Jackie Chan, born on 7 April 1954, is a Hong Kong-born Chinese stuntman, actor, and director whose perilous acrobatic
stunts and engaging physical humour made him an action-film star in Asia and
helped to bring kung fu movies into the mainstream of American cinema.
Chan was born to impoverished parents in Hong
Kong. The family moved to Canberra, Australia, when Chan was six, but the
following year his parents sent him back to Hong Kong to attend a strict
boarding school that trained students for jingxi. From age 7 to 17 he
studied acrobatics, singing, martial arts, and mime—skills that launched him
into a position with a professional tumbling troupe and landed him bit roles as
a child actor and, later, as a stuntman. The independent film producer Lo Wei,
hoping to find a successor to the late Bruce Lee, cast him in a series of
lacklustre kung fu movies in 1976–78. Rather than ape Lee’s gritty persona, in
1978 Chan utilized his own form of bumbling physical comedy in his first
successful films, She xing diao
shou (Snake in the
Eagle’s Shadow) and Zui quan (Drunken Master). He then wrote and directed as well as
starred in Xiao quan guai zhao (1979; The Fearless Hyena).
Chan
retained complete creative control for Shi di chu ma (1980; The Young
Master), his debut with the production company Golden
Harvest, which he subsequently helped transform into Hong Kong’s largest movie
conglomerate. In the early 1980s, at the time when he was making an
unsuccessful foray into English-language cinema, he moved beyond traditional martial
arts period movies to modern action-adventure films, such as ‘A’
jihua (1983; Project A) and Jing cha gu
shi (1985: Police Story), along with their sequels. The films showcased his
directorial talent for fight and stunt choreography. His own stunts were often
extraordinarily dangerous; he nearly perished from a fall in Lung
hing foo dai (1986; Armour of God) that fractured his skull and impaired his hearing.
In the
1990s Chan finally broke through into the American market. He received the
Lifetime Achievement Award from the cable network MTV in 1995, and
the following year his blockbuster Hung fan kui (1995; Rumble in the
Bronx) was released in the United States, along with
some of his other classic Hong Kong titles. Chan starred alongside American
comedian Chris Tucker in Rush Hour (1998), which enjoyed a great deal of success and
launched two sequels (2001 and 2007).
Chan
continued to work both within the Hollywood system (though he disliked the
limitations it placed on actors) and in Hong Kong cinema. In the United States
he appeared in such films as Shanghai Noon (2000), The Tuxedo (2002), The Forbidden Kingdom (2008), and The Spy Next Door
(2010). Chan starred in a remake of the 1984 action-drama The Karate Kid (2010) and later in the revenge thriller The Foreigner (2017).
He did voice work in the computer-animated film Kung Fu Panda (2008)
and its sequels (2011) and (2016); The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature (2017);
and The
LEGO Ninjago Movie (2017). His Chinese-language movies included Xin
jing cha gu shi (2004; New Police
Story); Bo bui gai wak (2006; Baby); Xinhai geming (2011; 1911), a historical drama in which he starred as Chinese
revolutionary Huang Xing; Shen tan Pu
Songling (2019; The Knight of
Shadows: Between Yin and Yang); and Vanguard (2020). In 2016 Chan became the first Chinese actor to
receive an honorary Academy Award, which recognized his
“distinctive international career.”
In
addition to acting, Chan pursued a career in the Hong Kong music industry, releasing a
number of original albums beginning in 1984. He founded the Jackie Chan
Charitable Organization in 1998, which, among other projects, offers
scholarships to Hong Kong youths, and he worked as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.
Francis Xavier, SJ (born Francisco
de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: Franciscus Xaverius; Basque:
Frantzisko Xabierkoa; French: François
Xavier; Spanish: Francisco
Javier; Portuguese: Francisco Xavier; 7 April 1506 – 3
December 1552), venerated as Saint
Francis Xavier, was a Spanish Catholic missionary and saint who
co-founded the Society of Jesus and, as a representative of the Portuguese
Empire, led the first Christian mission to Japan.
