Oh Se-hoon, center, the People Power Party’s winning candidate in the Seoul mayoral race, celebrates Thursday at his campaign office in Jongno district, Seoul. Photo by Asia Today
June 4 (Asia Today) — The biggest upset of Wednesday’s local elections came in Seoul, where People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon overcame early expectations of defeat and won a dramatic late comeback victory in the mayoral race.
Oh’s win allowed the conservative bloc to hold South Korea’s capital despite a strong nationwide showing by the Democratic Party. The result immediately raised Oh’s standing as a potential conservative contender in the next presidential race.
Oh narrowly defeated Democratic Party candidate Jung Won-oh after an extremely close vote count that continued into early Thursday morning, becoming the first person to win a fifth term as Seoul mayor.
“Citizens have once again upheld the democratic principle of checks and balances,” Oh said at a press conference Thursday. “They have left Seoul as the last safeguard of democracy so that South Korea does not tilt completely to one side.”
Political observers said Oh’s victory significantly changes his political status. Holding the capital while the People Power Party struggled nationwide could become a major asset for a future presidential bid.
Oh’s campaign strategy also drew attention because he kept some distance from the party leadership under Jang Dong-hyeok and focused on his own record as incumbent mayor. Analysts said that approach may allow Oh to emerge as an independent center of gravity in any future conservative realignment.
A People Power Party official said Oh had now fully risen as a national political figure representing the conservative camp.
“This Seoul victory is virtually close to a ticket toward the presidency,” the official said.
Serena Williams has shaken up the tennis world by announcing her competitive return to the game after a nearly four-year absence.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner and mother of two said on Monday that she will compete in women’s doubles at this month’s Queen’s Club Championships in the United Kingdom, where media reported she will play with 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko.
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The 44-year-old American great received a wildcard entry for the competition, which is seen as a warm-up for Wimbledon, the year’s third Grand Slam.
“I’m very happy. Me and Serena have stayed in touch, which is really, really nice because I really look up to her,” Mboko said at the French Open last week.
Williams ended months of speculation over a rumoured return with a cheeky social media video captioned: “Good news travels fast.”
‘It will bring people to watch tennis’
Former world number one Lindsay Davenport said she believes Williams could make an appearance at her home Grand Slam, the US Open, in a couple of months.
“It seems like she’s trying to work her way up maybe to the US Open, and those fans would be so ready to see her back on a singles court there,” Davenport said.
Williams won seven Wimbledon titles and six at the US Open before stepping away from the game in 2022. In doubles, she won six titles at Wimbledon and two at the US Open – all with her older sister Venus Williams.
Four-time major champion Naomi Osaka, who beat Serena Williams in the 2018 US Open final for her first major title, was excited at the prospect.
“It will bring people to watch tennis,” Osaka said. “I’m going to be tuned in to the first match, for sure. I think a lot of people are. Everyone knows Serena and Venus were my role models growing up, so it’s going to be cool to see her on the grounds again.”
Osaka was joined by several current players in sharing their excitement at the news of Serena Williams’s return.
“She’s a legend. It’s inspiring to see,” top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka said at the ongoing French Open. “I’m excited to see her play and probably face her. … It’s very good news for tennis.”
Coco Gauff, who looked up to Serena Williams growing up, chimed in as well.
“One of my biggest regrets was not being able to play her,” the world number four said.
Gauff also commented on Williams’s Instagram post, saying, “Dreams come true.”
Naomi Osaka defeated Serena Williams in the women’s final of the US Open in 2018 [File: Adam Hunger/AP]
Singles return on the cards?
Fellow American and former champion John McEnroe suggested Williams could compete in singles at Wimbledon, which starts on June 28 .
“She’s not getting any younger, but she’s Serena Williams, so I bet you she would tell me about wanting to win the whole damn thing,” McEnroe said in Paris.
The Queen’s Club tournament starts on Monday, and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) said Williams will play “with a partner to be announced in due course”.
“Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter,” Williams said in a statement. “Grass has given me some of the most meaningful moments of my career, and I’m excited to be back competing on one of the sport’s most iconic stages.”
Davenport said some current women’s players travelled to Florida to practise with Williams recently.
“I don’t think anyone’s admitted to that, but I do know that some of them were,” Davenport said. “So I think she has kind of a handle on where the level is. But I don’t know if she’s been playing a two-hour singles match, right? We’ll have to see how she can handle that physically.”
Williams, who has won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles overall in her storied career, became eligible to compete in February after reregistering for a mandatory antidoping programme six months earlier – the first step towards a comeback.
Davenport admitted that her former opponent would face a tough challenge.
“It’s not going to be easy. If anyone could do it, certainly, it could be her.”
