Ali FarkaToure
Talking Timbuktu
In the Heart of the Moon
Muttiah Muralitharan is the first cricketer to take 1,000 international wickets—589 in Tests and 411 in ODIs. The offie’s feat came in his 100th Test.
K.J. Rao, 64, the EC special observer who brought order back to Bihar in last year’s polls, quits. An extension offer was declined, "personal reasons" cited.
Ang Lee, 51, is the first Asian to win a big Oscar. Brokeback Mountain got the Taiwanese the best director award.
DR. T.J. Cherian, 86, Padma Vibhushan winner and cardio-thoracic surgery pioneer in India, dies after falling from the terrace of his Chennai home.
Career diplomat Vijay Nambiar is appointed special advisor to UN chief Kofi Annan. He is currently deputy national security advisor with the PMO.
