March 2 — Speaker Johnson, Sen. Lankford and Sen. Sanders
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BreakingNews.ie
7 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Explained: Zelenskiy's controversial move against Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy is under pressure at home and abroad for stripping the independence of anti-corruption agencies whose work is seen as essential to Kyiv's path to join the European Union. Amendments giving his appointed prosecutor more power over the two investigative bodies have drawn criticism from top EU officials and sparked the country's largest wartime protests. Advertisement Here is what it means. What are Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies? The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) were set up after a 2014 revolution toppled a pro-Russian president and set Kyiv on a Western course. They are responsible for independently weeding out high-level graft, a central requirement for Ukraine to receive billions of dollars in Western aid and join the 27-member EU. The agencies have stepped up their work during Russia's full-scale invasion, producing charges against lawmakers, senior government officials and a former deputy head of Zelenskiy's administration. Advertisement Last month, they accused a deputy prime minister of accepting a €300,000 kickback. Why have their powers been curbed? In a late-night address on Tuesday, Zelenskiy said the agencies needed to be "cleansed" of Russian influence and their work strengthened and sped up. A day earlier, Kyiv's domestic security agency had arrested two NABU officials on suspicion of ties to Russia and conducted sweeping searches into agency employees, a move critics described as excessive. The new measures, which were fast-tracked in large part by Zelenskiy's ruling party, allow the general prosecutor to transfer cases away from the agencies and re-assign prosecutors, several lawmakers said. Advertisement Critics, including an anti-corruption campaigner charged this month with fraud and evading military service, have alleged the crackdown was a politically motivated response to their work. What was the reaction? After the vote, the EU's enlargement commissioner said she was "seriously concerned" about the measures, and on Wednesday Germany's foreign minister warned Kyiv against hampering its path to the EU. At home, thousands of Ukrainians rallied in Kyiv just steps away from the site of the 2014 uprising, which itself was sparked by a democratic rollback and threats to Ukraine's European integration. Protesters in Kyiv hold placards during a demonstration about the independence of Ukraine's two anti-corruption agencies. Photo: AFP via Getty Fighting corruption and embracing the West, especially since Moscow's 2022 invasion, are seen as critical to erasing a legacy of Russian rule. Advertisement Ukrainians are furious at signs of corruption and misrule at a time when tens of thousands of troops have been killed on the front fending off Russia. "My brother didn't die for this kind of future," read a placard at the Kyiv protest. What's next? On Wednesday, Zelenskiy said he had met with anti-corruption and security officials to hash out a joint plan within two weeks to better combat corruption. Writing on X, he said the officials would aim to "resolve existing contradictions, and eliminate threats". "We all hear what society is saying," he said. "We see what people expect from state institutions." Still, NABU and SAPO said in a joint statement on Wednesday that they wanted their independence restored through legislation. Meanwhile, lawmakers pledged to challenge the amendments while Ukrainians on social media called for continuing public protests.
