Milestones

RETIRED. BERNARD TRINK, 72, revered and reviled newspaperman whose "Night Owl" column extolled for nearly four decades the sybaritic pleasures available to expatriate men in Thailand's capital; in Bangkok. The Brooklyn-born Trink covered the city's go-go bars, massage parlors and pubs, making the rounds with his Thai wife in tow, owl medallion around his neck and maroon polyester pants hitched up to his chest. He wrote in a retro style in which prostitutes were "demimondaines," and press releases were preceded by the phrase, "The tom toms have it ..." His signature sign-off was, "But I don't give a hoot." The column was one of the most popular on the Bangkok Post's website—on average, 30,000 readers logged on to digest it every week—but the Post has decided to drop it. Said editor Veera Prateepchaikul: "Do you want something that's modern, or something from 30-40 years ago?"

CHARGED. CHARLES CULLEN, 43, former nurse with a history of job dismissals; with first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder; in Somerville, New Jersey. Prosecutors say Cullen has admitted to killing 30-40 patients during his 14-year career at hospitals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

CONVICTED. LEE BOYD MALVO, 18, suspect in last year's sniper shootings around Washington, D.C., that claimed 10 lives; on all three counts with which he was charged, including capital murder and terrorism, making him eligible for the death penalty; in Chesapeake, Virginia. Accomplice John Allen Muhammad, 42, was convicted of murder, terrorism and a firearms charge in November.

		LATEST COVER STORY Person of the Year 2003: The American Soldier  Portrait of a Platoon  Photoessay: A Soldier's Life  2003: In Memoriam  2003: People Who Mattered December 29, 2003 Issue Past Covers Saddam Captured Dec. 22, 2003 ----------------- The Insurgents Dec. 15, 2003 ----------------- Kids and Drugs Dec. 8, 2003 ----------------- America and Bush Dec. 1, 2003 ----------------- Russell Crowe Nov. 24, 2003 ----------------- Jessica Lynch Nov. 17, 2003 ----------------- Tortured Minds Nov. 10, 2003 ----------------- Eating Smart Nov. 3, 2003 ----------------- Bollywood Oct. 27, 2003 ----------------- Tomb Raiders Oct. 20, 2003 ----------------- Bali Remembered Oct. 13, 2003   NOTEBOOK  Taiwan: SARS Gets Loose  Japan: Searching for the Stork  Bhutan: Pax Interrupta  Eulogy: Blas Ople  Milestones  Letters GLOBAL ADVISOR  Getaways: Own an Island!  Style Watch: Best Boot Forward CNN.com: Top Headlines

PROHIBITED. RIO FERDINAND, 25, star footballer for England and Manchester United; from playing for eight months after missing a random drug test in September; in Bolton, England. The Football Association ban, which begins in January, will force the world's most expensive defender to miss the rest of the season and the 2004 European Championship, although his club said it would appeal.

SENTENCED. YE XIANG, hotel assistant manager, and MING ZHU, madam; to life in prison for providing prostitutes to nearly 300 visiting Japanese construction-firm employees in September; in Zhuhai, China. The sex party, which reportedly included assignations in elevators and other public areas, occurred on what China considers the 72nd anniversary of its World War II occupation by Japan. China has requested the extradition of three Japanese citizens it claims "clearly requested sexual services," but the two countries don't have an extradition treaty.

LAID TO REST. SUN ZHIGANG, migrant graphic designer whose beating death in March by fellow inmates and attendants in a vagrants detention center in Shenzhen led to the reform of China's strict residency laws; in his hometown of Huanggang, Hubei province, China. Although Sun had the requisite residency papers for Shenzhen, the 27-year-old wasn't carrying them when he was stopped by police for a random check. His death created an uproar in China, and in June, President Hu Jintao signed an executive order forbidding police from detaining migrants simply for lacking the proper identification.