Russian Soprano Galina Vishnevskaya Dies At 86

Russian opera singer Galina Vishnevskaya, the widow of legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, died Tuesday aged 86.

State media report that she has suffered from heart trouble in recent years.

The famed soprano was celebrated for her dramatic interpretations of classic and modern works and sang in most major opera houses across the world.

For many years, Vishnevskaya enjoyed a star status in the Soviet Russia where she received the Order of Lenin and the People's Artist prizes. But she and her husband Rostropovich were forced into exile after offering support to writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who was critical of the communist government.

The musician couple was forced into exile in 1974, eventually settling in the United States where she continued to sing and direct opera.

The Soviet authorities later stripped them of their citizenship, which they regained in 1990 during Mikhail Gorbachev's era of perestroika.

The couple was lauded in the post-Soviet Russia and in 1991 established the Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation, based in Washington, D.C., to improve the health and future of children in the former Soviet Union.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last week issued a decree granting Vishnevskaya the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland,” 1st Class, for her contributions to Russian music and culture.

He expressed his condolences Tuesday.

(Photo by Alexey Yushenkov, 2008)

Late Cardinal Calls Catholic Church '200 Years Out of Date'

The former Archbishop of Milan, a one-time candidate for pope who died Friday, said in his last interview that the Catholic Church is “200 years out of date.”

Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini died Friday in Milan at 85 after suffering from Parkinson's disease.

His last interview was published Saturday in Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper, in which he had a regular column.

The cardinal noted that churches are “big and empty” while the church bureaucracy grows and the rituals become “pompous.” He accuses the church of failing to keep up with the times.

Cardinal Martini says the recent child abuse scandal obliges the church to transform itself by admitting mistakes and beginning a radical change, starting with the pope and bishops.

Cardinal Martini was regarded as one of the most progressive voices in the church. He held relatively liberal views on such issues as contraception, celibacy for priests, and abortion.

Vatican liberals pushed the cardinal as a candidate to succeed Pope John Paul in 2005 before the more conservative wing prevailed with Pope Benedict.

Disco Era Icon Robin Gibb Dies of Cancer at 62

British singer Robin Gibb, an iconic voice of the disco era of the 1970s, died Sunday in London after a long fight against cancer. He was 62 years old.

Gibb and his brothers Barry and Maurice formed their band, appropriately named the Bee Gees, for the Brothers Gibb, in the late 1950s.

The band was a success. But the brothers did not become global superstars until disco was born in the mid 1970s, becoming the defining sound of the era.

The Bee Gees sold hundreds of millions of records including the smash hits How Deep Is Your Love, Stayin' Alive, and Night Fever.

The band survived the decline of disco's popularity and broke up when Maurice Gibb died in 2003.

Robin Gibb kept performing until earlier this year. He had been battling liver and colon cancer.

Photo courtesy of AVRO. Robin Gibb (of the Bee Gees) in AVRO's TopPop (Dutch television show), 12 January 1973.

Polish Nobel Laureate Dies



 Polish Nobel Laureate Wislawa Szymborska has died at the age of 88.

Authorities say the reclusive poet passed away Wednesday evening of lung cancer at her home in Krakow.

Syzmborska's style has been described as reflective and playful because of her approach to serious subjects such as war in Poland, death and torture.

She had published dozens of poems prior to winning the 1996 Nobel Prize for Literature.

The Associated Press says she had been working on several poems that an associate of Syzmborska says will be published in a book this year.

(Photo by Mariusz Kubik: Wisława Szymborska, born 2 July 1923 in Bnin, Poland. Polish poet and Nobel Prize winner. Seen here on 23 October 2009 in Cracow, Poland.)

Former Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro Dead at 93

Former Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, who helped rewrite Italian politics after a devastating corruption scandal in the 1990s, has died at age 93.

No cause of death was given.

After working as a lawyer to help anti-Fascists jailed in World War II, Mr. Scalfaro entered politics and helped cobble together Italy's first constitution as a republic.

He was elected president in 1992 just as news of a widespread corruption scandal involving bribery and illegal political party funding emerged. The scandal wiped out the traditional two-party system in favor of today's multi-party coalitions.

Current Italian President Giorgio Napolitano praised Mr. Scalfaro as a leader of moral integrity who confronted one of the most difficult periods in Italian history.

Photo of Oscar Luigi Scalfaro courtesy of Presidenza della Repubblica.

Famed Greek Director Theo Angelopoulos Killed During Movie Filming

Award-winning Greek film director Theo Angelopoulos died Tuesday after being hit by a motorcycle while filming scenes on his latest movie.

