General Awareness

PERSONS IN NEWS - August 2019

Aug 2019

May 12, 2022

Leonid Kravchuk, the First President of Independent Ukraine Passes Away

Leonid Kravchuk, a former communist who helped sign the Soviet Union's death warrant and then served as the first president of independent Ukraine, passed away at the age of 88. Kravchuk was known as the "wily fox" as he rose through the ranks of Ukraine's Communist Party and take over as head of the parliament in 1990.
He signed the Belovezha accords with Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Belarusian leader Stanislav Shushkevich in December 1991 which effectively triggered the Soviet Union's collapse.
In 1993, Kravchuk agreed to transfer all Ukraine-based nuclear weapons, which included dozens of intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers, to Russia in exchange for compensation to be paid for each nuclear warhead. Later, when the war with Russian-backed separatists broke out in 2014, Kravchuk's decision to give up nuclear weapons was recalled by many as a mistake.

May 11, 2022

Former union telecom minister, Congress leader Sukh Ram passes away at 95

Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Pandit Sukh Ram passed away. He was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after he suffered a brain stroke. Leaving the Congress in 2017, the 95-year old leader had rejoined the party in 2019, calling it his 'homecoming'.
He had served in the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology from 1993 to 1996. The former Lok Sabha member from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi constituency was a five-time MLA in Himachal Pradesh Assembly and had won the Lok Sabha elections thrice.

Indian music composer and santoor player, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma passed away

Indian music composer and santoor player, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma passed away at the age of 84. He had been suffering from kidney-related issues for the last six months and was on dialysis. He passed away due to cardiac arrest. He gave the santoor, once a little known instrument from Jammu and Kashmir, a classical status and exalted it along with other, more traditional and famous instruments such as the sitar and sarod. Pandit Shivkumar Sharma received the prestigious Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.
- Shivkumar Sharma was born in Jammu in 1938, he began learning santoor at the age of thirteen. His first public performance was in Mumbai in 1955. He has been credited with popularising the santoor. With Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma composed music for several Hindi films, including Silsila, Chandni as well as Darr.

May 10, 2022

Noted Author, Jagannath Culture Expert Rajat Kar Passes Away

Eminent writer, educationist and scholar of Sri Jagannath culture Rajat Kar passed away. He was 87. Born on October 2, 1934 at Mahanga of Cuttack district, he was the elder brother of former Speaker of the Odisha assembly, Sarat Kar.
He was conferred the Padma Shri in 2021 for his contribution in the field of education and literature. A veteran commentator of Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra at Puri for the last six decades, his contribution for the dying art of Pala in Odisha was immense.
A prolific writer, he was also a motivational speaker, poet, a radio personality and literary critic. He has written seven non-fiction books and several books on Sri Jagannath culture. Besides, he was also well-known for his writings on Upendra Bhanja literature. He was also an efficient administrator and worked for many years in the education department.

May 04, 2022

Formula One Pioneer Tony 'Racing Dentist' Brooks Dies

Motorsport pioneer Tony Brooks, who won six Formula One grands prix in the 1950s and was nicknamed the "Racing Dentist", died aged 90. The Briton was the last surviving Formula One race winner of the 1950s. He won on his F1 debut at the non-championship 1955 Syracuse Grand Prix, where he was a last-minute entry and took time off from studying to become a dentist. He was part of a special group of drivers who were pioneers and pushed the boundaries at a time of great risk.
Brooks registered his first world championship victory at the British Grand Prix at Aintree in 1957, where he shared driving duties with Stirling Moss for the Vanwall team. Brooks is widely bracketed with Moss as the best British drivers never to have won a Formula One world championship.
He stood on the podium 10 times overall in his 38-race career, also winning the grands prix of Belgium, Italy, France and Germany.

Apr 30, 2022

Veteran Hong Kong Actor Kenneth Tsang Dies

Veteran Hong Kong actor Kenneth Tsang died while in a COVID-19 quarantine hotel in the southern Chinese city. Tsang was best known internationally for his action roles in the 2002 James Bond film 'Die Another Day,' John Woo's 'The Killer' in 1989, 'Rush Hour 2' in 2001 starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Tsang had been undergoing seven days of quarantine after returning from Singapore and was found collapsed on the floor of his hotel room by staff.
No cause of death was given and the paper said, he had tested negative for the virus and had no underlying medical conditions.

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