Kenyan police shoot bystander at close range during latest protests

In Kenya, police officers shot an unarmed bystander, causing widespread outcry from security forces and hundreds of other men who were carrying whips and clubs.

The East African nation already had high tense relations with the country as it celebrated a year since widespread Gen Z-led protests over the state of the economy, and recent demonstrations were sparked by a man’s death earlier this month.

Small groups of protesters gathered on Tuesday in Nairobi’s business district, the epicenter of the last year’s demonstrations, to demand that police brutality be end.

However, hundreds of men riding motorcycles, known in Kenya as “goons,” armed with temporary weapons, quickly attacked them.

Police actively guarded the armed men and fired tear gas at protesters, who responded by ejecting stones and burning at least two of their motorcycles as shop owners had hurriedly shut down their businesses.

After videos of a police officer shooting a bystander in the head at close range were widely circulated, there was outrage.

Despite suffering a severe injury, the man who had been selling face masks was still alive.

He was taken to the ICU after being handed over to Kenyatta National Hospital. He had a lot of criticism. He was still breathing, according to Kenya Red Cross disaster recovery officer Vincent Ochieng.

The police stated in a statement that it “does not condone such unlawful groupings,” but it did not directly deny any cooperation with the armed “goons.”

Additionally, it stated that the officer who “used an anti-riot shotgun” to shoot the man in the head had been detained.

With its most recent finance bill, the government had been trying to stop unrest this year, avoiding the tax increases that had sparked weeks of protests in June and July 2024.

However, protests have taken place in response to the death of 31-year-old teacher Albert Ojwang earlier this month while he was being held by the police.

The protesters are demanding the resignation of the senior officer who is to blame for the death.

On June 25, 2016, thousands of people stormed Parliament to debate the unpopular finance bill, which set off protests last year.

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy warns diplomacy in ‘crisis’ after Trump’s early G7 exit

Following the warning that “diplomacy is now in a crisis,” Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, the Group of Seven summit in Canada was about to end without leaders issuing a joint statement in support of Ukraine.

The culmination of the world’s largest industrial democracies, which ended late on Tuesday in the Canadian Rocky Mountain resort of Kananaskis, was intended to demonstrate unity on pressing global issues.

In a sign of growing divisions within the organization as global crises escalate, the group was unable to issue a statement in support of the troubled Western ally, unlike in previous years, when the group had jointly denounced Russian “aggression” against Ukraine.

On the final day of the conference, Zelenskyy met with NATO’s Mark Rutte, the leader of Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan. However, President Donald Trump, the group’s most powerful member, did not have a meeting with him after he left the summit a day early to address Washington’s ongoing hostility against Israel.

According to a post on his official Telegram account, Zelenskyy stated after the meeting that he had informed the remaining G7 leaders that “diplomacy is now in a state of crisis” and that he should continue pressing Trump to use his “real influence” to push for the end of the conflict.

Retracted US resistance statement

Plans for a joint statement on Ukraine were initially abandoned after a Canadian official encountered resistance from the US, which wanted to slam the content, according to reports from news agencies.

However, Canada’s prime minister’s spokesperson, Emily Williams, later later retract the briefing statement and claim that “no proposed statement regarding Ukraine was distributed to other leaders,” according to reports from media outlets.

Due to Trump’s desire to continue negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a Canadian official, there has never been a joint statement on Ukraine.

Under the condition of anonymity, the official stated, “It was clear that it would not have been possible to find detailed language that all G7 partners could accept.”

Trump claimed on Monday that it had been a mistake to expel Moscow from what was formerly the G8 in response to its 2014 invasion and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea, underscoring the differences in views within the group.

Canada pledges military support.

Zelenskyy had contacted the summit to request support from the allies of Ukraine and expressed his willingness to engage in peace negotiations.

He declared, “We are prepared for the peace negotiations and an unconditional ceasefire.” However, we require pressure for this.

He left with a promise from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to give Kyiv new military support of $2 billion ($1.47 billion) and impose new sanctions on Russia.

At the G7 on June 17, 2025, Zelenskyy, from Ukraine, and Carney, the Canadian prime minister, [Suzanne Plunkett/AP Photo]

Before departing, Trump did agree to a group statement calling for an end to the Israeli-Iranian conflict. The statement, which was released on Monday, praised Israel, claiming that Iran is the primary cause of regional hostility and terrorism, and that Israel has the right to defend itself.

Premier League schedule released: Man United vs Arsenal on opening weekend

The best of the matches for Liverpool’s opening weekend of the English Premier League’s 2025-2026 season is a Sunday afternoon clash between Manchester United and Arsenal, who will host Bournemouth on August 15 to begin their title defense against Bournemouth.