Angelopoulos was rushed to an Athens hospital where he died hours later of head injuries. He was 76 years old. The motorcyclist was an off-duty policeman.

Angelopoulos was Greece's most honored contemporary director, winning numerous awards at European film festivals.

He is best known for his 1998 film, Eternity and a Day, which won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

At the time of his death, he was directing The Other Sea, a film about the impact of Greece's economic crisis on its citizens.

Former Soviet Spy Vartanian Dies

Photo: Gevork Vartanian was awarded with the Hero of the Soviet Union medal, a gold star with ribbon.

Gevork Vartanian, a former Soviet intelligence agent who helped derail a Nazi plot to assassinate allied leaders during World War Two, has died. He was 87 years old.

Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service made the announcement Wednesday, saying Vartanian died Tuesday in Moscow.

Vartanian, whose father was a Soviet agent of Armenian descent based in Iran, began working for Soviet intelligence at the age of 16. In 1943, he participated in foiling a Nazi plot to assassinate Soviet leader Josef Stalin, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill when they held a conference in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

He had earlier obtained information about graduates of a British intelligence school in Tehran who were sent to the Soviet Union, allowing Soviet authorities to catch them.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent his condolences to Vartanian's widow, praising him as a legendary and brilliant personality who became a part of the country's history.

Bulgarian-Born Pianist Alexis Weissenberg Dies at 82



 Bulgarian-born French pianist Alexis Weissenberg, whose passion for music saved him and his mother from a World War II concentration camp, has died at the age of 82.

Weissenberg died Sunday in Lugano, Switzerland, where his family had settled. He had suffered from Parkinson's disease for years.

Bulgarian Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov described Weissenberg as “one of the greatest piano players of the 20th century.”

An only child, Weissenberg was born into a Jewish family in Sofia in 1929. When he and his mother tried to flee German-occupied Bulgaria for Turkey during World War II, they were captured and thrown into a concentration camp.

Weissenberg's musical talent saved his and his mother's lives. A German officer who enjoyed listening to the three-year-old play the accordion helped them escape.

After the war, Weissenberg moved to New York to study at the Juilliard School of Music. Weissenberg's musical talent quickly catapulted him to fame. He performed with renowned musical composers, including Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein.

Weissenberg eventually settled in France and became a French national.

(Photo: Euroarts)

Former Macedonian President Gligorov Dies

The first democratically elected president of Macedonia, Kiro Gligorov, has died in Skopje. He was 94 years old.

Mr. Gligorov died in his sleep Sunday night, surrounded by his family.

Once a top communist official, he became president of Macedonia in 1991 when it was still part of Yugoslavia. He peacefully led the country to independence, avoiding the wars that raged in other Yugoslav republics.

Under Mr. Gligorov's guidance, Macedonia joined the United Nations as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia — a concession to neighboring Greece, which sees the use of the name Macedonia as laying future territorial claims to its own northern province of Macedonia. The dispute continues to this day.

Mr. Gligorov was seriously injured in a 1995 assassination attempt, suffering head injuries and losing an eye in a car bomb explosion. No suspects were ever arrested, but he continued his presidency until his term ended in 1999, becoming the world's oldest head of state. He later became a respected author.

A private family funeral will take place in Skopje on Tuesday. Mr. Gligorov is survived by a son and two daughters.

Vaclav Havel Dies at Age 75

Former Czech President Vaclav Havel, the dissident playwright who led the peaceful revolution that toppled communism in the former Czechoslovakia, has died. He was 75.

A spokeswoman said Mr. Havel died in his sleep early Sunday at his weekend house in the northern Czech Republic with his wife and a nun at his side. A former chain smoker, he had a history of chronic respiratory problems that physicians traced back to his Cold War years in communist prisons.

Mr. Havel was his country's first democratically-elected president after the 1989 non-violent “Velvet Revolution” that ended four decades of communist repression. On taking office, he oversaw Czechoslovakia's transition to a free-market economy and democracy, as well as its peaceful 1993 breakup into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

U.S. President Barack Obama, in a statement Sunday, praised Mr. Havel's “moral leadership,” saying he “lived with a spirit of hope.” He said the Czech leader's peaceful resistance “shook the foundations of an empire” and “exposed the emptiness of a repressive (communist) ideology.”

In Prague, where black flag flew over Prague Castle, the presidential seat, Czech citizens lighted candles at the monument to the Velvet Revolution.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed Mr. Havel as “a great European” who fought for freedom on the continent, while British Prime Minister David Cameron said all of Europe owes the former president a “profound debt” for bringing freedom and democracy to the continent.

