Milestones

-#include virtual="/time/asia/magazine/2003/0811/thisweek.txt"-->Died. Sam Phillips, 80, godfather of rock 'n' roll who launched the careers of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison; in Memphis. Working at a time of deep racial divides in the American south, Phillips recorded black and white artists alike, and his Sun Records studio in Memphis was a crucible for melding R. and B. with country-and-western music. In 1951 he produced Rocket 88, often called the first rock-and-roll single, performed by Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm. Sun released Elvis Presley's first five singles, including That's All Right, before Phillips sold the singer's contract to RCA for $35,000 in 1955.

Died. Johnny Walker, 79, Indian comedian who rose from bus conductor to Bollywood star; in Bombay. Walker, who took his stage name from a Scotch bottle, appeared in more than 300 movies.

Died. Jane Barbe, 74, whose name was known to few but whose voice is familiar to millions who use voice mail or pick up the phone to find out the time or temperature; in Roswell, Georgia. Barbe first recorded announcements for telephone answering system pioneer Audichron Co. in 1963. By the 1980s, she was heard by an estimated 40 million people daily.

Died. Bob Hope, 100, legendary comedian known for one-liners and gigs before countless American GIs in combat zones from Italy to the Middle East; in Toluca Lake, California. Performing for troops in 1990 during Operation Desert Shield, Hope compared his career to the capabilities of the Stealth bomber. "It flies in undetected, bombs, then flies away. Hell, I've been doing that all my life."

Died. Foday Sankoh, 65, leader of a rebel group in Sierra Leone infamous for its brutality; in Freetown, Sierra Leone. After receiving guerrilla warfare training in Libya with future ally Charles Taylor, Sankoh took command of the Revolutionary United Front, which, from 1991 to 2001, made a trademark of hacking off the limbs of rival fighters and noncombatants before U.N. intervention forced a cease-fire. Sankoh, arrested in 2000, died while waiting to face war crime charges and, according to David Crane, chief prosecutor for the U.N.-sponsored war crimes court for Sierra Leone, was "granted a peaceful end that he denied to so many others."

Discontinued. The Volkswagen Beetle, automotive brainchild of Adolf Hitler that became the most produced model in the world; in Puebla, Mexico. First built in 1936 in Nazi Germany as an affordable "People's Car," the Beetle was adored for its shape, mechanical simplicity, and—thanks to a rear engine—its performance in snowy conditions. The last Beetle—No. 21,529,464—rolled off an assembly line at Volkswagen's plant in Mexico, where the car sold well and was a mainstay of taxi companies.

Denied Pardon. Peter Bleach, British arms dealer serving a life sentence for parachut-ing crates of arms into eastern India; in New Delhi. Bleach was arrested in Bombay with an aircrew from Russia in 1995. The crew received a presidential pardon in 2000 after Moscow intervened. British Prime Minister Tony Blair pressed for Bleach's release during Indian Deputy Premier L.K. Advani's trip to London in June. The suspected ringleader of the weapons plot, Danish national Niels Christen Nielson, was never captured and the intended recipients of the weapons never identified.

Numbers

#1 Hong Kong has the highest suicide rate in the developed world at 14.5 per 100,000 people.

39% Proportion of Hong Kong suicides attributed to gambling woes. This week, the government began legalized betting on professional soccer

1.2 million Number of children who are trafficked and sold as slaves, prostitutes, and camel jockeys each year, according to a report by the United Nations Children's Fund

$10 billion Total yearly revenues of the child trafficking trade, according to the report

40% Rate of increase in Internet traffic recorded in China during the sars outbreak

175 million Number of children to be immunized by the end of the year in an effort to eradicate polio by 2005

Omen

A U.K. study has found that arts and law students are more likely to die early because many of them smoke. Medical students live longer—but are at greater risk of dying from alcohol-related illnesses