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Ravi Shankar, Indian sitar maestro, dies

Indian sitar maestro Ravi Shankar has died in a hospital in the US, aged 92.

His family said he had been admitted to the Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego last week, but had failed to recover fully from surgery.

Shankar gained widespread international recognition through his association with The Beatles.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described him as a "national treasure and global ambassador of India's cultural heritage".

In a statement quoted by Reuters, Shankar's wife Sukanya and daughter Anoushka said he had recently undergone surgery which would have "potentially given him a new lease of life".

"Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the surgeons and doctors taking care of him, his body was not able to withstand the strain of the surgery," they said.

"We were at his side when he passed away.

"Although it is a time for sorrow and sadness, it is also a time for all of us to give thanks and to be grateful that we were able to have him as a part of our lives. He will live forever in our hearts and in his music."

Anoushka Shankar is herself a sitar player. Shankar's other daughter is Grammy award winning singer Norah Jones.

George Harrison of the Beatles once called Shankar "the godfather of world music".

He played at Woodstock and the 1967 Monterey Pop festival, and also collaborated with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane.

Shankar also composed a number of film scores - notably Satyajit Ray's celebrated Apu trilogy (1951-55) and Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982) - and collaborated with US composer Philip Glass in Passages in 1990.

Talking in later life about his experiences at the influential Monterey Pop festival, Ravi Shankar said he was "shocked to see people dressing so flamboyantly".

He told Rolling Stone magazine that he was horrified when Jimi Hendrix set his guitar on fire on stage.

"That was too much for me. In our culture, we have such respect for musical instruments, they are like part of God," he said.

In 1999, Shankar was awarded the highest civilian citation in India - the Bharat Ratna, or Jewel of India.
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Born into a Bengali family in the ancient Indian city of Varanasi, Ravi Shankar was originally a dancer with his brother's troupe.

He gave up dancing to study the sitar at the age of 18.

For seven years Shankar studied under Baba Allauddin Khan, founder of the Maihar Gharana style of Hindustani classical music, and became well-known in India for his virtuoso sitar playing.

For the last years of his life, Ravi Shankar lived in Encinitas, California, with his wife.

Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson dies

The British director and creator of the cult sci-fi animation series Thunderbirds, Gerry Anderson, has died aged 83.

Anderson had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease since 2010 and his health had deteriorated in the past six months, causing him to be moved into a care home in October.

The animator created Joe 90, Stingray and Captain Scarlet, but he was best known for Thunderbirds, which used a form of marionette puppetry dubbed Supermarionation.

The series, first shown in Britain in 1965, followed the adventures of a highly secretive organisation whose mission was to help those in peril using spacecraft and a range of high-tech vehicles operating from a Pacific island.

The characters' catchphrases, most famously "Thunderbirds are go", were incorporated into the vocabularies of a generation of young fans.

"I'm very sad to announce the death of my father, Thunderbirds creator, Gerry Anderson," his son Jamie announced on his personal website.

"He died peacefully in his sleep at midday today having suffered with mixed dementia for the past few years."

Earlier this year Anderson himself described how he became aware of his illness in an interview with the BBC.

"I don't think I realised at all. It was my wife Mary who began to notice that I would do something quite daft like putting the kettle in the sink and waiting for it to boil," he said.

Anderson began his career studying fibrous plastering, the technique used to make mouldings, but he suffered from dermatitis and had to switch to work as a photographer.

He also briefly earned a living as an air traffic controller before setting up a film company with friends.

His first commission was a children's puppet series called The Adventures of Twizzle, which allowed him to perfect the technique of Supermarionation.

It first involved recording the soundtrack for the voices.

Then when the puppets were being filmed, the electric signal from the taped dialogue was transmitted to sensors in the puppets' heads.

That meant that the marionettes' lips were synchronised with the soundtrack, which after being perfected in Fireball XL5 and Stingray was ready for the launch of Thunderbirds.

Anderson came up with the idea for Thunderbirds in 1963 while listening to a radio report about a revolutionary machine being transported across Germany to rescue miners trapped deep in a mine.

Gulf War general Norman Schwarzkopf dies

General Norman Schwarzkopf, who led US forces during the first Gulf War, has died at the age of 78.

Dubbed 'Stormin' Norman', General Schwarzkopf was in charge of the coalition forces sent in to expel Saddam Hussein's troops from Kuwait in 1991.

He died in Tampa, Florida, where he retired after his last military posting as commander-in-chief of US Central Command, an official told the AFP news agency.

Former US president George HW Bush, himself in intensive care, was the first to issue a statement mourning the loss of the man that lead the war that came to define both of their careers.

"Barbara and I mourn the loss of a true American patriot and one of the great military leaders of his generation," his statement said.

"A distinguished member of that Long Gray Line hailing from West Point, General Norm Schwarzkopf, to me, epitomised the 'duty, service, country' creed that has defended our freedom and seen this great nation through our most trying international crises.

"More than that, he was a good and decent man - and a dear friend.

"Barbara and I send our condolences to his wife Brenda and his wonderful family."

US defence secretary Leon Panetta said the decorated combat leader had "left an indelible imprint on the United States military and the country".

Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time of the Golf War and later a key member of the George W Bush administration which launched the Iraq War which toppled Saddam in 2003, called General Schwarzkopf "a great patriot and a great soldier".

"Norm served his country with courage and distinction for over 35 years. The highlight of his career was the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm. "Stormin' Norman" led the coalition forces to victory, ejecting the Iraqi Army from Kuwait and restoring the rightful government," General Powell wrote.

