- Afghan man arrested for plotting US election day attack
- Brazil lifts ban on Musk's X, ending standoff over disinformation
- Harris holds slight edge nationally over Trump: poll
- Chelsea edge Real Madrid in Women's Champions League, Lyon win
- Japan PM to dissolve parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- 'Diego Lives': Immersive Maradona exhibit hits Barcelona
- Brazil Supreme Court lifts ban on Musk's X
- Scientists sound AI alarm after winning physics Nobel
- Six-year-old girl among missing after Brazil landslide
- Nobel-winning physicist 'unnerved' by AI technology he helped create
- Mexico president rules out new 'war on drugs'
- Israeli defense minister postpones trip to Washington: Pentagon
- Europe skipper Donald in talks with Garcia over Ryder return
- Kenya MPs vote to impeach deputy president in historic move
- Former US coach Berhalter named Chicago Fire head coach
- New York Jets fire head coach Saleh: team
- Australia crush New Zealand in Women's T20 World Cup
- US states accuse TikTok of harming young users
- 'Evacuate now, now, now': Florida braces for next hurricane
- US Supreme Court skeptical of challenge to 'ghost guns' regulation
- Sparks fly as Orban berates EU 'elites' in parliament trip
- US finalizes rule to remove lead pipes within a decade
- Solanke hungry for second England cap after seven-year wait
- Gilded canopy restored at Vatican basilica
- Zverev scrapes through, Djokovic cruises to Shanghai Masters last 16
- Trump secretly sent Covid tests to Putin: Bob Woodward book
- Gauff answers critics: 'It's hard to win all the time'
- Neural networks, machine learning? Nobel-winning AI science explained
- China says raised 'serious concerns' with US over trade curbs
- Boeing delivers 27 MAX jets in September despite strike
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of other sex crimes
- Italy seek Nations League consistency as Germany continue rebuild
- From boom to budgeting as reality bites for Saudi football
- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- England 96-1 after Salman's century lifts Pakistan to 556
- Hollywood star Idris Elba champions African cinema in Ghana
- Djokovic rolls Cobolli to make Shanghai Masters last 16
- Milan's Hernandez receives two-game suspension after referee rant
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Ex-Barcelona and Spain great Iniesta retires aged 40
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Ex-skipper Skelton eyes Wallabies November return
- Spanish great Iniesta leaves indelible legacy after retirement
- Indian Kashmir elects first regional government in a decade
- Hong Kong stocks crash, oil prices retreat on fading China boost
- Man City accuse Premier League of 'misleading' claims after legal case
Kenya police fire rubber bullets, tear gas at anti-tax protesters
Kenyan police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse young protesters in the capital Nairobi on Tuesday, AFP reporters saw, escalating tensions as demonstrators rallied across the country against proposed tax hikes.
The mainly Gen-Z-led rallies, which began last week, have caught President William Ruto's government off guard.
The Kenyan leader said over the weekend he was prepared to talk to the protesters, while praising their "peaceful" action.
But hundreds of chanting demonstrators were met by a heavy police presence early Tuesday in Nairobi's business district.
Officers in full riot gear blocked access to parliament, where lawmakers are debating a finance bill containing the tax proposals.
"We are peaceful", demonstrators shouted, as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd, according to AFP reporters.
Anger over a cost-of-living crisis spiralled into nationwide rallies last week, with demonstrators calling for the finance bill to be scrapped.
Parliament must vote on the legislation by June 30.
"There is no criminality in assembling in the streets," father-of-one Kennedy Sankara, 26, told AFP, condemning officers.
"They are here brutalising innocent citizens who are unarmed and only speaking."
Describing Ruto's bill as "draconian", Sankara accused the authorities of "trying to brutalise us."
Crowds also marched in the port city of Mombasa, the opposition bastion of Kisumu, and Ruto's stronghold of Eldoret, images on Kenyan TV channels showed.
The protests have been mostly peaceful, as Ruto noted Sunday in his first public comments on the demonstrations.
But the Independent Policing Oversight Authority watchdog and rights groups said that two people had died following Thursday's rallies in Nairobi.
Several organisations, including Amnesty International Kenya, said at least 200 people were wounded in last week's protests in Nairobi.
- 'At a crossroads' -
Amnesty's Kenya chapter posted on X Tuesday that "the pattern of policing protests is deteriorating fast", urging the government to respect demonstrators' right to assembly.
On Monday, ahead of the rallies, the rights body said Kenya was "at a crossroads".
"Despite mass arrests and injuries, the protests have continued to grow, emphasising the public's widespread discontent," it said, warning that "the escalation of force could lead to more fatalities and legal repercussions."
Rights watchdogs have accused the authorities of abducting protesters in violation of the law.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission said the abductions had mostly occurred at night and were "conducted by police officers in civilian clothes and unmarked cars", calling for the "unconditional release of all abductees."
Police have not responded to AFP requests for comment on the allegations.
The protesters have also deployed unconventional tactics, including asking bars to stop playing music at midnight on the weekend as partygoers burst into chants of "Ruto must go" and "Reject finance bill."
Their demonstrations have drawn support from some Anglican and Catholic church leaders.
- Debt mountain -
The cash-strapped government agreed last week to roll back several tax increases.
Kenya has a huge debt mountain whose servicing costs have ballooned because of a fall in the value of the local currency over the last two years, making interest payments on foreign-currency loans more expensive.
The tax hikes will pile further pressure on Kenyans, with well-paid jobs remaining out of reach for many young people.
The government now intends to target an increase in fuel prices and export taxes to fill the void left by the changes, a move critics say will make life more expensive in a country already saddled with high inflation.
Kenya has one of the most dynamic economies in East Africa but a third of its 52 million people live in poverty.
A.Jones--AMWN