Author: niyidaram

Legendary Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, is set to make history as the first African artist to receive a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The Recording Academy announced that the late “King of Afrobeat” will be honoured at the 2026 Grammy Awards, almost three decades after his death, Channels Television reported. The recognition is coming as a symbolic moment, considering Fela’s long-standing criticism of Western power structures and the global music establishment during his lifetime. The award will be presented at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony on Saturday, January 31, at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, just a day…

Venezuelan lawmakers have approved sweeping reforms to the country’s oil industry law that significantly loosen decades of state control and open the sector to greater foreign participation. The reform, backed by acting President Delcy Rodríguez and passed unanimously by the National Assembly, is widely seen as a response to pressure from US President Donald Trump and a push to revitalise Venezuela’s long-struggling oil industry. Under the changes, private and foreign companies will gain more operational control over oil production and sales, with increased autonomy to manage projects and resolve disputes through independent arbitration rather than relying solely on Venezuelan courts.…

French lawmakers on Wednesday, January 28, unanimously approved a bill aimed at abolishing the notion of “marital duty,” following pressure from women’s rights groups who argued it undermines sexual consent and enables marital rape. The measure, backed by more than 120 members of the National Assembly, clarifies in the civil code that cohabitation does not create any obligation for spouses to engage in sexual relations. The cross-party bill now heads to the Senate for approval. While France’s civil code outlines four duties of marriage – fidelity, support, assistance and cohabitation – it makes no reference to sexual obligation. However, past…

American singer Chris Brown stepped away from Paris Fashion Week on Wednesday to attend a court hearing in London ahead of his upcoming criminal trial. The Grammy-winning artist is facing charges related to an alleged February 19, 2023 incident in which he is accused of striking London music promoter Abe Diaw over the head with a tequila bottle at the exclusive Tape nightclub in Hanover Square, Mayfair. Brown, 36, has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He arrived at court accompanied by his longtime manager Anthony “Ant” Wilson. Brown wore a white jacket with grey trousers and black dress shoes…

Amazon said Wednesday it will eliminate approximately 16,000 roles across the company as part of an organizational overhaul aimed at reducing management layers, increasing ownership, and cutting bureaucracy, while continuing to invest heavily in areas such as artificial intelligence. In a message to employees, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, said the cuts affect teams still finalizing restructuring efforts first announced in October. Most U.S.-based employees whose positions are eliminated will be given 90 days to seek other roles internally. Those who do not transition will receive severance pay and additional support. Galetti said the…

Kim Keon Hee, the wife of disgraced former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol, was sentenced on Wednesday to one year and eight months in prison after being found guilty of bribery. The ruling marks just one of three criminal cases she is currently facing, and both prosecutors and Kim’s legal team retain the right to appeal. The court convicted Kim of accepting luxury gifts from the Unification Church, including a Chanel handbag and a Graff diamond necklace. She was acquitted of stock manipulation charges and of conspiring with her husband to obtain free opinion polls, with judges citing insufficient…

A senior Indian politician is among five people killed after a private jet crashed near Baramati in Maharashtra on Wednesday morning, January 28. Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar died when the Learjet 45 he was travelling in went down while attempting a second landing near Baramati airport. Four others, including two pilots and members of his security team, also lost their lives. The aircraft, operated by private firm VSR, departed Mumbai at 8:10 a.m. and disappeared from radar around 8:45 a.m. Officials said the jet lost control moments before touchdown and plunged roughly 100…

Iran has executed a man accused of spying for Israel, according to the judiciary’s media outlet Mizan. The report said Hamidreza Sabet Esmailpour was hanged at dawn on Wednesday after being convicted of passing classified information to a Mossad agent. Mizan said Esmailpour had been arrested on April 29, 2025, and was found guilty of espionage and intelligence cooperation with a hostile foreign service, with the sentence upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court. Rights groups say at least 12 people have been executed on similar espionage charges since Israel’s war with Iran in June 2025. The execution comes as Iran faces…

Paul Thomas Anderson’s counterculture comedy One Battle After Another has emerged as the leading contender at this year’s Bafta awards with 14 nominations, narrowly ahead of Ryan Coogler’s vampire thriller Sinners, which picked up 13. While Sinners made history last week by becoming the first film ever to secure 16 Oscar nominations, it was Anderson’s gonzo caper that took the slight edge in Tuesday’s Bafta announcement. Close behind are Marty Supreme and Hamnet with 11 nominations each, followed by Frankenstein and Sentimental Value on eight. One of the biggest surprises was British Tourette comedy I Swear, which earned five nominations,…

Keir Starmer has announced plans to cap ground rents at £250 a year for leaseholders in England and Wales, alongside proposals to ban leaseholds for new flats and give existing leaseholders the right to switch to commonhold. The prime minister revealed the change in a TikTok video, calling it “good news for homeowners” and saying many leaseholders would save hundreds of pounds a year. He said easing housing costs was central to tackling the cost-of-living crisis and described the move as a key election promise now being delivered. The reforms will be set out in a draft leasehold and commonhold…