Milestones

RESIGNED. XIE ZHENHUA, 56, Director of China's State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA); in the aftermath of the Nov. 13 chemical plant explosion, which spewed 100 tons of pollutants into the Songhua River; in Beijing. Xie is the highest-ranking official to lose his job over an environmental disaster. Official reports gave no details on Xie's role in government decisions to withhold information from the public about the river contamination, which resulted in a four-day shut-off of water for more than 3 million people in the city of Harbin. The poisonous slick, expected to reach the Russian city of Khabarovsk on Dec. 15, has also contaminated water supplies in at least five cities downstream of Harbin.

PLEADED GUILTY. RANDY (DUKE) CUNNINGHAM, 63, eight-term Congressman from San Diego, California; to accepting $2.4 million from military contractors in bribes that included a Rolls-Royce, mortgage payments and an antique French commode; in Washington. The tough-on-crime Republican, who in July vowed to fight all charges, stunned even jaded Beltway insiders with his tearful confession. "I cannot undo what I have done," said Cunningham, who faces up to 10 years in prison. "But I can atone."

EXTRADITED. RACHID RAMDA, 35, Algerian terrorist suspect; from Britain to France. Allegedly a member of Algeria's outlawed Armed Islamic Group, Ramda was arrested in London in November 1995 after fleeing French charges related to that year's bombing of the Paris Metro, in which eight people died.

HANGED. NGUYEN TUONG VAN, 25, an Australian convicted of attempting to smuggle 400 g of heroin to Melbourne; in Singapore. Nguyen picked up the heroin in Cambodia and was caught in transit at Singapore's Changi Airport. Australian officials lobbied unsuccessfully to stop his execution. Singapore rejected Nguyen's request to have a final hug with family members, but allowed his mother to hold his hand and touch his face and hair the day before he was hanged. Australian Attorney General Philip Ruddock called the execution a "barbaric act."

DIED. TONY MEEHAN, 62, founding member of hit pop band the Shadows; of head injuries sustained in a fall; in London. Seizing on teenagers' infatuation with U.S. rock 'n' roll in the late '50s and early '60s, the Shadows dressed in shiny suits, toted red Fender Stratocaster guitars and danced a uniquely British three-step shimmy into the charts with songs such as Apache and Kon Tiki. As the backing band for Cliff Richard, they had other hits including Living Doll and Travellin' Light.

DIED. STANLEY BERENSTAIN, 82, co-author and co-illustrator, with his wife, Jan, of the best-selling children's books that chronicle the everyday travails of the Berenstain Bear family; in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. After the couple submitted a manuscript in 1961 to Random House editor Theodor Geisel—better known as Dr. Seuss—The Big Honey Hunt became the first of some 250 books in the Berenstain Bears series, which have since sold some 300 million copies.

DIED. GOPAL VINAYAK GODSE, 86, sole survivor of the group of five men who plotted the 1948 assassination of Indian independence hero Mohandas Gandhi; in Pune, India. Godse served 16 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy; his brother Nathuram, who shot Gandhi, was executed in 1949. In his old age Godse showed no remorse for the murder of the pacifist leader, whom he believed had betrayed India by encouraging Hindus to coexist peacefully with Pakistan. Gandhi "had to be eliminated to save the country from further damage," Godse told the Hindustan Times.

KILLED. ELEVEN PEOPLE, in what are believed to be Bangladesh's first suicide bombings; in Chittagong and Gazipur. The attacks on courthouses by suspected Islamic militants were the latest in a series of violent acts against the judiciary and government.

Performance of the Week
In his hometown of Dzuljunica, Bulgaria, he is known as Kaloyan Stefanov Mahlyanov. But in Japan, he is KOTOOSHU, the country's hottest sumo wrestler. After a brilliant performance in last month's Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament (which included his decisive defeat of Japan's top-ranked wrestler), the Japan Sumo Association promoted the 22-year-old to ozeki, the sport's second-highest rank. The 143-kg former amateur wrestling champ is the first European to hold the title, and he achieved it in just 19 tournaments—the fastest advance in the history of Japan's sacred sport.