Kenya is in shock after unprecedented scenes in Nairobi left parts of parliament ablaze and gutted, as protests over proposed tax hikes turned deadly, prompting the government to deploy the military

Throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s, Mike Abrahams travelled the country photographing National Front marches, prison life and people’s everyday struggles

The conversation between Lloyd Austin and Andrei Belousov was the first such call in over a year. What we know on day 854

The US and Russian defence chiefs spoke by telephone on Tuesday, in a rare conversation between the two powers and with tensions rising after Moscow blamed Washington for a deadly Ukraine attack over the weekend on the Russian-annexed Crimea. The two sides gave widely divergent accounts of the discussion – the first between US defence secretary Lloyd Austin and Russia’s defence minister Andrei Belousov.

Austin initiated the conversation and it was the first such call since March 2023, Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder told reporters. Russia’s defense ministry, however, said that Belousov warned Austin of the dangers of continued US arms supplies to Ukraine.

The international criminal court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russia’s former defence minister and its military chief of staff on Tuesday, for attacking civilian targets in Ukraine. The court is accusing Sergei Shoigu and leading Russian general Valery Gerasimov of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Ukraine applauded the ICC’s issuing of the arrest warrants, saying it was “an important decision”. Shoigu and Gerasimov “bear individual responsibility … [They] will held be responsible for evil”, the presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said on Telegram.

Russia’s security council said the arrest warrants were part of a hybrid war against Moscow, the state-run Tass news agency reported. Shoigu is the security council’s secretary.

Ukrainian troops trying to hold their ground on the eastern front in Donetsk region may still be outnumbered by Russian forces but the “shell hunger” that plagued them for months as ammunitions started to run out is now behind them, Reuters reported.

An elderly woman was killed, four people injured and scores of buildings damaged in multiple air attacks by Ukraine on the southern Russian region of Belgorod, the governor said on Tuesday. Russia’s defence ministry said its air defence systems destroyed 29 Ukraine-launched drones over the region.

Russia and Ukraine each handed back 90 prisoners of war on Tuesday, in the latest of several periodic swaps in their conflict, with the United Arab Emirates overseeing the exchange as an intermediary. The last exchange took place on 31 May, when each side handed over 75 prisoners of war – the first exchange in nearly four months.

Russia said it was banning access inside Russia to the broadcasts of 81 different media outlets from the EU including Agence France-Presse and Politico in retaliation for a similar EU ban on several Russian media outlets. Moscow accused the outlets of “systematically distributing inaccurate information” about what Russia calls its special military operation in Ukraine. The EU said in May it was suspending the distribution of what it described as four “Kremlin-linked propaganda networks”.

Moscow expects to sign a new deal on comprehensive cooperation with Iran soon, Russia’s deputy foreign minister said. “We expect that this agreement will be signed in the very near future, since work on the text is already close to completion,” Russia’s state RIA news agency cited Andrei Rudenko as saying in an interview published on Tuesday. “All the necessary wording has been found.”

New, equally controlled joint venture will share electric vehicle architecture and software, companies said

Shares in Rivian surged after Volkswagen agreed to invest up to $5bn in the Amazon-backed electric carmaker.

Volkswagen will initially invest $1bn as part of a partnership with Rivian to form a new, equally controlled joint venture to share electric vehicle architecture and software, the companies said on Tuesday.

Government policies should be judged by their effect on the life satisfaction of the population, not by economic growth alone, says Prof Richard Layard. Plus letters from Sarah Davidson and Ethan Oshoko

Your editorial rightly points out that GDP is not a good measure of how people are faring (19 June). As an alternative, you offer the UN’s human development index. But we already have a better British alternative – the measure of life satisfaction in the Office for National Statistics’ annual population survey.

The question asked is: “Overall, how satisfied are you with your life these days (0: not at all satisfied, 10: completely)?” The results are published every quarter. That is an excellent measure of the nation’s success. It provides a good account of how we are doing on average and of the degree of fundamental inequality in our society.

Dr Rubin Minhas and Dr Tim Lavin respond to an article by Dr Rachel Clarke on concerns about the role of these healthcare professionals

I don’t recognise the challenges posed by the introduction of physician associates (PAs) in the same way as Dr Rachel Clarke does (What if your ‘physician’ wasn’t actually a doctor at all? Beware this new reckless experiment, 20 June). Introducing a new cohort of healthcare professionals is a tremendous responsibility, and local experience indicates that the capability to manage its implementation is often poor.

Our practice will soon employ four PAs, including two who left other practices where they were all but left to fend for themselves. One recounts how, on her first day in her first job, she was assigned a fully booked clinic with no induction, training or guidance, and made to feel a nuisance when seeking help. This is not uncommon.

Mining companies accused of colonial ‘divide and rule’ tactics in their pursuit of the precious metal that lies under the country’s salt flats

• Harriet Barber in the Salinas Grandes, Argentina. Photographs by John Owens

In the vast white desert of the Salinas Grandes, Antonio Calpanchay, 45, lifts his axe and slices the ground. He has worked this land since he was 12, chopping and collecting salt, replenishing it for the seasons ahead and teaching his children to do the same.

“All of our aboriginal community works here, even the elders,” he says, sheltering his weathered face from the sun. “We always have. It is our livelihood.”

Pups with famous namesakes compete in contest that celebrates the imperfections that make all dogs special

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