Highlife Legend Ebo Taylor Dies; Hong Kong Tycoon Jailed

Ebo Taylor, the Ghanaian highlife pioneer and guitarist, died at the age of 90, his son announced on Sunday, a month after his 90th birthday and a day after the launch of an Ebo Taylor music festival. In Mexico, authorities confirmed the deaths of five employees abducted from a Canadian-run mine last month, while in Hong Kong, media tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Meanwhile, Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is set to pursue a conservative agenda following an election landslide.

Taylor, who has been called the greatest rhythm guitarist in history, was a definitive force behind the highlife genre, according to The Guardian. His son, Kweku Taylor, announced his father's passing, stating, "The world has lost a giant. A colossus of African music."

In Mexico, the Attorney General's Office identified five bodies found in El Verde, Sinaloa, and is working to identify the remains of five other people, according to Al Jazeera. The employees were abducted from a Canadian-run mine last month.

In Hong Kong, a court sentenced 78-year-old activist and publisher Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison after finding him guilty under China's national security law, as reported by NPR.

Japan's first female Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, brought her ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to a supermajority in the country's lower house elections, according to NPR Politics. She is expected to pursue a conservative agenda.

In other news, the number of abandoned oil tankers and other commercial ships has risen significantly over the past year, according to Hacker News. One officer aboard an abandoned tanker, identified as Ivan, reported a shortage of basic necessities, impacting the crew's health and morale.