Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka on Tuesday intensified his political mobilization drive in Taita Taveta County, where he presided over a delegates’ meeting marked by a wave of defections from rival parties. The meeting, attended by local leaders and residents from across the county, saw several politicians switch allegiance to the Wiper Patriotic Front in what Kalonzo described as a sign of growing unity and political realignment ahead of the 2027 General Election. Kalonzo was accompanied by a host of elected leaders, including Kathiani MP Robert Mbui, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua, Wundanyi MP Danson…
Author: Oki Bin Oki
Spain’s government has approved plans to give legal status to 500,000 undocumented migrants, allowing them to be integrated formally into the workforce. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described his government’s decision as both “an act of justice” and a necessity for Spain. In a letter to Spaniards posted on social media, Sánchez, a socialist, said the mass legalisation sought “to acknowledge the reality of nearly half a million people who already form part of our everyday lives”. Spain’s conservative opposition People’s Party (PP) has pledged to attempt to block the legalisation, which it said rewards illegal migrants and would encourage more…
An 86-year-old French woman who moved to the US last year after rekindling a 1960s romance is being detained at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) centre in the state of Louisiana. The son of Marie-Thérèse, from the city of Nantes, sounded the alarm after his mother was arrested in Anniston, Alabama, earlier in April. “They handcuffed her hands and feet like she was a dangerous criminal,” he told French outlet Ouest-France. The BBC has reached out for comment to the US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE. Marie-Thérèse mother had moved to the US after marrying her long-lost…
Benin’s Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni won the presidency with an overwhelming majority of the vote, provisional results show. He secured more than 94% of the vote, based on 90% of ballots counted, sufficient for an “irreversible” outcome, the electoral commission said based on preliminary figures. Wadagni, 49, was the favourite to win after the main opposition party, the Democrats, failed to get its own candidate on to the ballot paper. This left Paul Hounkpè as the sole challenger – he conceded the election earlier on Monday as votes were still being counted. Wadagni was chosen by the outgoing leader Patrice…
Hui Ka Yan, the founder of embattled Chinese property developer Evergrande, has pleaded guilty to a number of charges including embezzlement of assets and corporate bribery, according to a statement issued by the court. Hui expressed remorse during the public hearing on 13 and 14 April, in the city of Shenzhen, according to Chinese state media. The court said it will announce its verdict on the case at a later date. His guilty plea marks a pivotal moment in the fallout from Evergrande’s collapse, which has shaken China’s property sector and left investors and domestic banks reeling. Evergrande was once…
A 90-year-old woman in South Korea has been sentenced to a year in jail for helping her son to launder profits from drug trafficking. The woman, unnamed in local media reports, received a total of 386m won ($260,800; £192,800) over nine occasions between April 2020 and February 2022, which she transferred to a designated account at her son’s direction, an Incheon court heard. Her son, known as Song in the reports, has been imprisoned in Cambodia since 2020, after he was convicted of trafficking methamphetamine into the country. Given that Song’s mother visited Cambodia five times in 2019 and knew…
The asked asked the Mombasa High Court, presided over by Justice Diana Kavedza, to find 31 accused persons, including Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, to have a case to answer in the ongoing Shakahola mass murder trial involving 191 counts of murder. The prosecution submitted that it has already presented a prima facie case after calling 121 witnesses, who collectively produced a number of exhibits in support of its case against each of the accused persons. The prosecution invited the Honourable Court, to find, on the basis of the totality of the prosecution evidence, and the material in support thereof, to find…
The much touted Sh80 billion deal signed between the national government and Nairobi County Government will be funded through the Housing Levy. Officials aware of the plans said president William Ruto had ordered housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga to ensure the needed finances are available for implementation of the plans. “Teams have been set up to come with budgets for various programs to be implemented. The rest will follow but the money is coming from the Housing Levy,” said a source aware of the plans. The program is supposed to run for a year. The Affordable Housing Levy is a…
Roblox has defended a major expansion of its child safety system, despite complaints from parents that the game’s user-age estimation can misclassify children and put them into less-protected versions of the service. The gaming company, which says it has 144 million daily users worldwide, is extending its tech to introduce age‑specific accounts called Roblox Kids and Roblox Select. A user’s estimated age will now determine the version and individual features of Roblox they can access, what content they see and who they can communicate with. Parents told the BBC some children have been incorrectly identified as adults during the age‑check…
The results of the general election in Peru have been delayed after tens of thousands of people were unable to vote due to technical and logistical problems at a number of polling stations. The electoral authorities have granted a one-day extension to more than 50,000 voters who could not cast their ballots on Sunday. A preliminary count of half the votes that were cast put conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori slightly ahead of the right-wing former mayor of the capital, Lima, Rafael López Aliaga – but the battle for second place is still very close-run. All candidates are far short of…
French cement maker Lafarge has been found guilty of paying millions of dollars in protection money to jihadist groups, including the group calling itself Islamic State (IS), to keep its business running in Syria during the civil war. Eight ex-Lafarge employees were also found guilty of financing terrorism, including former CEO Bruno Lafont who was jailed for six years on Monday. The court in Paris found that Lafarge paid groups $6.5m (€5.59m; £4.83m) between 2013 and 2014 to keep its plant operating in northern Syria. Judge Isabelle Prevost-Desprez said such payments had allowed proscribed organisations to gain control of the…
A US judge has dismissed a case against the publisher of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) over a story about ties the US president had to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump sued the American newspaper and its owners including Rupert Murdoch in a Florida federal court last summer, asking for at least $10bn (£7.4bn) in damages. The president claimed the newspaper defamed him in a 17 July report that said Trump’s name was in a “birthday book” given to Epstein in 2003. In that message, the Journal reported, Trump included a drawing of a woman’s body. Trump’s lawyer told…
Pope Leo has said he has “no fear” of the Trump administration and will continue to speak out against war after the US president launched an unusual and scathing attack over his stance on the Iran conflict. Donald Trump accused the pontiff of being “WEAK on Crime and terrible for Foreign Policy” in a Truth Social post, later telling reporters he was “not a big fan”. The Pope told reporters en route to Algeria that he did not want to get into a debate with Trump but would continue to promote peace. He has been a staunch critic of the…
Ghanaian footballer Dominic Frimpong has died after suspected armed robbers opened fire at the bus carrying his team Berekum Chelsea back from a match. “Masked men wielding guns and assault rifles” ambushed the bus and “blocked the road” as the team returned home on Sunday, according to the club. Police say Frimpong sustained gunshot wounds and died while receiving treatment. A manhunt for the suspects in under way. The Ghana Football Association (GFA) expressed its “profound shock and deep sorrow”, describing the 20-year-old as a “promising young talent whose dedication and passion for the game embodied the spirit of our…
Operations at Kenyatta National Hospital were disrupted after nurses staged a strike over delayed remittance of statutory deductions and other unresolved workplace concerns. The strike raised concerns over patient care at the country’s largest referral hospital, with calls mounting for urgent intervention by the government to resolve the impasse. It left many patients stranded and angry on the way forward. Most patients were turned away from the facility as the strike went on. One patient who had arrived for scheduled therapy was left angry at the parking lot as he wondered about his fate. “This is a sign of poor…