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‘If you want to keep it, give it away’ - Dermot Staveacre, RIP

Dermot Staveacre,If you want to keep it, give it away’ - Dermot Staveacre, who helped countless addicts in Portugal conquer their dependence on alcohol or drugs, has died peacefully in his home in the Algarve, on 9th June, at the age of 76.

The old adage about life beginning at 40 was not far off the mark for Dermot Staveacre. For years he had been an alcoholic on a steeply downward spiral, drinking a bottle of whisky a day. By the age of 41 he was a down-and-out. He had lost his home, his savings, his job and his friends. On the edge of the abyss, he finally sought help in an English treatment centre.

That was 35 years ago and that is how long he remained a non-drinker. For most of those years he continued helping other alcoholics and drug addicts make the same life-saving adjustment he made.

Sir Roger Moore (1927 - 2017)

RogerMooreSir Roger Moore, who has died aged 89, brought a lighter touch to the role of James Bond, the role for which he was most famous.

Out went the harder, crueller edge of Sean Connery's 007 to be succeeded by sardonic humour and the inevitable raised eyebrow.

Fidel Castro - 'Comandante en Jefe' - (1926 - 2016)

fidelCastroThe iconic leader known as El Jefe outlasted 10 US presidents and, for better or worse, transformed Cuba.

Fidel Castro brought free medical care to a small island nation, suppressed dissidents and infuriated his opponents at home and abroad after overthrowing a dictatorship in 1959.

“Orft we jolly well go” - singer and broadcaster Sir Jimmy Young dies aged 95

jimmyYoungOne of the original DJs on Radio 1 when it started in 1967 and BBC Radio 2 stalwart for almost 30 years, Sir Jimmy Young  has died at his home at the age of 95.

Jimmy Young also had a successful singing career with two number one hits, but this was cut short by the new style brought in by Elvis Presley so Young became a broadcaster on the new BBC pop station Radio 1.

Pete Burns, Dead or Alive frontman, is dead. (1958 - 2016)

PeterBurnsBurns, who founded Dead or Alive in 1980, died of a cardiac arrest at the age of 57. The group found success through the 1980s and had seven Top 40 UK singles and three Top 30 UK albums. They were the first group to have a number one single under the production team of Stock Aitken Waterman.

Burns was probably famous to a new generation for his dancing on Celebrity Big Brother with George Galloway in 2006 and for openly insulting actress Traci Bingham on the same show. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (from 1985's Youthquake album) was re-released as a result of his new-found fame.

Shimon Peres dies at 93

shimonPeresThe death of Shimon Peres at the age of 93 marks the departure of the last major figure in Israel's founding generation.

Peres died on Wednesday in a hospital after suffering a major stroke, the Israeli news website Ynet reported, after his condition worsened following a major stroke two weeks ago, writes Jonathan Cook for Al Jazeera.

Arnold Palmer, the magnetic face of golf in the ’60s, dies at 87

arnoldPalmerArnold Palmer, one of the greatest players in the history of golf, has died at the age of 87, a source close to the family confirmed to magazine Golfweek.

It was reported he died on Sunday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Palmer’s health has been in decline for some time.

His great rival Jack Nicklaus said on Twitter Palmer was a “legend” and “icon”, but also “one of my best friends”. “He was the king of our sport and always will be,” Nicklaus wrote.

Marc Riboud, photographer 1923 – 2016

marcRibaudIt is with great sadness that we announce that one of Magnum’s earliest members, Marc Riboud, passed away yesterday, Tuesday, August 30, 2016, after a long illness, according to the Magnum Photos website.

Born in 1923 in Saint-Genis-Laval near Lyon, France, the budding photographer took his first images in 1937,  at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, using a small Vest Pocket Kodak given to him by his father for his 14th birthday.