Just a Lickle Water

I really don’t know the reason why. However, whenever I hear about an uncontacted group of people living in the forested area, my mind is always blown.  There are so many questions that run through my mind about them. Nevertheless, this is not about me. It is about Brazil, and in this country’s forested areas, there are about 100 tribes or groups of people living there.  Brazilian National Indian Foundation is responsible for their care from the outside world.    Note https://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/uncontacted-brazil https://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-politics/brazils-funai-calls-army-to-help-protect-isolated-indigenous-tribes/

Seretse Khama was the son of Sekgoma Khama II, the Paramount Chief of the Bamangwato people and Queen Tebogo.  He was also the grandson of King Khama III.  In 1951, he was exiled from his country which was called Bechuanaland at the time.  He was exiled because of his marriage to Ruth Williams Khama.  However, about five years later, after he had agreed to renounce his rights to the tribal throne, he and his wife were allowed to return to the country. Sir Seretse Khama would later become the first Prime Minister of Bechuanaland and the first President of Botswana.  The country’s name was changed upon its independence in 1966. His wife and he had four children and two of their sons have followed in his political footsteps.    In fact, about twenty-nine years after his death, his son Ian Khama became the fourth President of Botswana. Note https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/president-seretse-khama

Many people will not be surprised to hear that there are statues of the famous martial arts actor Bruce Lee in Hong Kong and America and this is mainly due to his connection to these countries.  However, it may come as a surprise to many to hear that in Park Zrinjevac, in Mostar, is a life-size statue of him.  He is holding a nunchucks in his right hand.  The lives that one person can touch… hmmm . Note https://cherylhoward.com/bruce-lee-statue-in-mostar/

The Constitution of Bolivia stated that a person can only run for one term as president.  However, President Evo Morales went to the Constitutional Court so that he could run for a fourth term in office.  After Mr. Morales was elected in 2005 he called a Constitutional Assembly, which provided him with what he needed to run for two more terms.  Then, in 2016, a referendum allowed him to run for a third term.  However, in 2017 he presented his case to the Constitutional Court, and the court ruled that it was a human right violation to have a term limit as to how many times a person can run for the office of a president.  Therefore, they threw out the time limit.  The country no longer has a term limit as to how many times a person could run for the presidency. Note https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/08/world/americas/bolivia-evo-reelection.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FBolivia&action=click&contentCollection=world&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version

The government of Bhutan has placed a daily minimum fee on tourists to this beautiful country.  The cost is $200 US in the low months and $250 US in the busy months.  If you are wondering how the government will make sure that visitors pay this daily limit, well, they have a plan. Visitors to the country, except for three countries, must arrange their visit through an authorized travel agency.  By so doing, travel packages are offered and chosen from, and they include accommodation, meals and a guide (s).  Notes https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/visiting-bhutan/index.html https://www.thebrokebackpacker.com/how-to-visit-bhutan/

On the 30 th October 2018, ten Beninese footballers were sentenced to six months in prison for lying about their age in the under – 17 Africa Cup of Nations.  The players were in police custody since September of that year and five months of the sentence was suspended. The players took a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of their wrist, which is required by the Federation International de Football Association (FIFA).  FIFA believes that the MRI testing of the wrist will show that the growth of certain bones or not, will reveal if a player is under 17 years old. Notes https://plustvafrica.com/sports-news/10-benin-republicans-jailed-for-age-fraud/ http://businessghana.com/site/news/sports/175494/Benin-players-and-ex-FA-boss-given-prison-sentences-for-age-cheating

Although Spanish is widely spoken in Belize, English is the country’s official language.  In fact, this is the only English-speaking country in Central America whose official language is English.  This country was once a British colony.  Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of State.  The country became independent on the 21st September 1981. The Belizean dollar is fixed at two dollars for one US Dollar for goods and services.

In 2018, the municipality of Ganshoren, North-West of Brussels, in Belgium, elected its first black Mayor in the country.  The new mayor is Pierre Kompany, seventy-one years old, and he was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Note: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/15/vincent-kompanys-father-elected-as-first-black-mayor-in-belgium

The top part of the National Library of Belarus in Minsk is in the shape of a Rhombicuboctahedron. That is, it has eight triangular and eighteen square faces. It is said to be one of the best libraries in the world. The National Library of Belarus opened in 1922. However, on the 16th June 2006 a new building, which took several years to complete, was opened. The library has over 8 million items in it, and this includes over 70,000 manuscripts, graphics, visual and audio documents. This twenty-two-story building also has a book museum, twenty reading halls, a sky deck and a center for international meetings and negotiations.   Notes: https://www.belarus.by/en/about-belarus/architecture/national-library https://www.nlb.by/en/about-the-library/

On January 16 th -24 th  of 2019, Barbados will be hosting Barbados Sailing Week.  This event is organized by Mount Gay, Barbados Cruising Club and Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. In the past, this event has had sailors from the UK, Poland, Grenada and Australia, just to mention a few.  The race around this beautiful island is about 70 plus miles, and this race is then followed by The Ocean Passage race to Antigua. Note:  http://www.barbadossailingweek.com/index.php/programme/the-programme-2019

Have you ever heard of Bangladesh’s floating vegetable farms?  Well, for about nine months of the year, the country is faced with rainfall.  Additionally, it is about 60% home of Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta.  This is the largest river delta in the world.  While this region is very fertile and the crops tasty, farmers also struggle during the Monsoon period.  Therefore many of them travel far away from home to find work. However, some farmers have been taught by their parents and grandparent how to make and work on a floating farm.  This way, farmers can sustain themselves and others during the difficult months.   Note:  https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/c77jz3md7grt/bangladesh

Children, but more so many parents, will be breathing a little easier when their children return home from school.  Why and where, you may ask?  In Bahrain, the Minister of Education, Majid Al Nuaimi, has cancelled homework assignments from school.  Wow!  I know that some teachers around the world may choose not to give their students homework but to have this directive from the top… wow! One mother is quoted as saying, “It’s not easy at all, and the situation is compounded when she comes home to do assignments that I cannot comprehend.” Notes https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/bahrain/bahrain-scraps-homework-for-schoolchildren-1.60896325

In 2018, the Caribbean Travel Awards named The Bahamas as the Best Caribbean Tourism Minister and the Best Caribbean Leading Luxury Island Destination.  Earlier in that year, it had also awarded this country with the titles of the World Travel Award, World’s Leading Luxury Island Destination and World’s Leading Wedding Destination.  A place to visit? Notes https://www.worldtravelawards.com/winners/2018/caribbean

The Azerbaijan Carpet Museum is the first of its kind, and the Museum of Miniature Books is the only one of its kind. The Azerbaijan Carpet Museum was the first museum to be “dedicated to the art of Carpet Weaving” in 1967. At that time, it was named Azerbaijan State Museum of Carpet and Folk Applied Arts.  The museum has about 10,139 exhibits, and it includes Flat Woven Carpets such as Shadda, Ladi and Palas. There are also Pile Carpets such as Guba-Shirvan, Tabriz and Karabakh. Carpet Products such as Jahas (camel’s headdress), Gashigdan (a carpet bag for spoons and rolling pins) and Duz Torbasi (salt bag) are also a part of the exhibit.  In 2014 the museum had a new building in the shape of a partly rolled carpet.  In 2002, Zarifa Salahova opened the only museum that is “dedicated to miniature editions of books,” and it is in Baku, Azerbaijan. It is called the Museum of Miniature Books, and it has over six thousand miniature books published in sixty-eight countries and various langu