Grand Slam social media accounts used more playful language to celebrate her return, using the goat emoji to symbolise her status as the “greatest of all time”.
Williams joins list of champions making comebacks
Williams is not the only top-level athlete with unfinished business as advancements in training and medical care have allowed for longer careers across several sports.
Seven-time track gold medallist Allyson Felix said this year that she would try to make the US squad in what would be her sixth Olympics. She is aiming to secure a spot on the mixed 4x400m relay team at the 2028 Los Angeles Games despite having previously said the Tokyo Games would be her last.
“It’s just about testing the limits, kind of an experiment of what’s still left there,” the 40-year-old Felix, who gave birth to her second child in 2024, told the NBC TV network’s Today show last month.
Her fellow American Lindsey Vonn became the oldest downhill skier to win a World Cup race in December when she mounted a comeback after knee-replacement surgery.
Vonn, whose Milano-Cortina Olympics campaign ended abruptly with a horrific crash, was among the first top-level athletes to offer her encouragement to Williams on social media.
Vonn and Felix both celebrated Williams’s comeback announcement on social media.
In tennis, longtime Williams friend Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark made it to the fourth round at the US Open in 2023 and 2024 during her own comeback campaign while older sister Venus became the oldest WTA singles match winner since 2004 when she returned from a 16-month absence last year.
Serena Williams’s “return is an expression of her passion for competition”, WTA Chairwoman Valerie Camillo said in a statement on Monday. “I cannot wait to see her face a new generation.”
As so many of Newcastle’s games have been this season, it looked like one-way traffic from their opponents from kick-off.
Making his first start at outside centre with Luke James unwell, Roebuck crossed with a minute on the clock, cutting inside from the left after a hand-off from Reed, with George Ford notching the extras.
Newcastle’s Simon Benitez-Cruz saw a try chalked-off for a forward pass before Seb Kelly barged over for his first Prem try at the other end on six minutes after a slick break down the left from Reed was stopped just short of the line.
The hosts got on the board on 10 minutes following a series of close-range drives with Christie diving under a pile of bodies to touch down on the whitewash.
O’Flaherty scored the third Sale try 15 minutes in after a basketball-style tip back from the touchline from Roebuck, with Ford notching the extras from out wide.
Joe Carpenter secured the bonus-point try inside 24 minutes after taking a short pass from Ford on the charge, with the England fly-half adding the extras.
The recalled Amanaki Mafi bulldozed down the blind side from a close-range scrum to reduce the arrears for Red Bulls as the heavens opened, though the conversion was missed once again and Sale added their fifth try through Alfie Longstaff after a rolling maul from a line-out, with Ford kicking his fifth conversion from the right.
Sale struggled to get going after the turnaround and the hosts made them pay as Hearle burst onto Harrison Obatoyinbo’s pass to plunge over by the posts, with Brett Connon slotting his first conversion to make it 35-17.
Lockwood picked up after Christian Wade was stopped a metre short of the line after gathering a long diagonal kick and dived into the corner and Ben Healy converted from the touchline to make it an 11-point game with 25 minutes remaining.
Roebuck thought he had picked up his second score after driving forward and then winning the race to Newcastle-bound Raffi Quirke’s grubber kick towards the line but it was ruled-out for a knock-on from O’Flaherty and the hosts then produced a defiant goalline stand to keep the Sharks at bay, with Roebuck held up on the line and then knocking on under the posts.
The waves of pressure continued and Reed eventually crossed after quick hands from Quirke, Ford and O’Flaherty, with Ford adding the conversion.
However Newcastle raced back and with 13 minutes remaining a brilliant flick from Healy sent Christie diving over for his second score in the right corner.
Healy turned provider once again on 72 minutes with a delayed pass to send Hearle over for his second to the right of the uprights and then notched the conversion to make it a four-point deficit.
After one win in 547 days the hosts were not going to settle for a close call and broke away from their own 22 after the clock ticked over to 80 minutes with Hearle on hand to collect a short pass and blaze away from halfway untouched to spark wild scenes in the final game of the season at Kingston Park.
HER last tour in 2020 was cut short thanks to the Covid pandemic but now Louise is gearing up to go back on the road.
The Borderline singer will play five live shows as part of her Naked/Confessions tour next April, taking in cities including London, Birmingham and Manchester, with tickets on sale today.
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Eternal’s Louise is gearing up to go back on the roadBritish pop group Eternal consisted of Vernie, Kelly, Easther & LouiseCredit: Andrew Styczynski – The Sun
And in an exclusive interview to celebrate the announcement, ex-Eternal star Louise says she’s never felt so inspired after her last album Confessions became her fourth top ten record.
