Kioo17 Journal

This article was originally published by: 'THE LANGUAGE NERDS' When you speak more than one language, you realize that words mean different things in different languages. Sometimes an innocent word in a language can sound really bad in another, and that’s where the real fun is.  Below are some words that are completely innocuous in their native language but sound downright inappropriate and rude to the ears of speakers of other languages; Die If you don’t speak Dutch, this commercial may seem terrifying. For a Dutch speaker, it simply means “Mom, that one, that one, that one.” Bico In Brazilian Portuguese, the word “bico” means a small or casual job. In Portuguese (the one spoken in Portugal), however, it has an unexpected meaning: “blowjob”! There is this Brazillian guy who recently came to Portugal and went to a job interview where he was asked about the kind of jobs he was doing in Brazil. His reply was something like “nothing speci...

Banjul, GAMBIA: Fabián Salvioli , EU United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence’ has asked the government of The Gambia to legalize same-sex marriage, arguing that laws that criminalized the practice are discriminatory. Fabian Salvioli. Image: The Standard Gambia. Homosexuality is illegal in The Gambia since 1888, the least act of homosexuality carries a minimum of 14 years imprisonment and “aggravated homosexual” conducts attracting “Life imprisonment.” The EU in May last year, pledged a sum of 1.4 billion Euros to the Barrow administration. However, must of the pledges have not been fulfilled so far; as revealed to the National Assembly by the Finance Minister, Mr. Mambury Njie. Currently, South Africa is the only African country that legally recognizes same-sex marriage. Continuing his argument, Fabián Salvioli pointed out to international treaties that The Gambia is a signatory to, a...

Rio de Jeneiro, BRAZIL: Brazil’s president has accused the actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio  of bankrolling the deliberate incineration of the Amazon rainforest.   President Jair Bolsonaro during a rally in Curitiba, Brazil, on 29 March. Image:Reuters. Jair Bolsonaro – a populist nationalist who has vowed to drive environmental NGOs from Brazil – made the claim on Friday, reportedly telling supporters:  “This Leonardo DiCaprio’s a cool guy, isn’t he? Giving money for the Amazon to be torched.” The spurious accusation – for which Brazil’s president offered no proof – came 24 hours after Bolsonaro made a similarly unsubstantiated claim in a Facebook live broadcast. “Leonardo DiCaprio, dammit, you’re collaborating with the burning of the Amazon,”  Bolsonaro declared, accusing the actor of being part of an international “campaign against Brazil”. Bolsonaro’s unsubstantiated allegations relate to the controversial arrest on Tuesda...

Harare, ZIMBABWE: Veterinary doctors across the country have made sensational claims that some farmers were feeding Anti Retroviral (ARVs) drugs and antibiotics to livestock especially chickens to make them grow faster. This is reportedly causing resistance on humans to conditions like HIV/Aids and diseases such as anthrax and rabbis which are cross transmitted to humans. ARVs are given to people diagnosed with HIV/Aids and there are concerns that some have been on selling the drugs that are already in short supply. Faced with the concern, although not giving specifics, scientists from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Animal Welfare and veterinary services department convened a one day workshop in Victoria Falls last week to discuss possible solutions. It was noted that some people had become resistant to ART because of eating meat from animals and chickens fed with drugs and cotrimoxazole which is an antibiotic for ...

California, U.S: A college pupil has opened up a couple of uncommon water allergy which causes her to interrupt out in a painful rash when she cries, sweats and showers. Tessa Hansen-Smith suffers from aquagenic urticaria, a particularly uncommon situation thought to have an effect on lower than 100 folks worldwide. The 21-year-old breaks out in a rash, suffers migraines and develops a fever inside minutes of coming into contact with water.   She had been disadvantaged of enjoying sports activities and must be shuttled round her college campus in case she sweats and sparks a flare-up.    Ms Hansen-Smith can solely bathe twice a month and even finds it uncomfortable to take a sip of water.  Tessa Hansen-Smith suffers from aquagenic urticaria, a particularly uncommon situation thought to have an effect on lower than 100 folks worldwide The 25-year-old breaks out in a rash, suffers migraines and develops a fever inside minutes of ...

Nairobi has emerged as the most expensive city in Africa for elite schools with fees hitting a Sh2.89 million ($28,479) high per year on the back of growing demand for international education, a newly-released report shows. The analysis by International Schools Database shows that out of the six African cities surveyed, Kenya’s capital had the highest average fee as well as the most expensive fees charged, rivalled only by Cairo. “This isn’t entirely surprising, since there is a high demand for international education in Kenya,” notes the report. The trend also signals that Kenyan parents are increasingly embracing international education to give their children a better chance at upward mobility and set them up for admissions to top universities abroad. Cairo, Egypt’s capital rivals Nairobi for most expensive prices with its maximum price for international education just under the $25,000 (about Sh2.6 million) mark, making it the second highest of the African cities survey...

