Ayatollah Abbas Vaez Tabasi (, 25 June 1935 – 4 March 2016) was an Iranian cleric. He holds memberships at different institutions. He was the Grand Imam and Chairman of the Astan Quds Razavi board from 1979 until his death in 2016. He was born in Tabas, Mashhad.
Tabasi died from respiratory failure in Mashhad, Iran on 4 March 2016. He had lung cancer. Tabasi was aged 80.
P. A. Sangma
Purno Agitok (P. A.) Sangma (1 September 1947 – 4 March 2016) was an Indian politician. He was born in Assam, India. He served as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1996 to 1998 and Chief Minister of Meghalaya from 1988 to 1990.
Sangma died on 4 March 2016 in New Delhi, India from a heart attack. He was aged 68.
Hayabusa (wrestler)
Ezaki debuted for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) at the 1994 Super J Cup, losing in the first round to Jushin Thunder Liger. He started wrestling under the Hayabusa gimmick in 1993 while he was working in Mexico.
In October 2001, Ezaki suffered a career-ending injury when he tried to perform a springboard moonsault off the middle rope, lost his footing, landed on his head, and cracked two of his vertebrae which left him paralyzed. In 2015, Ezaki had regained the use of his legs and was able to stand on his own and walk with a cane.
On 3 April 2015, Hayabusa took part in a press conference which announced the return of FMW. He had served as the executive producer of the promotion.
On 3 March 2016, Ezaki died from a subarachnoid hemorrhage at age 47. He was found dead in his home by the owner of a tavern that he was supposed to do a small concert for that day, but did not show up.
Mandalay
Mandalay ( or ; ) is a city in Myanmar. There is only one city in Myanmar that has more people than Mandalay. It is north of Yangon. Mandalay is on the east side of the Irrawaddy River. In 2014, there were 1,225,553 people living there.
The name "Mandalay" comes from the nearby hill called Mandalay Hill. "Mandalay" may come from the Pali language. Some people think that the name "Mandalay" comes from the Pali word "mandala". Other people think that the name comes from "Mount Mindara". Mindara is a mountain in Hindu mythology.
The original name of the city was Yadanabon (, ). This name came from the Pali word "Ratanapūra" (). "Ratanapūra" means "City of Gems." The city also had another name: Lay Kyun Aung Myei (, ). This means "Victorious Land over the Four Islands."
Mandalay was started by King Mindon. He started the city on 13 February 1857. He built Mandalay as the new capital city of the Kingdom of Burma.
Mindon's city was in size. There were rivers on each side. It had 144 square blocks in a grid. In the middle was a palace that was 16 square blocks in size.
The palace had four walls that were each long. Around the walls was a moat that was wide and deep. Each wall had turrets (towers) for watchmen. These turrets were placed every . Each turret had a spire made of gold. Each side had three gates and five bridges across the moat.
The king also built some other buildings in the city. These buildings were the Kuthodaw Pagoda, the "Pahtan-haw Shwe Thein" upasampada hall, the "Thudamma" "Good Dharma" zayats (), and a library for the Pāli Canon. A "zayat" is a building where Buddhism is taught.
In June 1857, the king moved the royal palace to Mandalay. The palace had been in Amarapura. The building was taken apart. Each piece was moved by elephants to Mandalay. The palace was put back together and finished on 23 May 1859. The palace is now at the bottom of Mandalay Hill.
Mandalay was the capital for 26 years. It was the last royal capital of the Konbaung Dynasty. (The Konbaung Dynasty were the last rulers of the Kingdom of Burma before it was taken over by the British Empire.) On 28 November 1885, the British conquered Burma. This ended the Third Anglo-Burmese War. King Thibaw Min and Queen Supayalat were sent into exile.
Mandalay was still an important city in British Burma. The city of Rangoon became the capital of Burma.
The British wanted to make Mandalay an important commercial city. They did not want it to be important for politics, education, or other reasons. Mandalay was connected to Yangon by railroad in 1889. The first college in Mandalay wasn't built until 1925.
The royal palace was looted by the British. All of the treasures were stolen. Some treasures can be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The British changed the name of the palace to Fort Dufferin. British soldiers used the palace as a barracks (a place to camp.)
Mandalay was the most important city for Burmese culture during the time the British were in charge. It was also the most important place for Buddhist learning. The Burmese people saw Mandalay as a symbol. Between World War I and World War II, there were many protests in Mandalay against the British.
During the time the British were in charge, many people moved to Mandalay from India. (India was also a British colony.) From 1904 to 1905, a plague happened. About one third of the people of Mandalay left to get away from the disease.
During World War II, Mandalay was bombed by the Japanese. The British moved all of their airplanes to India. Mandalay had no defenses against the Japanese air raids. On 3 April 1942, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service bombed the city. Three-fifths (3/5) of the houses were destroyed. More than 2,000 civilians (people who are not military) were killed.
The Japanese soon invaded Burma. The Imperial Japanese Army took over the city of Mandalay. They were in charge from May 1942 until March 1945. The palace citadel was made into a supply depot. (A supply depot is a building that stores supplies like food and machines.)
The Allied forces bombed the city after the Japanese took it over. Much of the palace was destroyed. Only the royal mint and watch tower were not destroyed. The palace was rebuild in the 1990s.
In 1948, the British left Burma. Mandalay was still the most important city for culture, education, and commerce in Upper Burma.
Until the 1990s, most students went to university in Mandalay. Until 1991, there were only three universities in Upper Burma: Mandalay University, The University of Medicine, Mandalay, and the Defense Services Academy. All of these universities are in Mandalay. Only some other cities had schools called "Degree Colleges." These were small schools that were part of Mandalay University. These colleges had classes in a small number of subjects.
From 1962 to 1988, Ne Win was in charge of the government. He was very isolationist. This means that he did not want Myanmar to be part of global trade or tourism. In the 1980s, Mandalay was the second biggest city in Myanmar. It looked like a town with low buildings, dusty streets, and more bicycles than cars.
During the 1980s, there were two big fires. In May 1981, a fire destroyed more than 6,000 buildings. 36,000 people were left homeless. On 24 March 1984, there was another fire. This fire destroyed 2,700 buildings. 23,000 more people were made homeless.
Fires are still a big problem. In February 2008, there was another big fire in Mandalay. It destroyed the Yadanabon Market. This was the second-biggest market in the city. In February 2009, a fire destroyed 320 houses. More than 1,600 people were made homeless.
The fires during the 1980s destroyed a lot of buildings. This made a lot of land empty. Many Chinese people in Burma bought this land. A lot of these people had come from Yunnan in China. Many Chinese people came to Upper Burma and Mandalay from Yunnan and Sichuan in the 1990s. 250,000 to 350,000 people from Yunnan came to Mandalay in the 1990s. Today, about 30% to 40% of the people of Mandalay are Chinese. The native Burmese people complain that Mandalay is now like a part of China.