Kenyan rights groups have condemned the arrest of a software developer who built a platform opposing a contentious finance bill, warning that it reflected an intensifying crackdown on dissent.

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The East African country has been cracking down on critics of the government since massive protests last June against tax rises and corruption.

Security forces are accused by rights groups of killing at least 60 people during the protests and abducting dozens more in the aftermath.

On May 19, developer Rose Njeri shared a link to her website on X, saying it was built to oppose a new finance bill, which she warned would raise living costs and breach privacy rights.

She was arrested on Friday afternoon, triggering a storm of online outrage.

She remained in police custody in Nairobi on Sunday.

“All efforts to secure her release on police bail have so far been frustrated by the officers in charge who are yet to cede to requests by counsel to release her,” said Faith Odhiambo, head of the main lawyers’ association (LSK), said on X on Saturday.

Rights group Vocal Africa said on X that Njeri’s arrest was “a blatant attack on digital rights, freedom of expression and civic engagement”.

President William Ruto said last month that all people abducted following the June-July anti-government protests had been “returned to their families”.

He promised it would not happen again.

TEHRAN: Iran on Sunday warned it would retaliate if European powers “exploit” a UN report showing it has stepped up production of highly enriched uranium.

The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran had sharply increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to up to 60 per cent, close to the roughly 90 per cent level needed for atomic weapons.

Iran’s total amount of enriched uranium now exceeds 45 times the limit authorised by a landmark 2015 agreement with world powers, and is estimated at 9,247.6 kilograms, according to the confidential IAEA report seen by AFP.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement he had told IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in a phone call that “Iran will respond to any inappropriate action by the European parties” to the 2015 agreement, referring to Britain, France and Germany.

The European trio have warned they could reimpose sanctions if Iran’s nuclear programme threatens the continent’s security.

Araghchi urged Grossi in their Saturday call to stop “parties from exploiting” the nuclear watchdog report “to advance their political objectives”, according to the statement.

Iran rejected the IAEA report, the latest move in years-long efforts to restrict its nuclear activities over fears that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

The Islamic republic has denied seeking nuclear arms and says it needs the uranium for civilian power production.

TEHRAN: Iran on Sunday warned it would retaliate if European powers that have threatened to reimpose nuclear sanctions “exploit” a UN report showing Tehran has stepped up production of highly enriched uranium.

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The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran had sharply increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent, close to the roughly 90 percent level needed for atomic weapons.

Iran’s total amount of enriched uranium now exceeds 45 times the limit authorised by a landmark 2015 agreement with world powers, and is estimated at 9,247.6 kilograms, according to the confidential IAEA report seen by AFP.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement he had told IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in a phone call that “Iran will respond to any inappropriate action by the European parties” to the 2015 agreement, referring to Britain, France and Germany.

The European trio have warned they could reimpose sanctions if they deemed Iran’s nuclear programme a threat to the continent’s security.

Araghchi urged Grossi in their Saturday call to stop “parties from exploiting” the nuclear watchdog report “to advance their political objectives”, according to the statement.

The IAEA Board of Governors is set to review Iran’s nuclear activities in its upcoming quarterly meeting in Vienna starting June 9.

Iran rejected the IAEA report, the latest move in years-long efforts to restrict its nuclear activities over fears that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

The Islamic republic has denied seeking nuclear arms and says it needs the uranium for civilian power production.

The report was leaked as Iran and the United States have been engaged in negotiations towards a new nuclear deal, after Washington had unilaterally abandoned the agreement between Tehran and world powers in 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term.

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US proposal

Araghchi said on Saturday that he had received “elements” of a US proposal for a potential nuclear deal following five rounds of talks mediated by Oman.

Iran would respond “in line with the principles, national interests and rights” of its people, Araghchi added in a post on X.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the United States “has sent a detailed and acceptable proposal to the Iranian regime, and it’s in their best interest to accept it”, the New York Times reported.

The proposal was described as a series of bullet points rather than a full draft, according to the New York Times, citing officials familiar with the diplomatic exchanges.

It calls on Iran to stop all enrichment of uranium and proposes creating a regional grouping to produce nuclear power, which would include Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, as well as the United States.

Trump adopted a “maximum pressure” policy against Tehran after withdrawing from the 2015 agreement and reimposed sweeping sanctions which the deal had lifted in return for UN-monitored restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities.

Iran has ramped up its nuclear activities since the collapse of the deal, and is now enriching uranium to 60 percent — far above the deal’s 3.67 percent cap but below the 90 percent needed for weapons-grade material.

