bitter taste which endures.

(Additional reporting by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Jon Boyle)