Born in the town of Xavier,
Spain, he was a companion of Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits
who took vows of poverty and chastity at Montmartre, Paris in 1534. He led
an extensive mission into Asia, mainly the Portuguese Empire in the East,
and was and was influential in evangelization work, most notably in early
modern India. He was extensively involved in the missionary activity in Portuguese
India. In 1546, Francis Xavier proposed the establishment of the Goan
Inquisition in a letter addressed to the Portuguese King, John III. While some
sources claim that he actually asked for a special minister whose sole office
would be to further Christianity in Goa, others disagree with this assertion. As
a representative of the king of Portugal, he was also the first major Christian
missionary to venture into Borneo, the Maluku Islands, Japan, and other areas.
In those areas, struggling to learn the local languages and in the face of
opposition, he had less success than he had enjoyed in India. Xavier was about
to extend his mission to Ming China, when he died on Shangchuan Island.
He was beatified by Pope
Paul V on 25 October 1619 and canonized by Pope Gregory XV on12 March
1622. In 1624, he was made co-patron of Navarre. Known as the
"Apostle of the Indies”, "Apostle of the Far East”. "Apostle
of China" and "Apostle of Japan", he is considered to be one of
the greatest missionaries since Paul the Apostle. In 1927, Pope Pius
XI published the decree "Apostolicorum in Missionibus" naming Francis
Xavier, along with Thérèse de Lisieux, co-patron
of all foreign missions. He is now co-patron saint of Navarre, with Fermin.
The Day of Navarre in Navarre, Spain, marks the anniversary of Francis Xavier's
death, on 3 December.
WHO is an
autonomous organisation that works under the United Nations (UN) to promote
health-related issues globally. As we celebrate World Health Day today let us
take a look at this year’s theme, significance of the day and about its history.
World
Health Day: History
Established
on October 24, 1945 the main goal of the United Nations is to promote worldwide
peace, security, and better living conditions for everyone. One important
factor for better living was public health. Taking this in consideration, the
diplomats who created the United Nations discussed the need for an
International World Health Organisation. On April 7, 1948 the constitution of
the World Health Organisation came into being.
The World
Health Assembly (WHA) was formed to overlook the work for the WHO. The World
Health Organisation was formed by the merger of the Heath Organisation of the
League of Nations and the office international d’Hygiene Publique and the
International Classification of Diseases (ICD). However, it began functioning
in 1951, after acquiring sufficient capital resources. India was added to the
WHO constitution on January 12, 1948.
World
Health Day: Significance
The key
operation of World Health Day is to raise awareness among people about the
health issues they deal with worldwide. It teaches people, organisations and
governments how to address global health issues as a part of the UN’s
sustainable development goals.
World
Health Day: Interesting Facts
1. WHO has
worked on several issues like Smallpox, Chickenpox, Polio, TB, Leprosy etc. in
developing countries.
2.
Organisations that participated in WHO highlight all their activities through
media like news and press releases, so that people are aware of it.
3. World Health Day is celebrated by government, non-government,
NGOs and other organisations worldwide.
4. To achieve the goal of World Health Day, people in
WHO hold debates between individuals about different health related topics,
organise exhibits, competitions and award ceremonies.
International
Beaver Day is
celebrated annually on April 7. The holiday was created in 2009 by Beavers
Wetlands & Wildlife (B.W.W.), a non-profit organization with members in the
United States, Canada, and other countries. April 7 was chosen as the date for
the holiday because it marks the birthday of Dorothy Richards - popularly known
as the 'Beaver Woman' - who was born in 1894. Richards engaged in the study of
beavers for 50 years of her life.
Beavers are
a unique and keystone species, having a great impact on the ecosystem. Since
1985, B.W.W. has made big strides in research and education with the intention
to create awareness about the little dam-builders known as beavers.
By 1857, India - in whole or in part - had been under the rule of the British East India Company (on behalf of the Crown) for nearly a cen...
