Milestones

APPOINTED. CRISTETA COMERFORD, 41, as Executive Chef at the White House; in Washington, D.C. Comerford, who was born in the Philippines and trained in classic French cooking, was selected after a six-month search, becoming the first woman to hold the position. She will prepare all of the first family's meals, as well as state and official dinners. CLOSED. AN INQUIRY into the shooting of Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu on the eve of the March 2004 presidential elections; by the Supreme Prosecutors Office; in Taipei. Officials concluded that Chen Yi-hsiung, a retired construction worker dissatisfied with Chen's policies, acted alone in the assassination attempt. He later died in an apparent suicide. Opposition parties claimed that the shooting, in which Chen and Lu were lightly injured, was staged in order to win sympathy votes and ensure Chen's subsequent victory—a result that sparked protests across Taiwan. The end of the inquiry is unlikely to silence critics, who maintain that questions remain unanswered about the attack. ARRESTED. XIE CHUNREN, 56, Chinese-born U.S. citizen; on suspicion of spying for Taiwan; by Chinese authorities; in Sichuan Province. Arrested upon his arrival from the U.S., Xie has remained under "residential surveillance" at a state-run guesthouse since May 31, according to Jerome Cohen, an expert at Chinese law at New York University who is advising the family. Xie, whose detention was only made public last week, has been allowed a visit from his wife and from U.S. consulate officials. No specific accusations have yet been brought against him. ATTACKED. BANGLADESH, including the capital Dhaka and 63 of the country's 64 districts; with more than 400 coordinated bombings on Aug. 17. The small homemade devices, which were detonated almost simultaneously, targeted government offices, courts, and press clubs, resulting in two deaths and over 200 injuries. An Islamic extremist group called Jamatul Mujahideen Bangladesh claimed responsibility in leaflets left near the bombing sites, declaring that "It is time to implement Islamic law in Bangladesh" and "Bush and Blair be warned and get out of Muslim countries." DIED. JOE RANFT, 45, respected Pixar story artist who served as a key creative force behind many of the company's hit animated films, including Toy Story, which earned him an Oscar nod in 1995; in a car accident; in Mendocino County, California. Ranft also did voice-over work on many of his films, most famously as Heimlich, the corpulent Teutonic caterpillar in A Bug's Life in 1998. DIED. ALEXANDER GOMELSKY, 77, diminutive, commanding basketball coach from the former Soviet Union, who built the team that gave the U.S. its first Olympic defeat in that sport in 1972; in Moscow. Ironically, the bespectacled Gomelsky wasn't present for his team's most famous win as he had been denied a visa by Soviet authorities fearful he might defect at the Munich games. DIED. BROTHER ROGER, 90, humble, ecumenical theologian who attracted tens of thousands of young followers to his spiritual center in southern France to participate in prayer circles and chants; of stab wounds inflicted by a mentally disturbed woman; in Taizé, France. Born into a Swiss Protestant family as Roger Schutz, he founded a monastic community in 1940 that would ultimately include Lutheran, Anglican and Catholic monks who shared in his mission to unite all Christians. During six decades of ministering, he even drew a visit from Pope John Paul II, who felt renewed by the experience, saying: "One passes through Taizé as one passes close to a spring of water."

Performance of the week
In 1998, a book titled Fifty Reasons Why Anwar Ibrahim Cannot Become Prime Minister accused Malaysia's then-deputy chief of everything from corruption to adultery. Later that year, Anwar found himself the subject of a police investigation, which led to his sacking and six years in prison for corruption (a sodomy conviction was overturned last year). Last week a court awarded Anwar $1.2 million in libel damages against the book's author, Khalid Jafri, leading a jubilant Anwar to declare that he has been "completely vindicated." Numbers
18,000 Number of hand-pulled rickshaws in Calcutta to be phased out by the end of the year, after more than a century in use, by legislators who have called this mode of transport a "human indignity" 404 Number of Moroccan prisoners of war, captives from the 30-year conflict over Western Sahara, released from Algeria last week 17 Average number of years the POWs were held, the longest known internment of soldiers in modern history 15 million Number of Popsicle sticks used to construct the Mjollnir, a 15-m replica of a Viking vessel that will launch from Amsterdam next year in an attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean 67% Percentage of American workers who intend to keep working past retirement age, according to a Rutgers University survey 4,628 Number of pending bills shelved by the Philippine Congress while it deals with the political and financial scandals embroiling President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo With bureau reports. Numbers sources: AFP; A.P.; Reuters