Current Affairs February 2016 - Deaths

News 1 - Oscar nominated British actor Frank Finlay passes away.

British actor Frank Finlay took his last breath at the age of 89 on January 30, 2016. Finlay was instrumental in 'Othello' and 'The Three Musketeers'. Finlay was popular for his stints in 'The Adventures of Don Quixote' and 'Voltaire in Candide'. He was awarded a CBE gong in 1984. He was married to his wife, Doreen Shepherd, for 50 years until her death in 2005. They had three children as well. In a wide-ranging career across stage and screen, Finlay starred as Porthos in the Three Musketeer films of the 1970s, alongside Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain and Michael York.

News 2 - Former Lok Sabha speaker Balram Jakhar passes away.

Once the Lok Sabha speaker, Balram Jakhar took his last breath at the age of 93 on February 03, 2016. Jakhar was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1989. He played an important role in the automation and personalization of the parliamentary activities. The Parliament museum was built while he was the speaker. He was the Agriculture Minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. Later he served as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh from 2004 to 2009.

News 3 - Acknowledged Urdu writer Intizar Hussain passes away.

Veteran Urdu literature’s writer and poet, Intizar Hussain died in Lahore at the age of 92 on February 02, 2016. Hussain was the finalist among the top 10 for the Man Booker International Prize for fiction in 2013. He also received the 'Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters' by the French Ambassador to Pakistan in 2014. His acclaimed novels include Basti, 'Shehr-i-afsos', 'Din Aur Dastan', 'Kachhuay', 'Khaimay Say Door', 'Khali Pinjra', 'Morenama', 'Kankari' and 'Sheharzad Kay Naam'.

News 4 - Former RBI Deputy Governor S.S. Tarapore passes away.

S.S. Tarapore, the former RBI deputy governor passed away in Mumbai on February 02, 2016 at the age of 80. Tarapore had joined RBI as a research officer in 1961 and became the Deputy Governor in September 1992. He served as the RBI deputy governor till 1996.

Post retirement, Tarapore became the chairman of two committees on full capital account convertibility and to streamline the RBI. He had a BA in Economics from Sheffield University and received his Masters degree in Economics from London University.

News 5 - NASA Astronaut Edgar Mitchell died.

NASA Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the Moon expired on February 05, 2016 at his West Palm Beach residence in Florida. The Apollo 14 lunar module pilot died at the age of 85. It was the eve of the 45th anniversary of his lunar landing, on 5 February 1971, when the astronaut died.

Mitchell is survived by two daughters, Karlyn Mitchell and Elizabeth Kendall; his adopted children Kimberly Mitchell, Paul Mitchell and Mary Beth Johnson; nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Mitchell was preceded in death by his son, Adam B. Mitchell.

News 6 - Noted Political Cartooninst Sudhir Tailang passes away.

Noted political cartoonist, Sudhir Tailang, passed away in Gurgaon, Haryana on February 06, 2016. would have turned 56 on February 26 and is survived by his daughter and wife. Tailang was under treatment for brain cancer since 2014 and breathed his last at his east Delhi residence in Mayur Vihar.

Tailang was awarded Padma Shri in 2004. As a cartoonist, many politicians including Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Atal Behari Vajpayee, PV Narasimha Rao, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi bore the brunt of his brush.

News 7 - Noted Poet Nida Fazli passes away.

Muqtida Hasan Nida Fazli expired on February 08, 2016. The Indian Hindi and Urdu poet was 78. He was given the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu for Khoya Hua Sa Kuchh in 1998. Then in 2003, he got the Star Screen Award for the Best Lyricist for Sur. In 2003 Bollywood Movie Award - Best Lyricist for Aa Bhi Ja from Sur and in year 2013, he received the prestigious Padma Shri award as well. He was born in Delhi to a Kashmiri family and he had attended school in Gwalior. His father was also an Urdu poet.

News 8 - Former Nepal Prime Minister, Sushil Koirala passes away.

Nepal's former Prime Minister, Sushil Koirala took his last breath at his residence on February 08, 2016. He was 78 years old. Koirala was suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). He was also receiving treatment for “tongue cancer”. He was appointed the President of the Congress party in 2008 by President Girija Prasad Koirala. The Nepali Congress, under his leadership, emerged as the largest party during the second constituent assembly election in November 2014, from a distant second in the 2008 polls.

News 9 - Veteran director Aurobindo Mukherjee passes away.

Recently, veteran film-maker Aurobindo Mukherjee passed away at his residence on February 11, 2016. Mukherjee was ailing from geriatric problems for some time. He is survived by two sons and a daughter. His wife died earlier. Mukherjee was the maker of cult Bengali classics like 'Agniswar', 'Mouchak' and 'Nishipadma'. He also discovered Jaya Bhaduri, who later become famous as a Bollywood actress and married superstar Amitabh Bachchan in his movie titled Dhanyee Meye in year 1971.

