William Ruto says he has listened to the people of Kenya, who gathered across the country to oppose the law

The Kenyan president, William Ruto, has withdrawn a bill to raise taxes a day after violent protests erupted around the country following its approval by parliament.

Ruto’s surprise decision not to sign the finance bill came after violent clashes between police and protesters at the Kenyan assembly and across the country left at least 23 people dead and scores wounded, according to medics.

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© Photograph: Hiram Omondi/KENYAN PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION SERVICE HANDOUT/EPA

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© Photograph: Hiram Omondi/KENYAN PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION SERVICE HANDOUT/EPA

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

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

First contingent of multinational team lands in operation to end chaos in gang-controlled country

Hundreds of Kenyan police officers have arrived in Haiti as part of a US-backed security intervention aiming to rescue the Caribbean country from a criminal insurrection that toppled the prime minister and brought death and chaos to the streets.

About 400 members of the Kenya-led multinational police operation stepped off a Kenyan Airways plane at Port-au-Prince’s international airport on Tuesday. The US president, Joe Biden, hailed their arrival as the start of “an effort that will bring much-needed relief to Haitians”.

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© Photograph: Marckinson Pierre/AP

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© Photograph: Marckinson Pierre/AP

At least five people reportedly shot dead at rally against legislation to raise taxes during cost of living crisis

Police have opened fire on protesters outside the Kenyan parliament as they attempted to storm the building in Nairobi while MPs inside passed legislation to raise taxes.

At least five people were shot dead, according to Reuters, amid chaotic scenes in which police started shooting after teargas and water cannon failed to disperse a crowd of thousands who had overwhelmed officers. Flames could be seen coming from inside the building.

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© Photograph: Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images

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© Photograph: Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images

Ilya Sutskever’s new start-up, Safe Superintelligence, aims to build A.I. technologies that are smarter than a human but not dangerous.

© Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Christ may be able to live on cheeseburgers and Cokes, but Salinger wanted something more. This is his power and his downfall—his vampiric need to drain the potential of the young. Whether through his bohemian characters or the very real women in his own life, he was always ready to give a lecture and take power. Cute as Salinger's characters are, they live under his thumb. They're playthings, like dolls. We enjoy judging their powerlessness, but his fetish for purity was often what he tried to use to get off the hook for his ghoulish behavior. Marrying young women until they were no longer ingenues, feeding on the genre of YA as a source for so-called serious literary fiction, devouring Eastern prayers without regard for their context or specificity. YA is his Trojan horse. This is a grim realization. from Hagiography of a Narcissist: On J. D. Salinger's "Hapworth 16, 1924" by Grace Byron [LARB; ungated]

Un análisis de las vocalizaciones de los elefantes mediante una herramienta de inteligencia artificial sugiere que pueden utilizar y responder a retumbos individualizados.

An analysis of elephant calls using an artificial intelligence tool suggests that the animals may use and respond to individualized rumbles.

It turns out A.I. is surprisingly Canadian.

© Photo Illustration by The New York Times

A group of current and former employees is calling for sweeping changes to the artificial intelligence industry, including greater transparency and protections for whistle-blowers.

© Jason Andrew for The New York Times

In Kenya, Revital Healthcare is manufacturing medical products that Africa needs to take charge of routine health care and respond to outbreaks.

© Brian Otieno for The New York Times

Marc Andreessen, Chamath Palihapitiya and several other tech venture capitalists are increasingly criticizing President Biden and making their disaffection known in an election year.

© Barbara Gibson

It’s been a week of A.I. vertigo — the feeling that we’ve been dragged five years into the future and aren’t sure what to do about it.

© Photo Illustration by The New York Times

In November, Ilya Sutskever joined three other OpenAI board members to force out Sam Altman, the chief executive, before saying he regretted the move.

© Jim Wilson/The New York Times

The tech giant’s quarterly results included strong growth in cloud computing, fueled by its services in generative artificial intelligence.

© Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images