European leaders have urged Russia to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine starting on Monday. The call was issued at a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” in Kyiv. The leaders of France, Germany, the UK and Poland were hosted by Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, while others joined remotely. They made the announcement after discussing the plan by phone with US President Donald Trump – who initially mooted an unconditional ceasefire. The leaders threatened Russia with “massive” sanctions if it does not comply. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the aim of the coalition of the willing…
Author: Oki Bin Oki
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Uganda’s National Resistance Movement (NRM) have finalised a framework to foster cooperation between the two parties. In a joint Communique issued at Hustler Plaza, Secretary General Hassan Omar and his NRM counterpart Richard Todwong explained that both parties would benefit from specialized, transformative training in their respective areas of expertise. The NRM delegation learnt from the working of the Presidential Economic Council towards the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), while the UDA counterpart will benefit from the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi. During their 3-day official tour to the country, the NRM…
Taylor Swift’s representatives have told the BBC she is being brought into a legal row between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively to create “tabloid clickbait”. The 35-year-old singer was summoned to a US court after it was alleged she encouraged Baldoni to accept script re-writes by Lively for It Ends With Us, a film that both starred in and is the centre of a sexual harassment case. Baldoni says he was invited to Lively’s New York home in 2023 to discuss script changes, where Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, and Swift were there to serve as her “dragons”. Representatives for Swift…
Donald Trump’s administration is “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus – the right of a person to challenge their detention in court – one of the US president’s top aides has said. Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, told reporters on Friday that the US Constitution allowed for the legal liberty to be suspended in times of “rebellion or invasion”. His comments come as judges have sought to challenge some recent detentions made by the Trump administration in an effort to combat illegal immigration, as well as remove dissenting foreign students. “A lot of it depends on…
A 4.1-magnitude earthquake shook Knoxville and East Tennessee at 9:04 a.m. ET Saturday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquake originated near Greenbeck, Tennessee, which is 30 miles southwest of Knoxville. The USGS indicated the earthquake centered approximately 12.4 miles southeast of Greenbeck. It was the seventh earthquake with a 4.0 magnitude or greater since 1900 and the first since a 4.4-magnitude quake hit Decatur in 2018. The largest earthquake in East Tennessee since 1900 was a 4.7-magnitude quake in Alcoa in 1973. The Knoxville Fire Department did not receive any reports of damage, spokesman Mark Wilbanks said.…
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have agreed to a ceasefire following U.S.-led talks to end an intensifying military confrontation, President Donald Trump announced in a post on his Truth Social media platform Saturday morning. “After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE. Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence,” Trump wrote. “Thank you for your attention to…
The nine family members who perished in a suspected arson attack in Ugunja, Siaya County were laid to rest Friday in an emotional event. They were buried in a mass grave amid calls for justice and calm in the area. The man, his wife, and their seven children were asleep when their house was set ablazeby unknown individuals on April 23 this year in Sigomere village, Siaya County. The final send-off of Richard Ouma Opondo, his wife, and seven children unfolded on Friday in Upanda village, Siaya County, in a ceremony steeped in griet and raw emotion. The two siblings,…
South Africa has criticised the US as reports emerge suggesting Washington could receive white Afrikaners as refugees as early as next week. A document seen by the BBC’s US partner CBS describes the potential resettlement as a “priority” for President Donald Trump’s government, however the timing has not been publicly confirmed by the White House. In a statement published on Friday, South Africa’s foreign ministry described the purported move as “politically motivated” and designed to undermine South Africa’s “constitutional democracy”. In February Trump described Afrikaners as victims of “racial discrimination” in an executive order, opening up the prospect for them…
Mexico is suing Google for ignoring repeated requests not to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America on Google Maps for US users, President Claudia Sheinbaum says. She did not say where the lawsuit had been filed. Google did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment. On Thursday, the Republican-led House of Representatives voted to officially rename the Gulf for federal agencies. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office in January. He argued the change was justified because the US “do most of the work there, and it’s ours”. However Sheinbaum’s…
Suppliers owed hundreds of billions of shillings by the government will be paid before the end of the year, President William Ruto has announced. Ruto said Sh230 billion of debts owed to suppliers have been verified by the Pending Bills Verification Committee. Of these, the government will pay Sh150 billion. He pointed out that 90 per cent of the funds will be paid to micro, small and medium enterprises. Speaking when he hosted the leadership of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry from across the country at State House Nairobi on Friday, President Ruto regretted that pending bills…
The government announced it had finalised the agreement to lease four sugar factories to private millers in a bid to revitalise the struggling sugar industry. Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe revealed that the government competitively procured four private millers to take over the operation of the four sugar factories for 30 years. West Kenya Sugar Company took over Nzoia Sugar Company, while Kibos Sugar and Allied Industries Ltd would handle Chemelil Sugar Company. Sony Sugar Company was leased to Busia Sugar Industry, and West Valley Sugar Company Ltd would handle Muhoroni Sugar Company. Kagwe explained that the move was necessary…
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) disciplinary committee has summoned Nominated Senator Gloria Owoba over her conduct that contravenes the party’s Code of Conduct. A statement signed by the Committee’s chairperson Charles Njenga, indicated she had gone against the party rules. UDA highlighted three instances of Orwoba’s misconduct, including attending the welcoming of former Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and his home-coming ceremony at Gusii stadium. Further, the party also took issue with her interview by Spice FM on April 22, 2025, where she poked holes into the labour mobility program; a critical pillar in President…
Sweden’s new national security adviser quit hours after taking up the role as sensitive pictures of him on the dating app Grindr were sent anonymously to the government. Tobias Thyberg, who took up the job on Thursday and resigned on Friday morning, had omitted the information during security background checks, the government said. “These are old pictures from an account I previously had on the dating site Grindr. I should have informed about this, but I did not,” he told newspaper Dagens Nyheter. Thyberg had been due to be in Norway on Friday with the prime minister for a meeting…
Vladimir Putin has led Russia’s Victory Day commemorations with a parade in Red Square and heightened security after days of Ukrainian strikes targeting the capital. China’s Xi Jinping joined Putin as the Russian president told thousands of soldiers and more than 20 international leaders that Russia remembered the lessons of World War Two. Putin used his speech to tie the war to today’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and said all of Russia was behind what he called the “special military operation” – now well into its fourth year. For the first time, a column of trucks carrying various combat drones…
Police are hunting for a gang of about 12 who ambushed and robbed a businessman of Sh7 million moments after he had withdrawn the money from a bank along the busy Mama Ngina Street in Nairobi. He had walked from Absa Bank where he withdrew the cash and was delivering the same to a forex bureau near there when he was confronted by a gang at about 9.47 am. Security cameras captured the drama showing the group running towards their target to cause confusion as the one who grabbed the money jumped onto a waiting van and sped off. The…