The former U.S. president died yestreday after a long battle with Alzheimers disease. Here are world reactions.

Reuters reports that Reagan will be remembered as an American icon as journalist Thomas Ferraro gives an account of reactions to his death.
Political friends and foes have delivered farewell salutes to former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, hailing him as an American icon who will be remembered for his flag-waving patriotism, steel resolve and infectious optimism. "He leaves behind a nation he restored and a world he helped save," said President George W. Bush, whose father, former President George Bush, served as Reagans vice president.
Most importantly, the former Hollywood actor put the world on notice that the United States would be strong militarily and economically. He preached democracy, stared down communism and denounced the Soviet Union as "The Evil Empire." "Ronald Reagan had a higher claim than any other leader to have won the Cold War for liberty and he did it without a shot being fired," said Margaret Thatcher.

The Scotsman details his health problems: the oldest man elected president of the United States, maintained a thumbs-up demeanour for the public during several bouts with illness during and after his White House term. At times during Reagan’s stay in the White House, he seemed forgetful and would lose his train of thought while talking. However, doctors said Alzheimer’s was not to blame, noting the disease was diagnosed years after he left office.

Newsday has some interesting quotes and also chronicles Nancy Reagan's role.

CNN has a very complete section an Reagan and focuses on three elements of his presidency: a conservative revolution that set the economic and cultural tone of the 1980s, hastened the end of the Cold War and revitalized the Republican Party.

The New York Times details Reagan's two terms, remembering Mr. Reagan and his administration were plunged into turmoil by an effort to deal too rashly with the same kind of hostage crisis that he had accused President Jimmy Carter of handling too gingerly in Iran. Contrary to official policy, Mr. Reagan's subordinates sold arms to Iran as ransom for hostages in Lebanon and diverted profits from the sales to the rebels fighting the Marxist Sandinistas then governing Nicaragua. A joint Congressional investigating committee reported that the affair had been "characterized by pervasive dishonesty and secrecy" and that Mr. Reagan bore ultimate responsibility for the wrongdoing of a "cabal of zealots." The deception and disdain for the law invited comparisons to Watergate, undermined Mr. Reagan's credibility and severely weakened his powers of persuasion with Congress. Scrutiny of his appointees increased; Supreme Court nominees were rejected or withdrawn; and more of his aides were accused of ethics violations than in any other administration up until that point. But until the Iran-contra affair, Mr. Reagan enjoyed tremendous popularity. He used that popularity and a consummate political skill to push many of his major programs through Congress. And despite the affair, he crowned his two terms with a nuclear arms agreement with the Soviet Union that reduced the nuclear arsenals of both countries for the first time, setting the stage for a new relationship with the Soviets under the leadership of Mikhail S. Gorbachev. It was Mr. Reagan's good fortune that during his time in office the Soviet Union was undergoing profound change, eventually to collapse, setting off a spirited debate over Mr. Reagan's role in ending the cold war. His supporters argued that his tough policies were the coup de grâce and his detractors attributed the end to the accumulated influence of 45 years of the American policy of containment. But wherever the credit was due, the thaw came on his watch.

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