Daily Mail
9 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Tulsi Gabbard scrambles to appease MAGA by declassifying MORE Obama docs showing he 'ordered' Russia 'hoax'
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has declassified another tranche of documents about the 2016 elections – a day after President Donald Trump accused Barack Obama of 'treason' and said he should be investigated. Gabbard ordered the release of a 2020 report by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on the Intelligence Community's assessment on Russia during the 2016 presidential election. That is an election Trump won, but the president has long railed against what he calls the Russia 'hoax' – and this week has been calling for investigations of top security officials at the time while referring to Obama as the leader of a 'gang.' The report by the Intelligence panel, then chaired by Trump ally Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) found the nation's spies reached 'credible' assessments that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered 'conventional and cyber influence operations' by leaking hacked emails. But it also disputed the Intel assessment, released in 2017, that Putin 'developed a clear preference' for Trump and 'aspired to help his chances of victory.' That conclusion has long infuriated Trump. It said these conclusions did not 'adhere to the tenets' of intelligence tradecraft. The House Intel panel's report put the onus on Obama and dismissed its composition, calling it a 'high-profile product ordered by the President, directed by senior IC agency heads, and created by just five CIA analysts, using one principal drafter.' Gabbard on Friday released a report and accused Obama of overseeing a 'treasonous conspiracy' against Trump. On Tuesday night at a meeting at the White House with House Republicans, Trump called Gabbard the 'hottest' person in the room. That comes despite indications of a split over the attack Trump ordered on Iran's nuclear facilities. 'She's like, hotter than everybody. She's the hottest one in the room right now because she found out. ... I think we knew it before, in all fairness, Tulsi, but now you have certainty. She has all the documents. She has everything that you need. And she found out that Barack Hussein Obama led a group of people, and they cheated in the elections, and they cheated without question,' Trump told his allies. Gabbard, an anti-interventionist, had testified in March that the intelligence community 'continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon' despite its big stockpiled of enriched Uranium. Gabbard appeared on the conservative Newsmax network Tuesday night, and contested a scathing statement by Obama, who had called the resurfaced allegations 'bizarre' and a 'distraction.' 'We will be releasing further documents tomorrow that will refute that statement,' Gabbard said. The backdrop for the throwback drama over the 2016 election – rather than the 2020 race Trump repeatedly calls 'rigged' – are the series of stunning disclosures about the Jeffrey Epstein case that have rocked the White House and divided the MAGA movement.
BBC News
9 minutes ago
- BBC News
Ethiopian official denies Donald Trump's claim that US funded Gerd - the River Nile dam
An Ethiopian official has denied Donald Trump's claim that the United States helped fund Ethiopia's new megadam on the River Nile, saying it is false and "destructive". Last week, President Trump said the controversial dam was built "with United States money, largely".Officially known as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd), the project is Africa's biggest hydro-electric plant and a major source of pride for the 14 years it has taken to complete Gerd, the Ethiopian authorities have repeatedly said that the dam was funded by the government, along with contributions from the Ethiopian people. The dam has, however, angered Egypt and Sudan, which lie upstream on the River Nile and fear the dam could lead to less water flowing into their BBC has asked the White House to expand on Trump's Tuesday, Fikrte Tamir, deputy director of the Gerd Coordination Office, dismissed Trump's remarks, saying the dam was built "without any foreign aid".Why is Egypt worried about Ethiopia's dam on the Nile?How Ethiopia was 'betrayed' over Nile damEthiopia's pop stars weigh in on Gerd rowAlthough technically an independent body, the Gerd Coordination Office was set up by the government to mobilise resources for the dam."Regarding what Donald Trump claimed, the government should respond with far-sighted and carefully considered diplomatic procedures," Ms Fikrte Ms Fikrte's comments, some Ethiopians have questioned how privy the Gerd Coordination Office would be to any potential deal between the government and the US, given its independent government has not responded to Trump's comments about funding the dam, which began generating electricity in 2022 and was fully completed earlier this is not the first time Trump has claimed US involvement in Gerd. Last month, in a post on his Truth Social online platform, the president said the dam was "stupidly financed by the United States of America" and "substantially reduces the water flowing into The Nile River".Trump was referring to concerns from Egypt and Sudan that the megadam would disrupt the flow of water they get from the River than a mile long and 145m high, Gerd lies on the Blue Nile in the northern Ethiopia highlands, from where 85% of the River Nile's waters wants the dam to produce desperately needed electricity, as the majority of its population - about 60% - have no the construction of Gerd has led to tensions with Egypt - an ally of the Trump administration - and scheduled to be completed within six years with a $4bn (£2.9bn) budget, Gerd generated excitement among the Ethiopian public. The authorities capitalised on this interest to raise money for the dam - bonds were sold to companies, employees pledged deductions from their salaries and Ethiopia's huge diaspora sent in the project running significantly behind schedule, and consequently overbudget, it has continued to draw 1 April this year, 1.7 billion birr ($12.3 million; £9.1 million) have been collected from the public, the Gerd Coordination Office says. You may also be interested in: Dam plan busted? World's biggest hydropower project in the balanceThe spectacular failures and successes of massive damsWho benefits from Lesotho's 'white gold'? Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