Former Polish President Lech Walesa, who spurred the fall of communism in his homeland, said Vaclav Havel's voice will “be greatly missed” in Europe, “above all now when it is experiencing a great crisis.”

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, in a message posted on Twitter, called the Czech icon “a voice for freedom” and “one of the greatest Europeans of our age.”

Mr. Havel left office in 2003, just months before the Czech Republic and Slovakia joined the European Union. He was credited with laying the groundwork that brought the Czech Republic into the 27-nation bloc, and was president when the republic joined NATO in 1999. But he said his proudest presidential moment was the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact – the Moscow-led military alliance that lasted until 1991.

Mr. Havel first rose to prominence after the 1968 Soviet-led invasion that crushed the “Prague Spring” reforms of Alexander Dubcek and other liberally-minded communists in the former Czechoslovakia. His plays were then banned by hardliners installed by Moscow who sought to crush any traces of those reforms.

However, he continued to write a series of underground essays widely seen as some of the most damning critiques of what communism did to society and the individual in post-World War Two Europe.

Photo by Henryk Prykiel: Václav Havel, 1991.

Former Biafra Leader Ojukwu Dies in Britain

A Nigerian colonel, politician and the leader of the former breakaway Republic of Biafra has died at the age of 78.

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu died in a hospital in London after a long fight to regain health following a stroke.

The office of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan issued a statement Saturday saying Ojukwu will be remembered as one of the great personalities of his time who stood out as a fearless, erudite and charismatic leader.

But internationally, he is better remembered for the late 1960s images of starving Biafran children with emaciated faces and stick-like arms.

A son of one of Nigeria's richest men and educated in Britain, Ojukwu gained international prominence during the 1966 coup in Nigeria. An estimated 1 million people were killed during the ensuing civil war.

A coup against the Igbo people in the mainly Muslim north led him to proclaim an independent Republic of Biafra in eastern Nigeria in 1967. Despite international aid, the region long dependent on food from neighboring regions, suffered severe shortages during the next three years of continued fighting.

After being defeated in 1970, Ojukwu fled the country and spent the following 13 years in exile.

He returned to Nigeria after being pardoned in 1982 and subsequently ran in two presidential elections without success.

He is revered as a hero among his Igbo people who claim to suffer political isolation in the country.

Former First Lady of France Danielle Mitterrand Dies

Danielle Mitterrand, a hero of the French Resistance and widow of former President of France Francois Mitterrand, has died at the age of 87.

Mitterrand died early Tuesday after being hospitalized in Paris for several days. She helped redefine the role of first lady, and was known as a humanitarian and activist for the underdog.

Mrs. Mitterrand lent her support to ethnic minorities such as Tibetans and Kurds. She was also a strong supporter of Cuba's Fidel Castro and started several charities to help the disadvantaged.

During World War II, she met her future husband as both worked for the French Resistance. She was awarded a prestigious medal for her work against the Nazi occupation of France.

Photo: Danielle Mitterrand in 2005 by Kenji-Baptiste OIKAWA.

Romania's 'Mr. Jazz,' Johnny Raducanu, Dies at 79

Jazz musician Johnny Raducanu, dubbed “Mr. Jazz” of Romania, has died of a heart attack at age 79.

Raducanu was born into a Roma family whose roots as musical performers date back more than 300 years.

He was one of Romania's most versatile jazz musicians and entertainers, mastering the bass and piano, and also composing and arranging and leading his own band.

Raducanu also performed around the world, including in the former Soviet Union, the United States and much of Europe.

Photo: Johnny Răducanu (born Răducan Creţu on 1 December 1931 in Brăila), a Romanian Jazz musician, seen here in 2009. (Photo by Eyebrowed.)

"Father of Pop Art" Hamilton Dies at 89

The man known as the “Father of Pop Art” has died in Britain. He was 89 years old.

British artist Richard Hamilton died Tuesday. The Gagosian Gallery, which represented Hamilton, confirmed his passing but did not disclose the location or cause of his death.

Hamilton was best known for his pop art collages, and was considered to be Britain's answer to American artist Andy Warhol. He first made his mark in the 1950s with a collage entitled “Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing?”

Hamilton also was well known for a variety of art projects, including the album design of the Beatles White Album in 1968, and depictions of celebrities and politicians.

Italian Opera Star Salvatore Licitra Dies a Week After Scooter Crash

Italian opera star Salvatore Licitra, who critics hailed as the heir to the great Luciano Pavarotti, died Monday more than a week after he was seriously hurt in a motor scooter accident.