News 10 - Siachen Avalanche Survivor Lance Naik Hanamanthappa passes away.

Lance Naik Hanamanthappa, who had been battling for life at the Army’s Research & Referral hospital, breathed his last on February 11, 2016. He continued to be on ventilator support since his admission in the hospital owing to continued multi-organ dysfunction.

He was alive out of the total 11 persons, who were buried in Siachen during duty. He was attached to the 19 Madras Regiment and is survived by his wife and a daughter.

News 11 - Pulitzer-winning composer Leslie Bassett passes away.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Leslie Bassett passed away on February 04, 2016 in Georgia. He was 93. Bassett got the Pulitzer for Music for Variations for Orchestra, which originated in Rome in 1963. Over the years, Mr. Bassett’s compositions were performed by the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, the Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Juilliard String Quartet. Leslie Raymond Bassett was born on Feb. 22, 1923, in Hanford, Calif., and grew up on ranches in the San Joaquin Valley, where his father raised hogs.

News 12 - Noted Malayalam poet O N V Kurup passes away.

Noted Malayalam poet, lyricist and public figure ONV Kurup passed away on February 13, 2016 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Kurup, 84, was an illustrator of Kerala's cultural landscape through poetry for nearly seven decades. A recipient of the Padma Shri and the Padma Vibhushan awards, besides numerous other literary awards, Kurup also has national film awards and 13 state film awards to his credit for his lyrics. His love for poetry began during his school days. The period saw his poem "Munnottu" about his patriotic feelings, being first published in year 1946.

News 13 - Rajamani - Music Director and Composer passes away.

Rajamani, noted music director and composer passed away on February 15, 2016. He is well known in the Malayalam film industry and had composed music for over 70 films. He was 60 and suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and expired in Chennai, Tamilnadu. He composed music for nearly 70 films and rendered background score for over 700 films. His last film as a composer was 2012 Malayalam romantic-drama “Hide n’ Seek”. He is survived by his wife and son, Achu Rajamani, who too is a music composer.

News 14 - Indian Ambassador to Tajikistan, Biraja Prasad, passes away.

Biraja Prasad, India’s Ambassador to Tajikistan passed away on February 13, 2016 due to a cardiac arrest. The youngest Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer working as India’s Ambassador to any country belonged to Odisha. He had held different diplomatic assignments such as third secretary and then second secretary in the Embassy of India, Moscow. The diplomat had Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Electronics and Communication Engineering.

News 15 - Former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali passes away.

Former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali passed away on February 16, 2016 in Cairo, Egypt. He was 93. Mr. Boutros-Ghali had served as the sixth UN Secretary-General from 1992 to 1996. He was Egyptian. Mr. Boutros-Ghali had a long association with international affairs as a diplomat, jurist, scholar and widely published author. He became a member of the Egyptian Parliament in 1987, and at the time of his appointment as UN chief, he had been Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt since May 1991, and had served as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from October 1977 until 1991.

News 16 - Malayalam Writer Akbar Kakkattil Passes Away.

Renowned Malayalam novelist and story writer Akbar Kakkattil passed away in Kozhikode on February 17, 2016. He was 62. Kakkattil was undergoing treatment for a lung-related ailment for a year. A two-time winner of the prestigious Kerala Sahitiya Akademi award, he was also recipient of the first-ever award in humour section in 1992 for his 'School Diary'- an anthology of short essays and in the year 2004 his 'Vadakkuninnoru Kudumba Vrithantham' was awarded as the best novel.

News 17 - Noted vocalist Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan passes away.

Noted Hindustani classical vocalist, Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan passed away on February 18, 2016 at the age of 107 at his residence in Kolkata. Khan received Padma Bhushan in 2013 and Sangeet Natak Akademi award. He was commissioned as a resident guru at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in the Kolkata. Born on August 19, 1908, Khan traced his lineage to Behram Khan of the Gwalior gharana and learnt the ropes of gamak, layakari and firat, and other signatures of the gharana.

News 18 - Legendary writer Harper Lee passes away.

Legendary American writer Harper Lee passed away on February 19, 2016 at the age of 89. She won the Pulitzer Prize for the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. This book was one of the most significant texts on racial problems in southern America.

The sequel to “Mockingbird,” titled “Go Set a Watchman,” was finally published in 2015. In 2007, Lee suffered from a stroke but recovered and continued to live on in Monroeville.

News 19 - Singer Bhubaneshwari Mishra passed Away.

Renowned Odissa singer, Bhubaneshwari Mishra passed away on February 20, 2016 following a cardiac arrest in New Delhi. She was 67. She was from Odisha and was renowned as classical and playback singer. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik condoled the sudden demise of Ms. Mishra describing her as a very talented artist. The classical singer began her career with the song ‘Tiki Mora Naa Ti’ for the mythological Odia movie Krushna Sudama in the 1970s. The entire Odia film and music industry condoled Ms Mishra’s demise.