Legendary South African Trumpeter Hugh Masekela Dies

Hugh Masekela, the trumpeter, composer and anti-apartheid activist known as the "father of South African jazz" has died at the age of 78 in Johannesburg.

A statement by released by his family Tuesday said Masekela, affectionately called "Bra Hugh," passed away "after a protracted and courageous battle with prostate cancer." He announced last October that he was being treated for the disease, which was first diagnosed in 2008.

Masekela's five-decade career began in earnest in the 1950s, when he helped create the Johannesburg jazz scene as a member of the bebop sextet Jazz Epistles, but fled South Africa in the 1960s to spend the next three decades in exile.

He befriended American singer and activist Harry Belafonte, and he increasingly used his music to protest the indignities and repression of white-minority rule in his homeland. Among his better known protest tunes were "Soweto Blues," and "Bring Him Back Home," an anthem demanding the release of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela from prison.

Masekela scored an international number-one hit in 1968 with the breezy tune "Grazing in the Grass." He later collaborated with American pop star Paul Simon in the 1980s. He was briefly married in the 1960s to Miriam Makeba, the legendary South African singer and activist.

South African President Jacob Zuma praised Masekela in a statement Tuesday, saying he "kept the torch of freedom alive" through his music, and that "his contribution to the struggle for liberation will never be forgotten."

Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa wrote on Twitter that "Bra Hugh was one of the great architects of Afro-Jazz and he uplifted the soul of our nation through his timeless music."

Photo of Hugh Masekela in 2007 by scorpius73.

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Former Iraqi President Talabani Dead at 83

Former Iraqi President and Iraqi Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani has died in a Berlin hospital at age 83, according to Kurdish officials.

Talabani formerly led one of the largest Kurdish factions in Iraq before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion led to the ouster of Saddam Hussein. He then took over as Iraq’s president from 2005 to 2014, before stepping down to deal with complications from a stroke he suffered in 2012.

He was Iraq’s first non-Arab president. He was seen as a unifying figure within Iraq.

Talabani's death comes days after the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government held an independence referendum over Iraqi government objections.

(Photo by Khamenei.ir. Jalal Talabani meet with Ali Khamenei. 22 November 2005.)

Legendary Rocker Tom Petty Dies at 66

U.S. rock legend Tom Petty has died after cardiac arrest at his Malibu, California, home. He was 66.

Petty's family said he was taken to the hospital early Monday, but he could not be revived. They said he died Monday evening "surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends."

Petty was born in Gainesville, Florida, in 1950, and he credits his musical awakening to a chance meeting with Elvis Presley in 1961. The "King of Rock and Roll" was working on a movie nearby and after the two were introduced, a young Petty told his family he was going to be a rock star.

Anti-rock star

But Tom Petty never really saw himself as a rock star, not in the way rock stars are thought of. As a frontman, Petty was no David Lee Roth, or Axl Rose, or Mick Jagger. There was never that larger-than-life swagger and attitude to boot. At times Petty's voice sometimes seemed strained, and quavering, like it was difficult for him to get the notes out.

But that didn't matter because Petty was able, with a little help from his friends, to stand behind his music.

On the cover of his third album Damn the Torpedoes Petty is standing behind his signature red Rickenbacker, on his second, You're Gonna Get It, he's barely visible, shadowed in blue light surrounded by the "Heartbreakers," the extraordinary musicians who made up his band.

Tom Petty was never just Tom Petty, not without Mike Campbell on lead guitar, Benmont Tench on keyboards, Ron Blair on bass, and Stan Lynch on drums, the four who made up the original "Heartbreakers." The lineup has changed a bit, but Tench and Campbell remained Petty's constant musical companions.

It's hard to get a feel for the American iconic songwriter on his first album, eponymously titled Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Petty was 26, but on this album, he and his crew are playing around with the band they would become. There are some straight blues numbers (Hometown Blues and Anything That's Rock and Roll). There's some Rhythm and Blues and Alt-country in there as well.

But way down there at the bottom of the record is the song that forecasts the iconic songwriter that Petty was becoming: American Girl is the last track on the album about "... an American girl, raised on promises." This is a song of longing, and heartbreak and hope, which is at once evocative, and indicative of where this band was heading.

On his third album Damn the Torpedoes, Petty cements his role as the anti-front man. His songs are about girls, but from the perspective of a a down-on-his-luck guy. The songs show that he needs and adores the women in his life, but is generally terrified and a bit resigned to the pain they will cause him.

Don't Do Me Like That, for instance, Even the Losers, and the flawless Here Comes My Girl, where Petty tells us the tale of the woman "standing right by my side." It's a nearly perfect song — the jangly guitars, the anxious verses, and the soaring triumphant chorus — the sound of a songwriter hitting his stride.

