Kenyan police fire rubber bullets, tear gas at protesters after Ruto urges talks

NEWS WIRES

27 June 2024 at 3:15 am·1-min read

Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters Thursday in Nairobi where groups of demonstrators rallied despite President William Ruto's decision on Wednesday to withdraw a controversial finance bill. Aimed at raising taxes to help relieve the country's debt burdens, the bill sparked mass protests which saw police open fire on demonstrators, killing more than 20 people.

Kenyan police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators in Nairobi on Thursday, as protesters returned to the streets despite President William Ruto scrapping contentious tax hikes after deadly clashes.

The protests -- led largely by young Kenyans -- caught the authorities off-guard, as Ruto's government ricocheted between taking a tough line on the unrest and calling for dialogue.

Dozens of protesters gathered in Nairobi's central business district, with soldiers deployed and police in anti-riot gear blocking access along roads leading to Ruto's office at State House and parliament, according to AFP journalists.

Officers fired rubber bullets and tear gas at small groups of protesters and arrested at least seven people, with scuffles erupting as some demonstrators threw stones at police, AFP journalists saw.

"The youth will not rest," Lucky, a 27-year-old university graduate, told AFP.

Evening Standard
Nico Williams says brother's experience will help with £49m Arsenal and Chelsea transfer decision
Inaki Williams has been no stranger to the speculation the Athletic Club star is dealing with during Euro 2024
The Telegraph
‘This wasn’t a debate, it was a medical emergency’: Our writers give their verdicts
Follow the latest reaction in our live blog
The Telegraph
Donald Trump is going to turn Starmer’s Britain into an international laughing stock
Grandfather Robert Blackstock, a retired engineer from Nottinghamshire, became the “Brenda from Bristol” of this election campaign when he asked Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer during Wednesday night’s TV debate: “Are you two really the best we’ve got to be the next prime minister of our great country?”
The Telegraph
Labour vote share falls to lowest in more than two years
Labour’s vote share has fallen to its lowest level in more than two years ahead of the general election, new polling shows.
Business Insider
A grinding Russian assault appears telling about Putin's plan to defeat Ukraine
ISW's conflict experts warned that the West must "challenge Putin's belief that he can gradually subsume Ukraine."
HuffPost
Critics Clown Trump's 'IDIOTIC' Electric Planes Remarks: 'Dumb As A Box Of Rocks'
"What happens if the sun isn’t shining while you’re up in the air?” the former president asked at a rally in Virginia.
The Telegraph
A Labour landslide would leave the UK unrecognisable
Until now, Sir Keir Starmer has carefully hidden the Labour Party’s radical, hard-Left agenda from the public. But on the brink of the largest majority in nearly a century, his mask has slipped.
Business Insider
Russia is losing 1,000 soldiers a day in its relentless 'meat grinder' tactics against Ukraine: report
Russian troops are being used in head-on assaults on Ukrainian positions.
The Guardian
‘Disbelief’ as US-UK trade deals under threat after Britain axes negotiators
Business community decries ‘act of arson’ as one-seventh of trade posts within British consulates in the US are scrapped
The Independent
Reform takes three point lead over Tories in shock poll
Reform has been dogged by allegations over racism, misogyny, homophobia and support for Hitler and Putin but a poll has put them three points ahead of the Tories
The Telegraph
Jill Biden has the fate of the world in her hands
Now might be a good time for Dr Jill Biden, the First Lady, to have a rummage around in the back of the wardrobe for one particular item of clothing. When Joe Biden opted against running for president in 2004, his decision was underlined by his wife’s decision to wear a halter top with the word “NO” scrawled on her stomach.
Business Insider
The Houthis are getting smarter with their Red Sea attacks, and the ships sailing these waters are paying the price
The Iran-backed rebels have seen a string of successful attacks this month, striking a number of commercial vessels and even sinking one of them.
Sky video
France election: Marine Le Pen on the brink of power, as Emmanuel Macron's big gamble looks set to fail
In France, politics is happening at a ferocious pace.
The Telegraph
Germany couldn’t afford to bail France out even if it wanted to
The “nein”, “non” or just a plain old “no way” has already been uttered. As France prepares for its most significant election in at least a decade, with its leading parties committed to increasing the government’s already lavish spending, Christian Lindner, the German finance minister, has made one point clear: France is not going to get a bailout, and certainly not from its close neighbours.
The Telegraph
The Conservatives are paying the terrible price for Britain’s lockdown amnesia
On Tuesday, the BBC led with a report about personal protective equipment (PPE) worth nearly £1.5 billion going unused. It was, we were told in scandalised tones, rotting away in warehouses.
The Independent
‘Panicking’ Rishi Sunak in final weekend of campaigning to save his own seat
Rishi Sunak‘s team asked for a hustings to be arranged in his own constituency which was later cancelled as he tries to make sure he saves his own seat
The Telegraph
Biden is a danger to the West
We think we have problems in the UK with the apparent lack of statesmen or women to run this country, but Joe Biden’s abject performance last night in the “debate” with Donald Trump is a worry not just for the US and the UK but the whole planet. What on earth will Vladimir Putin and the other evil tyrants around the globe be making of the leader of the only global superpower? The US president struggled to string a sentence together despite days of preparation, and seems to want the golf course r
HuffPost
Trump Did Say 1 True Thing At The Presidential Debate
The former president spoke about one simple, "immaculate" truth about his first term in the White House.
Associated Press
10 Ukrainians held prisoner for years in Russia return home after Vatican mediation
Ten Ukrainian civilians held prisoner for years by Russia arrived in Kyiv overnight Saturday after the mediation of the Vatican, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The pope has said the Holy See has been involved in past prisoner swaps during the Ukraine war.
HuffPost
Trump Uses 'Palestinian' As A Slur For The Second Time In A Week
The GOP presidential frontrunner referred to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is Jewish, as a "Palestinian" during a rally on Friday.

Latest stories