ETTA JAMES – Singer: January 25, 1928 – January 20, 2012

Posted on January 21, 2012 by

  Etta James, whose powerful, versatile and emotionally direct voice could enliven the raunchiest blues as well as the subtlest love songs, most indelibly in her signature hit, “At Last,” died on Friday morning in Riverside, Calif. She was 73. Her manager, Lupe De Leon, said that the cause was complications of leukemia. Ms. James, who died at Riverside Community Hospital, had been undergoing treatment for some time for a number of conditions, including leukaemia and dementia. She also lived in Riverside. Ms. James was not easy to pigeonhole. She is most often referred to as a rhythm and blues singer, and that is how she made her name in … Continue reading →

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Malam Bacai Sanha, President of Guinea-Bissau:
Born May 5, 1947. Died January 9, 2012

Posted on January 10, 2012 by

President Malam Bacai Sanha of Guinea Bissau who died Monday. Malam Bacai Sanhá who has died on January 9, 2012 was a Guinea-Bissau politician who was President of Guinea-Bissau from 8 September 2009 to 9 January 2012. A member of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), Sanhá was President of the National People’s Assembly from 1994 to 1999 and then served as acting President of Guinea-Bissau from 14 May 1999 to 17 February 2000, following the ouster of President João Bernardo Vieira. Standing as the PAIGC candidate, he placed second in the 1999–2000 presidential election as well as the 2005 presidential election before winning … Continue reading →

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Samuel Kiendrebeogo: 1949-2012

Posted on January 8, 2012 by

By Mohammed Keita The African media community lost a central voice this week with the passing of Samuel Kiendrebeogo, the veteran host of weekly media magazine Médias d’Afrique et D’Ailleurs on Voice of America‘s French service. Sam, as he was known, died while vacationing in his native Burkina Faso. He was 63. Most of Sam’s listeners probably only knew him by his voice, which I had gotten used to hearing over the phone when he called to request interviews. I had the privilege of meeting Sam a handful of times during my visits to the VOA studios in Washington, D.C. A warm but austere man whose calm put me at … Continue reading →

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The life and times of Kim Jong-il – North Korea’s ‘Dear Leader’

Posted on December 20, 2011 by

By James Robbins Kim Jong-il was one of the world’s most reclusive and enigmatic leaders, presiding over a secretive and internationally isolated country. The world’s only hereditary communist ruler, he was criticised for flagrant human rights abuses and for threatening the stability of the region by pursuing a nuclear weapons programme and testing long-range missiles. When he assumed power after the death of his father, Kim Il-sung, in 1994, very little was known about Kim Jong-il. He had seldom been seen in public. He was said to have personally ordered the shooting down of a South Korean airliner in 1987. The South Korean media portrayed him as a vain man, … Continue reading →

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Remembering Kathleen Florence Gould of Weymouth, England

Posted on December 20, 2011 by

The late Kathleen Florence Gould of Weymouth, England It is not always easy for one to be asked to deliver a eulogy for a loved one but Gordon Day made this look so easy when recounting the life of his ‘Aunt Kay’ recently. Here he effortlessly relives the life of Kay Gould who recently passed away aged 83. By Gordon Day A few weeks ago, when she knew she was terminally ill, Kay asked me to speak of her life at her funeral.  I felt deeply honoured by this, as I know Kay had so many, many friends who would also have been touched to have been asked.  My main … Continue reading →

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