'Choa!': Asian elephant can talk

Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- Korean is
considered one of the hardest languages in the
world to master, but an elephant in a South
Korean zoo is making a good start.
Koshik, a 22-year-old Asian elephant has stunned
experts and his keepers at Everland Zoo near
Seoul by imitating human speech. Koshik can say
the Korean words for "hello," "sit down," "no," "lie
down" and "good." His trainer, Kim Jong Gap, first
started to realize Koshik was mimicking him
several years ago.
""In 2004 and 2005, Kim didn't even know that
the human voice he heard at the zoo was actually
from Koshik," zoo spokesman In Cherl Kim said.
"But in 2006, he started to realize that Koshik
had been imitating his voice and mentioned it to
his boss."
His boss initially called him "crazy."
Koshik's remarkable antics grabbed the interest of
an elephant vocalization expert thousands of
kilometers away at the University of Vienna in
Austria.
""There was a YouTube video about Koshik
vocalizing, and I was not sure if it was a fake, or if
it was real," Dr. Angela Stoeger-Horwath said. She
traveled with fellow expert Dr. Daniel Mietchen to
South Korea in 2010 to test the elephant's ability.
They recorded Koshik repeating certain words his
keeper said and then played them for native
Korean speakers to see, if they were recognizable.
"It is, for some of the sounds he makes, quite
astonishing for how similar they are," said
Mietchen of the University of Jena in Germany.
"For instance the word 'choa' (meaning good) -- if
you hear it right after what the keeper says -- it's
quite similar."
The findings have been published in the journal
Current Biology this week and describe how
Koshik places the tip of his trunk into his mouth
to produce his convincing impression of a human
voice.
Koshik was born in captivity in 1990 and was
transferred to Everland Zoo a few years later.
From the age of 5 to 12 there were no other
elephants with Koshik at the zoo, and his only
interaction was with humans. The researchers
believe Koshik may have learned certain words
out of necessity "to cement social bonds."
Koshik is expected to draw quite a crowd when
the public sees him in the spring after
construction at the zoo is completed.

Are Boko Haram’s Conditions for Ceasefire Realistic? Arrest of Former Borno Governor | Selects Members of Mediation Group | Dialogue in Saudi Arabia

Just a few days after unleashing a blood attack on a Catholic Church in Kaduna state, members of the radical Islamic sect, Boko
Haram, say they are ready to ceasefire and have
listed some conditions.
They include the arrest and prosecution of the
former Governor of Borno State, Senator Ali
Modu Sheriff. Channels TV reports that one Abu
Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz who claimed to be one
of the leaders of the Islamic sect, made it known
that the group will call for a ceasefire if the federal
government arrests and prosecutes the
immediate past governor of Borno State.
The group also insisted that the dialogue must
not take place in Nigeria, but Saudi
Arabia. According to him, the choice of Saudi
Arabia was informed by the insincerity of the
Nigeria government for dialogue and its betrayal
in the past.
The Boko Haram spokesman further demanded
that, all their members, who were arrested and
are under the custody of security agencies must
be released immediately, just as their wives and
children who were displaced following the crises
should be rehabilitated into the society to allow
room for the much talked about dialogue with the
Federal Government.
He also mentioned that five of its members have
been mandated to liaise with five members of
Borno Elders to find ways of meeting the federal
Government to end the insurgency.
He listed the Nigerian mediators to include Alhaji
Shettima Ali Mongonu, General Muhammadu
Buhari (Rtd), Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim,
Ambassador Gaji Galtimari and Barrister Aisha
Wakil and her husband.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to President
Goodluck Jonathan, Dr Reuben Abati told
Channels TV that the President has gotten their
offer and said it was a welcome development.
Now let’s recap their demands again: They want
the former Governor of Borno state arrested
because they claim that while he was in office, he
sent securities to arrest and kill most of their
members while practising their religion; they
want the release of all their members in prison.
They also want the mediation to take place in
Saudi Arabia and they have listed the names of
those they want present at the mediation.
It is understandable that a lot of blood has been
shed and as Nigerians, we just want this over and
done with. But what do you think about their
demands? Are they realistic? Should the Federal
Government succumb to their demands in order
to stop the bloodshed?

Terry G and Fiancee Mimi Welcome a Bouncing Baby Boy!!!

Terry G's UK based fiancee, Mimi Omoregbe
gave birth to baby boy in the UK yesterday.
We say congrats to them as they welcome Prince of Swagger.

Terry G's UK based fiancee, Mimi Omoregbe
gave birth to baby boy in the UK yesterday.
We say congrats to them as they welcome Prince of Swagger.