Milestones

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DISCOVERED. The ARUNACHAL MACAQUE, a previously unknown species of monkey; in the forests of Arunachal Pradesh, India. The stocky, brown-haired primates, who have distinctively dark facial markings and short tails, are the first new macaques to be discovered since 1903. In recent years, three deer and goat species foreign to India have been discovered in the remote northeastern state, which conservation scientist M.D. Madhusudan calls the country's "last unknown frontier."

ACQUIRED. Business-software manufacturer PEOPLESOFT INC., by rival Oracle Corp., ending a bitter 18-month takeover battle during which former PeopleSoft head Craig Conway compared Larry Ellison, Oracle's aggressive CEO, to Genghis Khan; in Pleasanton, California. Oracle closed the $10.3 billion deal after repeated rebuffs, making it the number two player in the lucrative business-applications industry behind Germany's SAP AG.

DIED. FERNANDO POE JR., 65, "Da King" of Philippine action movies, who tried to use his popularity at the box office to win the presidency last May; of a massive stroke; in Quezon City. The handsome, half-American, half-Filipino Poe rose from poverty to become the archetypal Tagalog movie lead and a millionaire. He portrayed honest cops or soldiers brought low by corrupt forces, who always bounced back to take bloody revenge. In some parts of the country, overheated audience members were known to fire weapons at the screen when Poe's character was attacked. Poe lost in May to incumbent Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, although he and his supporters claimed the election was rigged.

STEPPING DOWN. DAVID BLUNKETT, 57, British Home Secretary, following a scandal over his alleged involvement in expediting a residence visa for his ex-lover's nanny; in London. Although Blunkett denied any wrongdoing, the scandal capped a string of career-damaging revelations, including nasty remarks about his colleagues made in a recent biography, the disclosure of his three-year affair with American publisher Kimberly Quinn, and his claims to have fathered her two-year-old son. Born blind, Blunkett rose from working-class roots to become one of Prime Minister Tony Blair's closest allies; his security initiatives were to be a cornerstone of Blair's upcoming re-election campaign.

CAPTURED. TOOR MULLAH NAQIBULLAH KHAN, chief of security for hard-line Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, and MULLAH QAYOOM ANGAR, another Taliban commander; by Afghan security forces acting on a tip from a Taliban insider; outside Kandahar, Afghanistan. Khan's capture could help U.S. and Afghan forces track down Omar, one of the most wanted fugitives in the U.S.-led war on terror. Afghan officials say the arrests, along with the capture of 17 other suspected militants last week, could also signal a weakening of the Taliban's three-year insurgency.

SENTENCED. YOO YOUNG CHUL, 33, whose murder and cannibalism of 20 people between September 2003 and July 2004 made him one of South Korea's most notorious serial killers; to death, in Seoul. Yoo, who began his crime spree after being divorced by his wife, targeted young women and wealthy senior citizens. His trial sparked renewed public support for the death penalty, although Korea has not hung a criminal since 1998.

DIED. ARTHUR LYDIARD, 87, New Zealand track coach widely regarded as the inventor of jogging; of an apparent heart attack, while on a U.S. speaking tour; in Houston. Before the frequent marathon winner came up with his then-revolutionary concept—that long, slow, distance training, or "LSD," worked best to develop stamina for all kinds of running—the accepted regimen was a form of short sprinting called interval training. When Lydiard, who was initially dismissed by critics, was not invited to be a coach for his country's Olympic team at the 1960 Summer Games, he paid his own way to Rome, trained his runners outside official grounds, and brought home two medals. His philosophy is now considered the conventional wisdom.

DIED. FAINA FANG-LIANG CHIANG, 88, Siberian-born widow of former Taiwanese President Chiang Ching-kuo; in Taipei. The shy Russian met her future husband, son of Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek, at a Soviet machinery plant at age 16. She married into the political dynasty in 1935. As First Lady from 1978 to 1988, Chiang avoided the public spotlight and lacked the glamour of her predecessor, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, but won respect for her modest lifestyle and dedication to her four children. Recalled Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, "She had the values of a traditional Chinese woman."