The second phase of the experiment will evaluate the VR-wearing cows' milk production. The grass is greener in a virtual world. That’s what Moscow region farmers were aiming for when they fitted their dairy cows with virtual-reality headsets to test their milk production.  “Experts noted reduced anxiety and improved overall emotional mood in the herd” during the VR experiment,  said  the regional agriculture administration. The second phase of the experiment, it said, will evaluate the VR-wearing cows’ milk production.  The farmers worked with developers and veterinarians, and relied on cattle-vision research, to “create unique software simulating a summer field.” The administration published a photograph featured a Holstein Friesian wearing a black headset on an overcast day, presumably gazing at a green pasture. Interfax  reported  that the experiment was conducted on a farm in Krasnogorsk northwest of Moscow. The Moscow region a...

Dar es Salaam, TANZANIA: Tanzania on Sunday held local government elections, viewed as a test case ahead of national polls next year, with the main opposition party boycotting the ballot citing violence and intimidation. The long-ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party of President John Magufuli is therefore set to sweep the board. The nationwide polls, with over 19 million registered voters, elect the lowest rung of local government leaders. The posts, for the chair of villages and streets, are critical for organizing public meetings and mobilizing grassroots support campaigning. They hold considerable power. Elderly people in Tanzania do not pay for medical services, but need to have the endorsement from a local leader to access it. On November 7, however, the leading opposition party Chadema said it would not participate over allegations of government interference. Six other parties have since joined the boycott. In announcing his party's withdrawal, Chadema ch...

Gaborone, BOTSWANA: It never rains, but it pours for flamboyant prophet Shepherd Bushiri’s Enlightened Christian Gathering church in Botswana, as government closes down all of his church branches following the deregistration of the organisation last year. As a result, disciples of Bushiri’s in Botswana have resorted to following their leader through his television channel, while those who have the means are travelling to South Africa on weekends to attend Sunday services. The recent crackdown on the church comes just a few weeks after the government of Botswana lifted a visa travelling ban imposed on Bushiri during former president Ian Khama’s presidency. Unlike other Malawian citizens, Bushiri, who is also known as Major 1, was forced to apply for a visa each time he entered Botswana in 2017. The then nationality, immigration and gender affairs minister Edwin Batshu told MPs that Bushiri was “too demanding”. Batshu indicated that the government slapped Bushiri wi...

Harare, ZIMBABWE: Zimbabweans have reacted with disbelief to news that the government has approved plans to rename major roads and buildings after "national heroes" - including 10 streets named after President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Many of those honoured fought in the 1970s guerrilla war against white-minority rule and went on to become prominent figures in independent Zimbabwe. Other African leaders such as Congo's Patrice Lumumba, Jomo Kenyatta and Abdel Gamal Nasser are to have roads named after them, along with international leaders such as Cuba's Fidel Castro, Leonid Brezhnev of the former Soviet Union and China's Mao Zedong. Many Zimbabweans took to social media to express concern that the cabinet spent time discussing the renaming of roads and buildings when the country was in a dire economic crisis. A former deputy prime minister in the inclusive government of 2009 to 2013, Prof Arthur Mutambara, told TimesLIVE that this was “a move...

Chagossians protest against their deportation and impossibility to go back to the Chagos Archipelago.  A little-known group of Indian Ocean islanders, forcibly removed from their homes almost half-a-century ago and left to their own devices after being deported to England, are still fighting for recognition and basic rights.  Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA: Following a United Nations deadline for Britain to withdraw from th Chagos Islands, the African Union ordered Britain on Friday to end its “continued colonial administration” of the disputed Indian Ocean territory. The location of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean. Image:Bing Maps. The Chagos Islands belong to the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius, according to the advisory opinion the top U.N. court issued in February. The U.N. General Assembly in May voted in favour of Britain returning the islands to Mauritius and set a deadline for Nov. 22. Britain has repeatedly said it would return the Cha...

Eindhoven, NETHERLANDS: As he cradles his young puppy in his arms, Laurent Simons looks much like any other 9-year-old boy. Then he starts describing his work at a university in the Netherlands, developing a computer circuit that will replicate a part of the brain. “What we are doing is placing neurons and making connections to see what the reaction is to medication in a part of the brain,” he says of the brain-on-chip project, which combines the biomedical and electrical engineering fields. With an IQ of 145, the Belgian boy wonder is on track to become the world’s youngest university graduate when he completes a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Eindhoven’s University of Technology next month. Nine-year-old Belgian student Laurent Simons while studying in a laboratory at the University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands, Wednesday (11/20/2019).  After obtaining a bachelor's degree, Laurent plans to continue his studies to a higher level....

London, ENGLAND: Former Chelsea and Manchester United boss Mourinho has signed a contract until the end of the 2022-23 season. "The quality in both the squad and the academy excites me," said the 56-year-old Portuguese. "Working with these players is what has attracted me." Spurs chairman Daniel Levy said: "In Jose we have one of the most successful managers in football." Tottenham reached the Champions League final last season under Pochettino but lost to Liverpool in Madrid. The Argentine, who was appointed in May 2014, failed to win a trophy in his time in charge of the north London club with Spurs' last silverware being the League Cup in 2008. Levy added: "He (Mourinho) has a wealth of experience, can inspire teams and is a great tactician. "He has won honours at every club he has coached. We believe he will bring energy and belief to the dressing room." Mourinho still lives in London and won three Premier League...