A South Korean official who suggested the country “import young women” from “Vietnam or Sri Lanka” to boost its birth-rate has been expelled from his party. Kim Hee-soo, the head of the southern Jindo County, said the woman could be married off to “young men in rural areas” during a town hall last week. The suggestion comes as South Korea continues to grapple with the lowest birth-rates in the world, which could see the country’s 50 million-strong population drop by half in 60 years. But Kim’s statement, which was televised, did not go down well – triggering a diplomatic protest…
Author: Oki Bin Oki
The Prince and Princess of Wales have said they are “deeply concerned” by the latest revelations about Jeffrey Epstein in their first public statement on the scandal. In an unusual intervention, a Kensington Palace spokesperson said Prince William and Princess Catherine were “focused on the victims” in light of new information contained in documents related to the late sex offender released in the US. The statement was released as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor came under renewed scrutiny over his past ties with Epstein. A royal spokesperson said: “I can confirm The Prince and Princess have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations.…
Japan’s conservative Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi swept to a landslide victory in a snap election on Sunday, marking a historic turnaround for her party, which had been hemorrhaging voter support in recent years — until she stepped to the helm. Since she was elected more than four months ago – becoming Japan’s first female leader in a country where men have long dominated politics – Takaichi has enjoyed sky high approval ratingsand a glowing endorsement from US President Donald Trump. She won over many voters with her notoriously strong work ethic, savvy social media game and charisma, marked in viral…
Elon Musk’s ambition to one day settle Mars appears to have taken a back seat for a rather nearer and more achievable goal – sending humans to live on the Moon. In statement on X on Sunday, the billionaire said his company SpaceX has now shifted its priorities to building “a self-growing city on the Moon,” arguing that it could be achieved in less than a decade, compared with more than 20 years for a similar plan on Mars. “The overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster,” he said on X Sunday. “It is…
Four brothers aged between nine and 14 died after drowning in an open quarry in the Kanyakwar area of Kisumu County. The tragic incident happened Sunday February 8 afternoon, police said. Witnesses said the incident happened while the children were swimming in the water-filled quarry. One of the boys reportedly moved into a deeper section of the quarry and began to drown prompting a stampede. His three brothers attempted to rescue him but were also overwhelmed by the water. Residents raised the alarm, prompting a response from local authorities. All four bodies were later retrieved from the quarry. Meanwhile, a…
Ebo Taylor, the Ghanaian guitarist, composer and band leader whose work helped define the highlife genre and influenced generations of African musicians, has died at the age of 90, his family has announced. Born Deroy Taylor in the city of Cape Coast in 1936, he rose to prominence during the late 1950s and early 1960s as highlife became Ghana’s dominant musical form. He played with the era’s leading bands, including the Stargazers and the Broadway Dance Band, and gained a reputation for a distinctive guitar style and detailed arrangements. Over a six-decade career, he fused Ghanaian rhythms with jazz, funk,…
The lead singer and songwriter of US band 3 Doors Down, Brad Arnold, has died after a battle with cancer aged 47, the rock band announced on X. “He will be deeply missed and forever remembered,” the band said in a statement on Saturday. The band is best known for 2000s rock hits like Kryptonite, Here Without You, When I’m Gone, and Loser. Arnold had announced in May 2025 that he was ill and had received a diagnosis of stage four clear cell renal carcinoma – a type of kidney cancer – which had metastasised into his lung. “I have…
The Media Complaints Commission dismissed a complaint against the Daily Nation newspaper concerning a photograph used in a report on rising fuel costs. The determination was issued on Wednesday, 5 February 2026. The complaint was lodged by Nico Otieno Nissen Magather regarding a photograph published in the Daily Nation on 18 January 2024. Mr Magather alleged that the image, which depicted him walking, was used without his consent and portrayed him in a “misleading and disparaging” manner, thereby infringing upon his dignity and privacy. He sought a public apology and a clarification from the publication. In their defence, the respondents,…
Ethiopia has called on neighbouring Eritrea to withdraw its troops that it alleges are inside its territory. The demand was contained in a letter from Ethiopia’s foreign minister to his Eritrean counterpart, which also accused Eritrea of “outright aggression” saying it was conducting joint manoeuvres with Ethiopian rebels in the north and supplying them with weapons. Eritrea has not yet commented on the accusation but has previously denied its soldiers had crossed the two countries’ common border. There has long been a history of tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which split off from its larger neighbour three decades ago, and…
A South African man named in a major police corruption probe has died after reportedly shooting himself at a petrol station. Police are now investigating the death of Wiandre Pretorius, 41, who last week said he had survived an assassination attempt. Pretorius’s name had been mentioned at the ongoing corruption inquiry, known as the Madlanga Commission. This was in connection with the 2022 murder of a witness, Emmanuel Mbense, allegedly at the hands of police officers. Four of the 12 people named as persons of interest in that killing are now dead themselves, a police spokesperson said. At 22:00 local…
Russia says it has identified three suspects involved in the shooting of high-profile military general Lt Gen Vladimir Alexeyev. They include the man said to have carried out the attack, who has been named as Ukrainian-born Russian citizen Lyubomir Korba. Russia’s Investigations Committee (SK) said Korba arrived in the capital, Moscow, in late December “on assignment from Ukrainian intelligence services to commit a terrorist attack”. Kyiv has reportedly denied involvement. Alexeyev, 64, was taken to hospital after the attack in a residential block of flats in the north-western outskirts of Moscow on Friday. He has since regained consciousness after surgery,…
Japan’s ruling party, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, is set to seal a decisive win in Sunday’s snap election, exit polls suggest. The country’s first female prime minister is seeking a clear public mandate just four months after becoming Liberal Democrat Party (LDP) leader. Her predicted success is in marked contrast to her two predecessors, under whom the party lost its parliamentary majority because of corruption scandals and rising costs. An LDP-led coalition has governed Japan for much of its post-war history due to the lack of a strong opposition. Some called the snap election a big gamble after…
Google executives are facing pressure from staff over the company’s ties to the federal government’s crackdown on immigration enforcement, which in recent months turned violent and deadly. In an open letter published on Friday, nearly 900 full-time Google employees demanded more transparency over what the company’s technology is being used for inside the US government. Google has contracts to provide federal agencies with cloud services and also has links to work being done on federal immigration enforcement. In a call after the letter was published, a Google employee of seven years said he found it “mind-boggling” that Google was maintaining…
Google has revealed YouTube brought in more than $60bn (£44bn) in revenue in 2025 as the firm targets getting more subscribers. The figure, which totals the money generated through advertising on YouTube as well as paid subscriptions, far surpasses streaming rival Netflix’s $45bn revenue. It appears to be the first time Google has individually highlighted its video platform’s yearly revenue since acquiring it in 2006. Midia Research senior analyst Hanna Kahlert said while it was a big announcement, it was “perhaps not a surprising one” – with the platform becoming “almost infrastructural for digital natives”. “YouTube is one of –…
A South Korean cryptocurrency exchange accidentally gave away more than $40bn (£32bn) worth of bitcoin to customers, briefly making them multi-millionaires. It had planned to give customers a small cash reward of 2,000 won – $1,37 – but instead gave them 2,000 bitcoins on Friday. The platform, Bithumb, apologised for the error, adding that it quickly had realised its mistake and recovered almost all the missing tokens. It said it had restricted trading and withdrawals for the 695 affected customers within 35 minutes of the glitch. The company said it had recovered 99.7% of the 620,000 bitcoins mistakenly sent. “We…