All told, the Heartbreakers released 13 different albums, Petty released three solo albums, played with the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys, and he also reunited with his first band Mudcrutch for some tour dates around the U.S.

And somewhere along the way he flew into the stratosphere of American songwriters inhabited by people like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Carole King and Stevie Nicks, American musicians who captured day-to-day life, rather than rock and roll excess.

On his last studio release, Petty channels the anger of a generation left behind in American Dream Plan b.

"Well, my mama so sad, Daddy’s just mad," he sings, "Cause I ain't gonna have the chance he had..." managing to capture the frustration of the American dream deferred in 17 simple words.

Petty wrapped his most recent tour last week at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. In December, Petty told Rolling Stone magazine that he thought this would be the group's last tour together. He said, "It's very likely we'll keep playing, but will we take on 50 shows in one tour? I don't think so. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was thinking this might be the last big one."

Petty leaves behind his wife, Dana York Epperson, a stepson, Dylan, and two daughters, Adria and AnnaKim, from a previous marriage.

"It’s shocking, crushing news," Petty's friend and Traveling Wilburys bandmate Bob Dylan told Rolling Stone magazine in a statement. "I thought the world of Tom. He was great performer, full of the light, a friend, and I’ll never forget him."

(Photo by Mr. Bullitt, Sweden. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Los Angeles, California.)

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Rights Groups, Nobel Commission Express Regret Over Liu's Death

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is calling for China to release Liu Xiaobo's widow from house arrest Thursday.

"I call on the Chinese government to release Liu Xia from house arrest and allow her to depart China, according to her wishes," he said in a statement hours after the Nobel Laureate's death.

"In his fight for freedom, equality, and constitutional rule in China, Liu Xiaobo embodied the human spirit that the Nobel Prize rewards. In his death, he has only reaffirmed the Nobel Committee’s selection," Tillerson added.

Liu, a Chinese a literary critic-turned-dissident and pro-democracy advocate, died Thursday at age 61 following a high-profile battle with liver cancer.

"I join Secretary Tillerson in mourning the death of Liu Xiaobo, a courageous advocate who dedicated his life to the pursuit of democracy and liberty," U.S. ambassador to China Terry Branstad said.

"China has lost a deeply principled role model who deserved our respect and adulation, not the prison sentences to which he was subjected. We again ask that China release Liu Xia from house arrest, and permit her and her family to travel as they wish," he added. "As we mourn the loss and celebrate the life of this remarkable man, we call on China to release all prisoners of conscience and to respect the fundamental freedoms of all.

The leader of the Norwegian Nobel committee said Thursday the Chinese government bore a "heavy responsibility" for his death.

"We find it deeply disturbing that Liu Xiaobo was not transferred to a facility where he could receive adequate medical treatment before he became terminally ill," said Berit Reiss-Anderssen. "The Chinese Government bears a heavy responsibility for his premature death," she said in an emailed statement.

Rights groups were quick to praise his achievements and legacy while calling on the international community to investigate deaths in captivity and work to prevent them.

“Even as Liu Xiaobo’s illness worsened, the Chinese government continued to isolate him and his family, and denied him freely choosing his medical treatment,” said Sophie Richardson, China director for Human Rights Watch. “The Chinese government’s arrogance, cruelty, and callousness are shocking – but Liu’s struggle for a rights-respecting, democratic China will live on.”

The U.N. Human Rights chief expressed "deep sorrow" over Liu's death, saying the human rights movement has lost a "principled champion".

House minority leader Nancy Pelosi also expressed her condolences for Liu and disappointment with the Chinese government's handling of his illness.

"The world grieves loss of one of the great moral voices of our time. We had hoped that the Chinese ... they mistreated him in prison, contributed to his illness, we would hope that they would allow him to leave the country to receive medical care," she said, "They did not. It is a sad day.”

Creator of Paddington Bear, Michael Bond, Dies at 91

The writer who created the beloved children's character Paddington Bear has died.

Michael Bond was 91. His publisher said he died Tuesday after a brief illness.

There are few children who do not recognize and love Paddington and his trademark rain hat and coat and suitcase.

Bond created Paddington in 1956 after spotting a teddy bear sitting alone in a London shop.

In his first adventure, “A Bear Called Paddington,” the character was described as a stowaway from “darkest Peru” who showed up at London's Paddington train station wearing a sign saying “Please look after this bear. Thank you.”

Since his debut, Paddington has sold more than 35 million books in 40 languages, starred in movies and on television.

Shooting on a new Paddington film wrapped up this week.

Bond once said children are drawn to Paddington because of his “vulnerability.”