"His leadership not only inspired his troops, but also inspired the nation. He was a good friend of mine, a close buddy. I will miss him. My wife Alma joins me in extending our deepest condolences to his wife Brenda and to her family."

General Schwarzkopf, a burly Vietnam War veteran, commanded more than 750,000 US and allied forces in a six-week war that routed Saddam's army from Kuwait in 1991, capping a 34-year career that led him to the Army's four-star general rank.

The ground campaign, which saw the US and coalition forces outflank Iraqi troop concentrations in a sweeping armoured movement, lasted just 100 hours.

CRICKETING legend Tony Greig has died following a suspected heart attack.

Greig, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in October, was rushed to St Vincent's Hospital by ambulance from his Vaucluse home this morning between 10 and 11am.

A St Vincent's hospital spokesman said Greig arrived at hospital in a "critical'' condition and was "dangerously ill".

Distraught family members gathered at the cricketer's eastern suburbs home.

Greig's son Mark told The Sunday Telegraph his father's cancer had progressed to "stage four''.

"He's in the best place and is getting the best possible care," Mark said earlier today.

Friends of the former England captain, who has called Australia home since the 1970s, confirmed he had died this afternoon.

It was only in October that Greig announced he was battling lung cancer.

In November he underwent an operation and chemotherapy to fight the condition.

Australian coach Mickey Arthur was among the many media and sporting personalities to pay tribute to Greig on social media sites.

RIP-Tony Greig.A very good man!
— Mickey Arthur (@MickeyArthur) December 29, 2012


FACT FILE: TONY GREIG ON THE CRICKET PITCH

Tests: 58
Runs: 3599
Average: 40.43
100s: Eight
Highest score: 148
Wickets: 141
Bowling average: 32.20
Best bowling: 8-86
Catches: 87

One Day Internationals: 22
Runs: 269
Average: 16.81
Highest score: 48
Wickets: 19
Bowling average: 32.57
Best bowling: 4-45
Catches: 7

Very sad news. One of my all time favourite cricket commentators.

Richard Briers dies aged 79

Actor Richard Briers, best known for his roles in The Good Life and Monarch of the Glen, has died at the age of 79.

The star, who was also an accomplished stage actor, had been battling a serious lung condition for several years.

Briers died peacefully at his London home on Sunday, his agent said.

Briers recently blamed years of smoking for his emphysema.

"It's totally my fault," he said. "So, I get very breathless, which is a pain in the backside. Trying to get upstairs... oh God, it's ridiculous. Of course, when you're bloody nearly 80 it's depressing, because you've had it anyway."

His agent, Christopher Farrar, said: "Richard was a wonderful man, a consummate professional and an absolute joy to work alongside.

"Following his recent discussion of his battle with emphysema, I know he was incredibly touched by the strength of support expressed by friends and the public.

"He has a unique and special place in the hearts of so many. He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and deepest sympathy go to his family at this sad time."

Briers was born in London on 14 January 1934. He wanted to be an electrical engineer but was inspired by his mother to study music and drama.

After two years in the Royal Air Force, he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and won a scholarship to Liverpool Playhouse in 1956. Two years later he made his first West End appearance in Gilt And Gingerbread.

His big screen career began with the British features Bottoms Up (1960), Murder She Said (1961), The Girl On The Boat and A Matter of Who (both 1962) and the multi-national The VIPs (1963), followed by Raquel Welch's spy spoof Fathom (1967).

In 1968 starred as Dr Simon Sparrow in the BBC radio adaptations of Doctor in the House and Doctor at large.

In 1970s BBC sitcom The Good Life, Briers and Felicity Kendal played a married suburban couple who try a self-sufficient lifestyle.

Briers also starred in shows including Marriage Lines, Ever Decreasing Circles, Monarch Of The Glen plus roles in Doctor Who and Torchwood.

Briers narrated the 1970s children's cartoon series Roobarb And Custard and also provided the voice for the character of Fiver in the animated feature Watership Down (1978).

On film Kenneth Branagh cast him as Bardolph in Henry V (1989), as Stephen Fry's father in the comedy Peter's Friends (1992), Don Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing (1993), the blind grandfather - playing opposite Robert De Niro's Creature - in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994).

Briers returned to the stage many times in his career, and was particularly associated with the works of Alan Ayckbourn, including Relatively Speaking, Absurd Person Singular and Absent Friends.

After a long career in popular television, Briers joined Branagh's Renaissance Theatre Company in 1987, and his career moved on to major classical roles.

He said at the time: "Ken offered me Malvolio in his production of Twelfth Night at the very time I had decided to expand my career when I realised I had gone as far as I could doing sitcoms. As soon as I worked with him, I thought he was truly exceptional."

After playing Malvolio, Briers took on the acting challenge of King Lear, followed by the title role in Uncle Vanya and Menenius in Coriolanus.

Actress Penelope Keith, who played the snobbish neighbour Margo to Briers' character Tom in The Good Life, said the actor's death was "an enormous loss".

"I look back with enormous affection and love for Dickie. He was the most talented of actors, always self-deprecating. I learnt an awful lot from him during our time on The Good Life," said Keith.

"He was a wonderful mentor, tutor and teacher although that would suggest he imposed himself on you, which he didn't.

"He was always courteous and he would speak to the crew - which was not always that common. And he was always nervous. It was the most enjoyable time - when I think of The Good Life, I smile."

Briers was awarded the OBE in 1989 and a CBE in 2003.

He is survived by his wife, actress Ann Davies, and their two daughters, actress Lucy Briers and producer Katie Briers.