JANUARY
Phil Spector, who revolutionized 1960s pop music with his “Wall of Sound” but who was jailed for murder in 2009, dies on Jan. 16, aged 81.
A week later, Larry King, the braces-sporting American talk host who interviewed everyone who was anyone, dies at 87.
Photo: AFP
FEBRUARY
Veteran Canadian actor Christopher Plummer, star of The Sound of Music, dies on Feb. 5 aged 91.
George Shultz, Ronald Reagan’s secretary of state who helped end the Cold War but contributed to conflict by advocating pre-emptive strikes, passes the next day at 100.
Photo: AFP
Argentina’s former president Carlos Menem dies at 90 on Feb. 14.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the last great poet of the Beat Generation, passes eight days later aged 101.
Papua New Guinea’s “father of the nation” Sir Michael Somare, its first prime minister, dies aged 84 on Feb. 26.
MARCH
Reggae legend Bunny Wailer passes away on March 2 aged 73.
South African Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini, 72, dies on March 12.
Madagascar’s former leader Didier Ratsiraka, instigator of a socialist revolution on the Indian Ocean island, dies aged 84 on March 28.
APRIL
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, the 99-year-old husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, dies on April 9.
American rapper DMX, 50, dies the same day. Bernie Madoff, mastermind of the largest financial scam in history, dies in jail in North Carolina on April 14 aged 82.
Two days later British actress Helen McCrory — who starred in Peaky Blinders, Harry Potter and The Queen — dies of cancer aged 52.
Chad’s President Idriss Deby, 68, dies from battle wounds the day after his election for a sixth term on April 20.
Legendary German soprano Christa Ludwig, 93, passes away on April 24.
Fashion designer Alber Elbaz, of Lanvin fame, dies in Paris aged 59 from Covid-19 the same day.
MAY
Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, of unknown age, is killed during infighting between rival factions of the extremist group on May 19.
JUNE
“Africa’s Gandhi” Kenneth Kaunda, 97, Zambia’s founding president, dies on June 17.
Former US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the architect of the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan after the World Trade Center attack of 2001, dies aged 88.
JULY
Richard Donner, director of the first Superman movie and as well The Goonies, dies on July 5 aged 91.
Two days later much-loved Bollywood veteran Dilip Kumar passes away at 98.
AUGUST
The leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, 48, is killed by French forces on Aug. 17.
Former Chadian president Hissene Habre dies a week later from COVID-19 at 79. He was serving a life sentence in Senegal for crimes against humanity.
Charlie Watts, the drummer of the Rolling Stones, dies aged 80 on Aug. 24.
Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, dies on Aug. 29. The Belgian was 79.
The same day Lee “Scratch” Perry, the wildly influential Jamaican singer and producer of Bob Marley, dies aged 85.
SEPTEMBER
Renowned Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, 96, who scored the 1964 film Zorba the Greek and resisted military dictatorship in Greece, dies on Sept. 2. Actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, star of Breathless and one of postwar French cinema’s biggest names, dies aged 88 on Sept. 6.
Michael Williams, who played Omar in the cult US television series The Wire, dies the same day of an accidental overdose aged 54 in New York.
The founder of Peru’s Maoist Shining Path rebel group, Abimael Guzman, 86, dies in prison on Sept. 11.
Algeria’s longest-serving president Abdelaziz Bouteflika dies on Sept. 17 aged 84.
OCTOBER
Kenya’s world record-holding runner Agnes Tirop, 25, is stabbed to death at her home on Oct. 13. Her husband is later charged with her murder.
Colin Powell, a US war hero and the first Black secretary of state whose reputation was sullied by the invasion of Iraq, dies from complications from COVID-19 aged 84 on Oct. 18.
NOVEMBER
FW de Klerk, the last president of apartheid South Africa, dies aged 85 on Nov. 11. He freed Nelson Mandela from prison and later shared a Nobel Peace Prize with him.
Zambia-born bestselling novelist Wilbur Smith, 88, who chronicled dramatic adventures on the African continent, passes away two days later.
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association’s 2021 road safety guidelines pretty much says it all. “Taiwan’s drivers are inclined to prioritize vehicles over pedestrians. Be aware that their driving manners are often not as good. Even when it’s a green light, watch carefully for cars at all times when crossing the crosswalk. Be alert of cars that try to quickly turn right in front of pedestrians. Even if you’re on the sidewalk, you must still watch for scooters.” Japanese student Shun Komatsu referenced these advisories last month in a widely shared post on the News Lens, where he praised everything here besides the
Among the Amis people around Chenggong Township (成功) in Taitung County there is a story of a place called Malaulau, ma being a prefix and laulau, meaning “withered.” In fact, that is the old name for Chenggong in Hoklo (more commonly known as Taiwanese): “Malaulau” (麻荖漏) is taken from the Amis word. What does that name refer to? In Amis oral histories, it is the place where a massive wave struck Chenggong, killing many people. The wave was quite localized and Amis communities to the north have no legends of that event. The east coast south of Yilan has good protection
More than two decades after journalist Craig Addison coined the term “Silicon Shield,” the concept remains as relevant as ever, if not even more. The idea that global — including Chinese — reliance on Taiwan’s semiconductor industry has been a major deterrent of war between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait is still frequently espoused today, especially as tensions continue to soar. On Monday, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) declared during in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would render the company’s factories “non-operable” and would create “great
Aug. 8 to Aug. 14 Chiang Kuo-ching (江國慶) denied raping and murdering a little girl until the very end, but on Aug. 13, 1997, the 21-year-old was executed by firing squad — less than a year after his arrest. The Air Force soldier refused to eat his last meal, and sent a final letter to his father maintaining that he confessed after being tortured. The letter also contained a list of the officers who had framed him. “I will definitely become a malicious spirit, so I can exact revenge on those who
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