“I’m so proud of that album,” Louise tells me.
“That’s really what spurred me on to carry on writing.
“It taught me that it’s OK not to please everybody.
“I’m enjoying the creative process of not worrying about if people might hate on it.
“Knowing that you just can’t please everyone.
“It’s all about the mindset and the confidence.
“I do think that comes with age as well.”
After saying yes to going back on the road, Louise reveals she’s learned the power of saying no — and was inspired by pop royalty Madonna.
“I am a big fan, I loved the show she did with Sabrina Carpenter. As a woman, for me, it’s about celebrating people and their achievements,” Louise says.
“I hated reading anything negative about that because for me, she is a genius. I’m at that stage where I’m trying to embrace everything and go with it, but I am also saying no.
“I just wrote a song about saying no and I love it.
Louise reveals she’s learned the power of saying no — and was inspired by pop royalty MadonnaCredit: Rafael PavarottiLouise is a big fan of MadgeCredit: Instagram
“The basis of the song is when you finally learn to say, ‘That’s not for me.’
“We all live in a world where we don’t want to say no to anything for a multitude of reasons.”
The tour, which kids off in Sunderland on April 8 next year, will see Louise picking her favourite tracks from her debut album Naked — which turns 30 in 2027 — and from Confessions for the set list.
And Louise — who will play The Mighty Hoopla festival in London next weekend — has promised to throw in some brand new tunes too.
Louise, who has scored nine Top Ten solo singles including 2 Faced and Pandora’s Kiss, adds: “I get that people will want the hits. It’s about celebrating Naked and Confessions — but I definitely will do new stuff on the tour.
“I don’t want to play it particularly safe.
“The one thing I have learned in this industry is that you have to keep changing.
“You have to keep finding new ways to motivate yourself. Whether that be music, what you’re wearing, the lyrics you’re writing.
“Now I know the lane that I’m in and I know what I want to do.”
Girls single minded
Remember Monday have today dropped the first single, DelusionalCredit: Adam BrazierRemember Monday with The Sun’s Howell DaviesCredit: supplied
THEY have been together for over a decade, represented the UK at Eurovision and performed at Wembley Stadium.
Now, British girl group Remember Monday have given Bizarre’s Howell the exclusive that they’ve just completed work on their debut album in Prague – and have today dropped the first single, Delusional.
The trio, made up of Lauren Byrne, Charlotte Steele and Holly-Anne Hull first started work on the track two years ago, but only finished it last summer with the help of McFly’s Danny Jones and Dougie Poynter, after being introduced to them at the Capital Summertime Ball.
Lauren, who posed with her bandmates for the single artwork, said: “It feels like it was the first song that started the whole new era.
“After that session, it was like, this is the kind of music that we want to be working on now.”
Holly continued: “We just wanted to kind of hone in on our sound, really solidify what we want to say moving forward.
“I don’t know if we can say, but . . . well, we’re releasing an album.
“The sound that we’re going down is quite nostalgic. Like, we really love the Nineties rom-com energy of music.”
The group will support McFly on tour this summer.
They admit their path is not always easy given that they are independent artists without the financial backing of a major record label.
Referencing the title of their single, Charlotte said: “Our whole band is run and fuelled by delusion.”
Lauren added: “It’s weird to be around. But we do just talk about things as if they are happening regardless of whether we have the funds or contacts. We just speak it into existence.
“And it actually has worked. I don’t even know how we’ve got to this stage.”
It’s working so far ladies.
Good for you.
Too pretty for this ditty
Linda Perry wrote song Beautiful for Christina AguileraCredit: Splash
SONGWRITER Linda Perry has revealed she almost turned down Christina Aguilera’s request for her song Beautiful after admitting she thought she was too pretty to sing it.
Linda wrote the track which ended up being one of Christina’s most enduring songs from her 2002 album Stripped.
Appearing on the Zach Sang Show, Linda said she played American star Christina, pictured at the Abbey’s 35th anniversary party in Hollywood, the track and explained: “She was like, ‘ I want that.’
“And I’m thinking, ‘No, you’re like, a hot chick. I’m not giving you this song. No way. Are you kidding me?”
It was only after Christina sang the track for Linda that she changed her mind, adding: “It broke the ice between the both of us when I saw that.
“That’s when I discovered beautiful people are actually insecure and just as damaged as I am.”
Sphere come all the Girls?
The Spice Girls aren’t interested in a quick nostalgia cash-inCredit: Refer to Caption
THE SPICE GIRLS might fancy zig-a-zig-ah-ing their way into a Las Vegas residency, but I’m told bosses at the Sphere aren’t interested in a quick nostalgia cash-in.
My Sphere insider said: “The Spice Girls would be a massive draw, but this couldn’t be done as a one-off or a short residency.
