Our daily trip around the world

🇰🇪 Protesters stormed Kenya’s parliament amid outrage over widespread tax hikes. In recent weeks, Kenya has seen nationwide protests against a proposal to raise or introduce taxes on many daily items and services, including internet data, fuel, and bank transfers. Kenya’s government says the changes are necessary to keep functioning, while protesters see the tax hikes as untenable due to the high cost of living. The protests intensified yesterday, when demonstrators rushed into Kenya’s parliament and police allegedly fired live rounds into the crowd, with the situation causing at least five reported deaths.

🇨🇳 A Chinese space probe returned the first-ever samples from the Moon’s dark side. The Chang’e-6 probe returned to Earth yesterday carrying ~4 pounds of Moon dust and rocks, capping off a 53-day lunar mission. Scientists hope the samples will provide more accurate ranges of the Moon's geological age, help reveal how planets are formed, and determine whether future missions can harvest water, oxygen, and hydrogen from the Moon’s dark side.

🇺🇦🇪🇺 Ukraine officially began EU membership talks. The accession negotiations for Ukraine, which first applied to join the EU shortly after Russia invaded in February 2022, were set in motion at an intergovernmental conference yesterday. Before it can enter the EU, Ukraine must first implement corruption and democracy reforms, a process expected to take over a decade. As an EU member, Ukraine would have increased access to trade within the bloc, and its citizens could live, work, and travel freely across the 27 member countries.