Milestones | 1/29/2001

DIED. AUBERON WAUGH, 61, acerbic British writer, journalist and satirist and son of celebrated novelist Evelyn Waugh; in Taunton, England. Waugh published the first of his five novels, The Foxglove Saga, in 1960, but won greater fame from his journalistic career, becoming renowned for the comic vitriol of the columns he wrote for a diverse range of publications, ranging from the up-market daily The Daily Telegraph to the satirical magazine Private Eye. Forecasting his imminent demise in an interview in November, Waugh said: "Better to go than sit around being a terrible old bore."

DIED. JITENDRA PRASADA, 62, seniorleader of India's main opposition Congress Party, who made headlines last year when he challenged Italian-born Sonia Gandhi for the party's leadership; in New Delhi. Prasada's challenge was unprecedented in a party known for fierce loyalty to the leadership. He had campaigned against what he called a self-serving coterie around Gandhi in the run-up to the election, but was defeated resoundingly.

ARRESTED. PAUL BURRELL, 42, former butler to the late Princess Diana, over the alleged theft of a wedding present she received from the Emir of Bahrain; in Chester, England. Burrell, who worked for the Princess for 10 years and was described by her as "my rock" for his loyalty and devotion, was questioned following the discovery of the gift, a jewel-encrusted model boat, for sale in a London antique shop last year. He has turned down several lucrative offers to write a tell-all book of his time with Diana.

ARRESTED. ANTON TITOV, 34, finance chief of Vladimir Gusinsky's Media-MOST empire, on suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud; in Moscow. The arrest is the latest move in a Kremlin crackdown against Media-MOST, in particular its subsidiary ntv--the nation's sole independent TV network. Those actions have been criticized both domestically and overseas as an attack on press freedom. Gusinsky himself is in Spain fighting extradition on embezzlement charges, which he says are politically motivated.

RESIGNED. TAKAO KOYAMA, 57, and MASAKUNI MURAKAMI, 68, members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (ldp) in the Japanese parliament's Upper House, from the ldp and as head of the ldp group in the House, respectively; in Tokyo. Koyama quit after being arrested on suspicion of taking $170,000 in bribes from an insurance foundation in return for comments he made in favor of the group's activities. Murakami stepped down to take responsibility for this latest in a series of scandals to plague Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's government.

RE-ELECTED. JORGE SAMPAIO, 61, to a second term as President of Portugal; in Lisbon. The Socialist Party candidate won 56% of the vote against 35% for his nearest rival, conservative candidate Joaquim Ferreira do Ama-ral, ensuring a first-round victory. Sampaio benefited from the lackluster opposition's low appeal, though his victory was tempered by poor voter turnout, with only half of those eligible going to the polls.

TIME CAPSULE

The killing of Congo strongman Laurent Kabila was yet another chapter in a long history of chaos that began with the death 40 years ago of the newly independent country's first, and last, legitimately elected leader, PATRICE LUMUMBA.

"The last time Patrice Lumumba was seen alive by anyone but his captors was Jan. 17. It was the low point in the career of a man who had dreamed of bossing a united Congo. . . He had failed, but as a Western diplomat put it, 'being the best demagogue around, he kept anybody else from running it either.' Taken from a military prison in Thysville, where in typical fashion he had almost fast-talked his guards into mutiny, Lumumba was flown to Elizabethville, hauled out and savagely beaten by Katangese soldiers, then driven off to jail, his hands bound behind his back with rope. Most Congo experts are convinced that the Katangese [secessionists], aware that Lumumba was gaining followers even while in prison, shot him the very next morning."
--Time, Feb. 24, 1961