“The costs involved in creating a Sphere show are enormous. There’s special cameras, bespoke visuals and millions of dollars in production costs before a ticket is sold.
“They’d need all five on board and would want 40 to 60 shows.”
Last month Posh Spice teased that she was keen for the shows to go ahead, saying: “How good would the Spice Girls be at the Sphere? I love the idea of it.”
The venue, which has mind-blowing wraparound screens, has already hosted U2, The Eagles and No Doubt.
TREVOR NELSON was handed a top gong at last night’s Audio Academy Arias.
Rylan Clark hosted the bash at The Roundhouse in North London, which saw Radio 2 legend Trevor honoured with a Special Recognition Award.
He was handed the gong by my pal Craig David, who spoke about Trevor’s impact on the British music scene.
It was a great night for Radio 1 DJ Greg James too, with his Breakfast show landing the top prize in its category, while BBC Radio 6 Music’s Beth Ditto was handed Best New Presenter.
LOUIS TOMLINSON reckons there’s one man who could tempt him into a collaboration – fellow Doncaster star Yungblud.
Ex-One Direction singer Louis admitted he’s not keen on teaming up with artists for the sake of it, but working with the rock wild man would feel different.
Louis explained: “I really like his music and he’s from Doncaster, my hometown, I think that would make it even more interesting.”
But he joked that their might be a slight age gap issue.
Louis laughed: “I’d be the senior one in that conversation.”
Doncaster might be running the UK music scene soon . . .
MY fellow Spurs fan AJ Tracey has joined talkSPORT as a World Cup pundit.
The Thiago Silva rapper will join footballer-turned-Strictly star Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Burnley ace Kyle Walker on the station’s line-up for the big event this summer.
CRUZ BECKHAM And The Breakers lead the new music releases today with their catchy new single, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.
DJ Sonny Fodera also drops his new tune, Let Me Be In Your Arms, ahead of his performance at Radio 1’s Big Weekend tonight.
LEGENDARY recording studio Abbey Road has announced its fifth annual Music Photography Awards.
This year’s judging panel is packed with music industry royalty, including Raye and Nile Rodgers.
Photographer to the stars, Rankin, is also on the panel ahead of the VIP ceremony on September 24.
Rankin said: “With another stellar judging panel joining us, I can’t wait to get stuck in and review the 2026 submissions. What are you waiting for?” Submissions are open now.
Top Gear was suspended before the BBC announced in November 2023 that it would not be returning “for the foreseeable future” but now insiders say it is returning
At its peak on BBC Two, it enjoyed audiences of around 7.5million and spawned multiple books, DVDs and a tour. (Image: BBC/Justin Leighton)
Four years after the horror crash that saw Freddie Flintoff suffer life-changing injuries, the car show Top Gear is being brought back by the BBC according to insiders.
In 2022, Freddie’s life was changed after a car crash while filming BBC1’s Top Gear at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey left him with devastating facial injuries. He underwent extensive reconstructive surgery led by maxillofacial surgeon Mr Jahrad Haq. Freddie is believed to have been paid £9million compensation.
The popular series was suspended before the BBC announced in November 2023 that it would not be returning “for the foreseeable future”. However, Prime Video has since announced a reboot of The Grand Tour, the motoring show hosted by Clarkson, May and Hammond after they left Top Gear.
A new presenting team will replace former hosts Andrew Flintoff, Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris. BBC Studios has already started work on the reboot, which could be aired next year — half a century after the show launched in 1977.
An insider told The Sun: “BBC bosses are keen to revive Top Gear because they have never filled the space it left behind and so many viewers hanker after a motoring show. And it’s not just in Britain that the programme is much loved, it is a brand in its own right and watched by millions around the globe.
“Which is why it wasn’t just important to satisfy the needs of petrolheads, but also, specifically, fans of Top Gear. They’ll be thrilled to hear it is returning.”
The search is already under way for new presenters for the show.
Hosts over the years
The show’s most successful period came with Jeremy Clarkson and the little-known Richard Hammond and James May — plus the mysterious Stig — from 2002 to 2015.
There was a brief period from 2016 when DJ Chris Evans and Friends star Matt LeBlanc took over. Then in 2019, former England cricket captain “Freddie” Flintoff and comedian Paddy signed up to present alongside motoring expert Chris.
While the BBC insider said the show “is returning” the Beeb and BBC Studios, who produce the show, said they had no updates on whether the show was returning.
A spokesman for BBC Studios said: “The Top Gear brand continues to thrive across digital, publishing, and global formats. As a commercial producer, we’re always exploring new ways to develop the brand and reach audiences by leveraging such iconic IP.”