On Wednesday, the Premier League’s fixture schedule was released, giving fans and teams a chance to begin planning after the previous campaign had already ended less than a month away.

Manchester City travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 16 for their season opener, which is looking for a seventh Premier League title under Pep Guardiola.

The champions of Arne Slot’s organization have a difficult start with a trip to Newcastle on the first weekend, followed by a home game against Arsenal, a different Champions League team, a week later.

In their opening six games, Arsenal, who finished second for the third consecutive year last year, will face Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Manchester United.

Everton bide adieu to their long-awaited home at Goodison Park at the end of the current season, and Brighton will host their first game against Brighton at their 53, 000-capacity stadium on August 23.

On August 16, Thomas Frank’s first Premier League game will be against promoted Burnley. Three days after Frank made his competitive debut against Paris Saint-Germain, the Europa League champion, in the UEFA Super Cup, Frank made his competitive debut with Tottenham.

Leeds host Everton first after returning to the top flight after two years of being away for the first time since the 2016-2017 season, while Sunderland’s first Premier League game is at home to West Ham.

On May 24, the new season comes to an end.

Meta ‘concerned’ Iran could ban WhatsApp after snooping claims

After state media claimed that Israel is using WhatsApp for snooping, US tech giant Meta expressed concern that Iran might block the company.

We worry that these false reports will serve as an excuse for the blocking of our services when users are most in need, according to Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram.

End-to-end encrypted means that no one other than the sender and recipient has access to the messages you send to friends and family on WhatsApp, not even WhatsApp.

Meta continued that it does not keep logs of who is messaging whom or track users’ precise locations.

The tech company with roots in California says, “We do not give government a lot of information.”

Meta has been providing transparent reports for more than ten years that cover only the specific circumstances in which WhatsApp information has been requested.

The statement was made after the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) and   urged people to delete or deactivate their WhatsApp accounts because the “Zionist regime is using citizens’ information to harm us.”

According to a clip shared by Iraqi media outlet Rudaw, “This is extremely important because they are using the information on your phone, your location, and the content you share, which is likely private but still accessible,” an IRNA host said.

Don’t forget that many of us have friends and family members who live nearby, some of whom might be nuclear scientists or beloved figures.

End-to-end encryption makes it technically impossible for third parties to read messages sent from a sender to a recipient while using it, including tech companies.

However, Meta and other tech platforms do collect ‘metadata’, such as device and contact information, that they can provide to authorities on request.

In response to protests over the death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, who was taken into custody, Iran added WhatsApp and Instagram to its list of prohibited apps in September 2022.

Dozens of Bali flights cancelled after Indonesia volcano erupts

After a volcanic eruption in Indonesia’s east erupted into a massive ash cloud, thousands of flights to and from Bali’s resort island were canceled.

An 11 km (6.84-mile) column of ash was thrown into the sky by Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province late on Tuesday, according to Indonesia’s geological agency.

It said a second eruption on Wednesday morning resulted in a smaller ash cloud, raising the alert level to the highest level in its four-tier system.

There haven’t been any reported injuries. However, as a precaution, local authorities urged people to flee from several villages close to the volcano.

Despite being reported on Wednesday morning, tremors and eruptions were still being recorded in Indonesia, according to the National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure, or BNPB.

The geological&nbsp, agency advised residents and tourists to avoid activities that are less than 7 kilometers (4.35 miles) from the volcano’s crater.

According to Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport, at least 32 flights to and from Bali were canceled as a result of the eruption.

According to the airport website, there were routes impacted by Australia, India, and Singapore.

Numerous flights to I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport are canceled due to Lewotobi Laki-Laki’s volcano activity, according to airport operator Angkasa Pura Indonesia, according to a statement from the airport.

Four Singapore Airlines flights between Bali’s Denpasar airport and Singapore were also cancelled, along with a number of domestic AirAsia flights departing for Labuan Bajo on Flores, where Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki is located.

[Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP] A passenger looks at an electronic board that lists cancelled flights at the Ngurah Rai airport on June 18, 2025.

JetStar, a low-cost airline on Qantas, also discontinued some of its morning flights from Bali to Australia.

The ash cloud is anticipated to be cleared by later tonight, according to forecasts. The flights will be delayed this afternoon until later this evening because of this, JetStar announced in a website update.

According to Airnav, an airport operator, the Indonesian government has decided to close Maumere’s Fransiskus Xaverius Seda airport until Thursday in order to “ensure the safety of the passengers.”

After the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in November, nine people died, and thousands were forced to evacuate.