Hospital officials in the Sicilian city of Cantania say he never regained consciousness from head and chest injuries and declared him brain dead. Doctors suspect he may have had a stroke just before he crashed. He was 43 years old.

A Swiss-born tenor, Licitra made his debut in Parma, Italy in 1998. He soared to international fame in 2002 when he filled in for Pavarotti in Puccini's Tosca at New York's Metropolitan Opera.

His performances thrilled audiences and critics who raved not just about his voice but his acting ability.

(Photo courtesy of Sony.)

Former 'Most Wanted' Nazi-Era Suspect Dead

A former Hungarian war crimes suspect once wanted in connection with the massacre of as many as 2,000 Serbs and Jews is dead.

News agencies say Sandor Kepiro died Saturday in Budapest. He was 97.

Kepiro once topped the most wanted list at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to tracking down Holocaust-era war criminals.

The center and Hungarian prosecutors said Kepiro was a member of Hungary's pro-Nazi police during World War Two. They accused him of taking part in the January 1942 massacre and helping to dump the bodies into the icy Danube River.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center's top Nazi hunter found Kepiro living in Budapest in 2006 and alerted Hungarian authorities. But a Hungarian court freed Kepiro in July of this year, citing a lack of evidence.

The ruling sparked demonstrations in Budapest and Novi Sad, where the massacre took place.

Veteran Greek Leftist Politician Dies

Veteran left-wing Greek politician Leonidas Kyrkos, who faced prison and a death sentence because of his politics, has died at 87 after a long illness.

Kyrkos was a medical student who joined the Greek resistance against the Nazi occupation in World War Two.

Greek authorities arrested him after the war, sentencing him to death for belonging to the Communist Party. Just days before Kyrkos and several other prisoners were to stand before a firing squad, an international outcry led the government to back away from the death sentence.

Kyrkos later edited a leftist newspaper, was elected to parliament and spent another five years in jail under the military dictatorship.

In recent years, Kyrkos became a more moderate voice, becoming critical of the far left and urged cooperation with the ruling Socialists.

Czech Anti-Communist Activist Masin Dies at 81

Ctirad Masin, a Czech anti-communist fighter who shot his way to freedom in a daring escape in 1953, died Saturday in a war veteran's residence in the U.S. midwestern city of Cleveland, Ohio. He was 81.

Masin, his brother Josef and another man, Milan Paumer, were part of the Masin brothers resistance cell established after the communists seized power in 1948 in the then Central European nation of Czechoslovakia. The group carried out raids in Czechoslovakia, killing several people, before fleeing to the West in 1953.

Two members of the five-person cell were captured during the escape and executed but the other three reached West Berlin after a month-long manhunt involving thousands of East German police and soldiers.

The three later settled in the United State and served in the U.S. army. Paumer returned home following the fall of communism in 1989 and died last year. The Masin brothers never returned to Czechoslovakia, which split in 1993 into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, saying it has not fully rid itself of its communist past.

Many Czechs consider the fighters to be heroes but others say they were criminals. In 2008, the group was awarded a prime minister's medal.

Photo: Ctirad Masin, 1950, courtesy of Barbara Masin, digitized by Don Rumata.

Poland’s Former Deputy PM Lepper Dead at 57

Authorities in Poland say former deputy prime minister Andrzej Lepper has been found dead and that it appears he committed suicide. He was 57.

Police say Lepper's body was found in his Warsaw office Friday and that everything indicates he killed himself. A police spokesman is quoted as saying authorities have ruled out the involvement of third parties.

A former pig farmer, Lepper was a member of the populist Self-Defense Party, which became a junior partner in a conservative nationalist government that held power from 2006 until 2007. He served as deputy prime minister and agriculture minister in that government, which was led for most of its short tenure by then-Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

Lepper was removed from his posts after he was linked to a corruption investigation.

Last year, Lepper was found guilty of demanding sexual favors from female members of his party and was handed a jail sentence against which he appealed.

Photo: Leader of Samoobrona, Andrzej Lepper in 2002. (Photographer: Błażej Pajda)

Renowned Russian Pianist Nikolai Petrov Dies

Renowned Russian pianist Nikolai Petrov has died after suffering a stroke a few months ago while performing in Belarus.

An assistant for Petrov said he passed away Wednesday in a Moscow hospital.

He was 68.

Petrov was an award winning pianist who performed 70 to 100 concerts each year.

His career included performances with top orchestras in New York, Washington and across Europe.

He also taught at the Moscow Conservatory.

Petrov's funeral is scheduled for Friday in Moscow.