The 2015 deal provides for the possibility of UN sanctions being reimposed through a mechanism called “snapback” if Iran fails to fulfil its commitments, an option that expires in October.

LONDON: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday he will “restore Britain’s war-fighting readiness” as his government warned of “growing” Russian aggression ahead of a major defence strategy review.

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“We will restore Britain’s war-fighting readiness as the central purpose of our armed forces,” Starmer wrote in The Sun daily, including by ramping up weapons production capacity.

H

is government’s Strategic Defence Review, due to be published Monday, will assess threats facing the UK, amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and pressure from US President Donald Trump for Nato allies to bolster their own defences.

Starmer wrote that It will serve as “a blueprint for strength and security for decades to come”.

Defence Secretary John Healey warned of “growing Russian aggression”, including through “daily” cyberattacks on the UK’s “defence system”.

“We’re in a world that is changing now… and it is a world of growing threats,” Healey told the BBC on Sunday.

“It’s growing Russian aggression. It’s those daily cyberattacks, it’s new nuclear risks, and it’s increasing tension in other parts of the world as well.”

The defence review will recommend “creating an ‘always on’ munitions production capacity in the UK” allowing the scaling up of weapons production if needed, according to the Ministry of Defence.

The document also urges the government to create conditions in industry to boost munition stockpiles.

In February, Starmer committed to hiking defence spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2027, up from its current 2.3 percent, and to further raise it to three percent by around 2029.

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His Labour administration has said it would cut UK overseas aid to help fund the spending.

New technologies

On Saturday the government announced £1.5 billion ($2 billion) for building “at least six munitions and energetics factories” as well as procuring 7,000 domestically built long-range weapons.

This investment which will see £6 billion spent on munitions under the current parliament — would create and support 1,800 jobs.

“We are strengthening the UK’s industrial base to better deter our adversaries and make the UK secure at home and strong abroad,” Healey said.

The Ministry of Defence also pledged £1 billion for the creation of a “cyber command” to help on the battlefield.

The defence shake-up “means bringing together every capability we have, from drones, to artillery, to human instinct and intelligence, into one formidable, integrated fighting machine,” Starmer said.

The review, led by former Nato secretary general George Robertson, warns that Britain is entering “a new era of threat” as drones and artificial intelligence transform modern warfare, The Guardian newspaper reported Saturday.

The document will describe the “immediate and pressing” danger posed by Russia, as well as focusing on China, Iran and North Korea.

Robertson has described the four countries as a “deadly quartet” which were “increasingly working together”.

Two train bridges in western Russia collapsed overnight in separate incidents now being investigated as “acts of terrorism”, according to Russian authorities.

The explosions took place in the Bryansk and Kursk regions close to the Ukrainian border, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens more.

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Svetlana Petrenko, Russia’s Investigative Committee spokeswoman, confirmed the classification. “These incidents have been classified as acts of terrorism,” she was quoted as saying by the state-run RIA news agency.

The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin was kept informed throughout the night. “Throughout the night, the President received reports from the FSB and the emergencies ministry about the incident involving trains in the Kursk and Bryansk regions,” a post on the Kremlin’s Telegram channel said.

Deadly collapse in Bryansk

The first explosion occurred on Saturday in the Bryansk region, where a bridge collapsed onto a passenger train, resulting in seven fatalities and numerous injuries. Photos from the site showed train carriages mangled and scattered among the rubble of the destroyed bridge. Videos shared on social media appeared to have been taken by drivers who had narrowly avoided crossing the bridge before it gave way.

Second derailment in Kursk

Hours later, a freight train was thrown off its tracks in the nearby Kursk region when another bridge collapsed beneath it. The acting governor of the region, Alexander Khinshtein, said the crash triggered a fire, but there were no casualties. “The crash sparked a fire,” he said, confirming the absence of fatalities.

The Investigative Committee released a statement noting that both collapses were caused by explosions.

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Ukraine connection?

Although the Russian authorities have not publicly blamed Ukraine, there have been past accusations of sabotage against pro-Ukrainian groups targeting railway infrastructure inside Russia.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GUR) released a statement on Sunday saying a Russian military freight train transporting food and fuel had been blown up en route to Crimea. The agency did not claim responsibility or link its announcement to the bridge incidents, but it said that a key Russian “artery” between occupied Zaporizhzhia and Crimea had been destroyed.

Russia has held parts of Zaporizhzhia since early in the 2022 invasion and annexed Crimea in 2014.