- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
Swahili smash for Osaka's new venture
The name of Japanese tennis ace Naomi Osaka's new venture Hana Kuma has raised eyebrows in Africa -- as the term has a lewd meaning in Swahili.
The former world number one and four-time Grand Slam winner announced this week she was launching a media platform in partnership with NBA star LeBron James.
Hana Kuma means "flower bear" in Japanese. But in Swahili, it has a rather more explicit meaning -- that a woman has no vagina.
The use of the phrase has triggered an online brouhaha in Kenya with many users calling on Osaka, whose father was born in Haiti and whose mother is Japanese, to reconsider.
"If you keep the name #hanakuma, the name will override the news and the stories you wish to share," one Twitter user said.
"East Africans cannot say this even in whispers," added another.
It has dominated trending topics since Wednesday with Citizen TV, Kenya's most watched news outlet, saying on Twitter that Kenyans were "losing their heads" over the phrase.
Osaka said the media platform launched with James' SpringHill company aimed to produce content "focused on stories that are culturally specific but universal".
Swahili -- a bantu language -- is widely used in sub-Saharan Africa and is among the world's 10 most spoken languages, with more than 200 million speakers.
Osaka, now ranked 43 in the world, tweeted a veiled rejoinder to the controversy on Wednesday, saying: "Prayers for all my overthinkers. We be going through it."
Osaka's tweet, although not specifically mentioning the Hana Kuma controversy specifically, was accompanied by an emoji of a pensive face.
In 2021, the 24-year-old became the world's highest-earning sportswoman with a fortune of $57 million, according to Forbes.
On Saturday, she pulled out of Wimbledon for the second successive year, blaming an Achilles injury.
The UN cultural organisation UNESCO in 2021 designated July 7 as a world day for the Swahili language.
A.Mahlangu--AMWN