USA, September 24, 2024 – James Earl Jones is an American actor and voice artist, widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in American history. Born on January 17, 1931, in Arkabutla, Mississippi, he is known for his deep, resonant voice and commanding presence.

Here are some key highlights of his life and career:

Childhood:  Jones experienced a challenging childhood; he developed a severe stutter as a child and was nearly mute for years. It wasn’t until high school that he began speaking regularly, and his interest in acting helped him overcome the stutter.

Education: He attended the University of Michigan, initially studying pre-med but later switching to drama and focusing on acting.

Acting Career

Stage and Film: James Earl Jones made his mark on both stage and screen. His Broadway performance in The Great White Hope, (1969) earned him a Tony Award and led to an Oscar nomination when he reprised the role in the film adaptation in 1970.

Iconic Roles:

Voice of Darth Vader:  Jones is perhaps most famously known as the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, a role that has cemented his place in pop culture.

Mufasa in The Lion King:  He provided the voice for Mufasa in Disney’s animated classic The Lion King (1994) and reprised the role in the 2019 live-action remake.

Other Notable Films

His extensive filmography includes roles in movies like Field of Dreams (1989), Coming to America (1988), Cry, the Beloved Country (1995), and Patriot Games (1992).

Why we call him an EGOT winner

(Emmy, Grammy, Oscar & Tony Awards)

Jones has won multiple awards, including Tony Awards, Emmy Awards and an Academy Honorary Award in 2011 for his lifetime contribution to film.

He was also awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 2002.

Personal Life – Jones was married to actress Cecilia Hart from 1982 until her death in 2016, and they have one son together, Flynn Earl Jones.

Though he is renowned for his powerful voice, Jones also speaks fondly of his struggles with speech as a young man and how acting helped him overcome them.

James Earl Jones’ versatility as an actor and the depth of his performances have earned him a place among the most respected figures in Hollywood.

Jones passed away on Monday September 10, 2024 surrounded by his loved ones; no cause of death was disclosed and James Earl Jones was 93 years old.

Garfield Ekon

Staff Writer

September 5, 2024 – A call has been made by United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Antonio Guterres Security Council (UNSC) to reform its outdated structure and assign Africa a permanent seat at the table, stressing that the continent is underrepresented.

Making the call during an addressing to the Council on Monday August 13, he told the high-level debate that the composition of the UNSC has failed to keep pace with a changing world.

“We cannot accept that the world’s preeminent peace and security body lacks a permanent voice for a continent of well over a billion people, nor can we accept that Africa’s views are undervalued on questions of peace and security, both on the continent and around the world,” he said.

The 15-member UNSC consists of five permanent members with veto power – China, France, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom – while the remaining 10 nonpermanent seats are allocated regionally.

The 10 seats include three seats for African states; two each for Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Europe and other states; and one for Eastern Europe.

In May, the UNSC called for the role of African countries to be strengthened in addressing global security and development challenges.

UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis said at the debate that the UN must reflect the world as it is. “The fact that Africa continues to be manifestly underrepresented on the Security Council is simply wrong, offending as it does both the principles of equity and inclusion,” he said.

“It runs counter to the principle of sovereign equality of states and calls for the urgency to reform this institution to reflect the world as it is now, rather than what it was nearly 80 years ago,” he stated.

The President further said the African Union will choose the African permanent members, and that Africa wants the veto abolished. However, if UN member states wish to retain the veto, it must be extended to all new permanent members as a matter of justice,” he said.

The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the United Nations Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security. It is for the Security Council to determine when and where a UN peace operation should be deployed.

In the more than seven decades since its creation, the United Nations has focused on new challenges, such as youth, gender equality, Climate Change, big data for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) , and AIDS, in order to find solutions and encourage action.

Garfield Ekon

Staff Writer

Haiti, September 4, 2024 – Thousands of women and girls displaced by Haiti’s gang violence are under threat from a surge in sexual assaults, the United Nations (UN) warned Tuesday (August 27), denouncing deplorable living conditions in makeshift camps.

“The risk of sexual violence for women and girls in displacement sites in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince is rapidly rising, owing in part, to the alarmingly poor living conditions they are facing,” the global body’s sexual and reproductive health agency UNFPA said in a statement.

The women and girls often “face spiraling sexual violence but have nowhere to turn,” it added.  Among the 185,000 people forced to flee their homes in the city, many are living in makeshift camps visited by UN officials.

In the 14 displacement sites surveyed by UNFPA, more than half of the latrines and many showers are not separated by gender, several shower doors have no locks and many sites have no nighttime lighting.

“As a result, many women and girls are at risk of sexual violence every time they use a shower or toilet,” the UNFPA said.  “With what I’ve been through, I’d rather have died,” said one mother of seven who was living in a Port-au-Prince shelter and was sexually assaulted while sleeping in a public square, according to the agency.

“When they saw that I didn’t have a man with me, they attacked me while I was 4 months pregnant,” she added.  “I’m always afraid for my daughter, who’s 11.” Such assaults are on the rise nationwide.

Between March and May this year, the number of cases of sexual and gender-based violence reported by UNFPA and partners jumped by more than 40 per cent — with only a small fraction of total cases reported.

Such cases of violence surged from 250 in January and February to over 1,500 in March and topping 2,000 in April and May, according to UN figures.

In total from January to May 2024, some 3,949 cases of gender-based violence, mostly rapes, were reported.  Some 61 per cent of victims were displaced persons.

Against this backdrop of insecurity and abuse, the UNFPA has launched an appeal for $28 million in funding “to strengthen and expand access to life-saving reproductive health and gender-based violence services and support in Haiti in 2024.”

But the situation deteriorated sharply in February when gangs launched coordinated attacks in Port-au-Prince, forcing the departure of controversial prime minister Ariel Henry.