Bridie Gallagher



 Bridie Gallagher, 87, Irish singer. Gallagher lived in Belfast for most of her life.

Bridie Gallagher (7 September, 1924 – 9 January, 2012) was affectionately known as "The Girl from Donegal". She was "Ireland's first truly international pop star".

Gallagher died at her home in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 9 January 2012 at the age of 87, with her burial taking place in her native Creeslough.

(Photo: Irish singer Bridie Gallagher, seen in the Kentucky Irish-American newspaper, 1959.)

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.

President of Guinea-Bissau Dies in France

Nick Loomis
Dakar, Senegal

Malam Bacai Sanha, the president of Guinea-Bissau, died Monday in a Paris hospital. The West African nation has a long history of internal conflict and now faces a troubling power vacuum just two weeks after a suspected coup attempt.

Guinea-Bissau's national radio announced that President Sanha had died in a Paris from a protracted and undisclosed illness, though it is thought to be related to diabetes. The 64-year-old was was ill for much of his term and spent much of it on hospital visits to Europe and neighboring Senegal.

Since achieving independence from Portugal in 1974, the country has been plagued by corruption, coups and assassinations. Sanha was voted into power in 2009 after his predecessor, Joao Bernardo Vieira, was assassinated. His death comes only two weeks after a suspected coup attempt for which more than 100 military personnel, including high-ranking officials, have been arrested. 

Alex Vines is a researcher with Chatham House, an policy institute for international affairs. He said the suspected coup attempt illustrates the fragility of the country and its government.

“The country remains one of the more unstable in sub-Saharan Africa and the death of the president hasn't helped this at all. Although he's been ill, it just adds more uncertainty to an already-unpredictable, uncertain country,” said Vines.

Vines said there probably will be no further coup attempts in the short term. Instead, he expects political posturing on the part of hopeful successors looking to grab power legitimately and peacefully. But in a place like Guinea-Bissau, a peaceful transition of power is rare and, according to Vines, was one of Sanha's greatest achievements.

“It's a shame that President Sanha's health was what it was. It think Sanha's winning the presidential election and the peacefulness that followed it was important. We'll have to see now if a successor can continue that legacy,” said Vines.

The head of the National Assembly, Raimundo Pereira, is expected to take control of the interim government until new elections can be organized - which the constitution says should take place within 90 days.

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)

Dave 'Omar' Alexander



 Dave Alexander, 73, American blues singer and pianist. Died 8 January 2012 (age 73) in Marshall, Texas, United States.

Dave Alexander aka Omar Sharriff, Omar Hakim Khayam (10 March 1938 – 8 January 2012) was an American Texas blues singer, and pianist.

In February, 2011, Alexander relocated to Marshall, Texas where he lived until his death.

On 8 January 2012, Alexander was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Marshall, Texas. He was 73 years old.

Photo by Mike Shea: Dave Alexander performing at the 2007 San Francisco Blues Festival.

Final Exits, 29-31 December 2011



 Eva Zeisel, Hungarian industrial designer, potter and centenarian. Photo taken in 2001 by Daniel Wickemeyer.

Obituaries for 29-31 December 2011

29
* Paul Antaki, 84, Egyptian Melkite Catholic hierarch, Auxiliary Archbishop of Antioch (1968–2001).
* Rosman García, 32, Venezuelan baseball player (Texas Rangers), traffic collision. (Spanish)
* Leopold Hawelka, 100, Austrian coffee house owner (Café Hawelka).
* Aamir Hayat Khan Rokhri, 55, Pakistani politician, heart attack.
* Svein Krøvel, 65, Norwegian cinematographer. (Norwegian)
* Tyron Perez, 26, Filipino actor (StarStruck), shot.
* Amichand Rajbansi, 69, South African politician, Minister without portfolio (1984–1988), Leader of the Minority Front (since 1994).

30
* Ted Beard, 90, American baseball player (Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox).
* John Buchanan, 58, American fine arts museum director (De Young), cancer.
* Mike Colalillo, 86, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient.
* George Daldry, 88, Australian fitness trainer.
* Dezső Garas, 77, Hungarian actor.
* Muhammad Hamidullah Khan, 74, Bangladeshi politician.
* Kim Geun-tae, 64, South Korean politician, Minister of Health and Welfare (2004–2006), pneumonia and kidney failure.
* Ricardo Legorreta, 80, Mexican architect, UIA Gold Medal recipient, cancer. (Spanish)
* Doug Sellars, 50, Canadian television executive (Fox Sports Media Group, CBC Sports), heart attack.
* Vasily Starodubtsev, 80, Russian politician, Governor of Tula Oblast (1997–2005), member of the Gang of Eight (1991).
* Mirko Tremaglia, 85, Italian politician, Minister without portfolio (2001–2006).
* Eva Zeisel, 105, Hungarian-born American ceramic artist and designer.

31
* Murray Barnes, 57, Australian footballer (Sydney Hakoah), national captain (1980–1981).
* Rex Jackson, 83, Australian politician and convicted criminal, New South Wales MLA for Bulli (1955–1971) and Heathcote (1971–1986).
* Glenn Lord, 80, American editor.
* Jerzy Kluger, 92, Polish businessman, bronchitis.
* Milton Wong, 72, Canadian businessman and philanthropist, pancreatic cancer.

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.