Bolivia police teargas Morales supporters protesting electoral ban
Bolivia's constitutional court this week upheld a lower court ruling banning presidents from serving more than two terms, in effect blocking Morales from running for what would be his fourth term.
Clashes erupted between protesters and police, who deployed tear gas and paintballs to disperse the crowd.
"Look at what they are doing to us," said protester Jorge Aduviri. "There are kids here, elderly people, pregnant women."
Among the demonstrators, Indigenous women kneeled in defiance, while others chanted slogans against the current government.
Morales, an Indigenous former coca farmer who led Bolivia for nearly 14 years, departed under a cloud in November 2019 after he ran for an unprecedented fourth term in an election marred by allegations of fraud.
"We don't have money," said demonstrator Flora Quispe. "We want Evo to be president again!"
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Ukraine moves to restore power of anti-graft agencies
KYIV, July 31 (Reuters) - Ukrainian lawmakers on Thursday approved a bill restoring the independence of the country's two main anti-corruption agencies, moving to defuse a political crisis that has shaken faith in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's wartime leadership. Thousands of protesters rallied in Kyiv and other cities in recent days in a rare show of discontent after lawmakers led by Zelenskiy's ruling party rushed through amendments last week defanging the respected agencies. Zelenskiy reversed course after the outcry and under pressure from top European officials, who warned that Ukraine was jeopardising its bid for EU membership by curbing the powers of its anti-graft authorities. Lawmakers voted 331 to 0 in favour of the new Zelenskiy-submitted bill, which reverses measures that had given his hand-picked general prosecutor the power to transfer cases away from the agencies and reassign prosecutors. Critics alleged the step had been designed to protect his political allies from prosecution. Eradicating graft and shoring up the rule of law are key requirements for Kyiv to join the EU, which Ukrainians see as critical to their future as they fend off a Russian invasion. Demonstrations had continued even after Zelenskiy submitted the new bill, with hundreds rallying near the presidential administration in Kyiv late on Wednesday chanting "Shame!" and "The people are the power!". Activists also rallied near parliament ahead of Thursday's vote to pressure lawmakers to approve the new measure. They burst into applause after it passed. Speaking at the rostrum before voting, opposition lawmaker Yaroslav Yurchyshyn thanked Ukrainians for stopping authorities "one step from the abyss" of autocracy. Some lawmakers appeared in parliament with hand-made placards mimicking those carried by protesters. The bill now goes to Zelenskiy for signature. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) have stepped up a closely watched campaign against graft since Russia's February 2022 invasion. They have brought charges against lawmakers and senior government officials, including a then-deputy prime minister who was accused last month of taking a $345,000 kickback. Speaking to Reuters last Friday, after Zelenskiy's reversal, NABU chief Semen Kryvonos said he expected continued pressure on his agency from corrupt forces uninterested in cleaning up Ukraine. He said he and other anti-corruption officials felt a greater sense of responsibility following the protests, but also called on the country's leadership to help their effort. "This responsibility must be shared with the government, which needs to react and say, 'Okay, there's corruption here - let's destroy it.'"
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Russian strikes on Kyiv kill at least six people, Ukrainian officials say
Russian strikes on Kyiv overnight have killed at least six people, including a six-year-old boy, according to local officials, with drones and missiles hitting at least 27 sites and leaving a further 30 people hospitalised, including nine children. A nine-storey residential building partly collapsed after it was struck. Explosions rang out for hours, making it another sleepless night for many in the Ukrainian capital before a crucial parliamentary vote on Thursday on legislation to restore independence to two anti-corruption bodies. The bill, if passed, would essentially undo a law passed last week that curtailed their powers and led to a political crisis. The surprise changes prompted rare wartime street protests against the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and accusations that his office was trying to protect powerful associates from anti-corruption investigations. Zelenskyy announced late last week that he had listened to the criticism expressed at a series of street protests and from various western officials and would table a new law. On Wednesday evening, about 2,000 protesters came out again in rainy conditions to call on parliament to back the new law. The demonstrators, many of whom were teenagers, held handwritten signs with political jokes and memes. They sang the national anthem and chanted 'Cancel the law!'. Protesters have been clear that they do not have revolutionary intentions, with most acutely aware of the dangers of political destabilisation in wartime. Instead, they say, the demonstrations show that Ukrainian democracy is functioning despite a lack of elections under martial law, with the presidency forced to listen to the mood of the street. People are due to gather again on Friday as parliament sits to consider the law. Some MPs from Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party have expressed scepticism over the new law, complaining that they are being ordered to vote to annul the very thing that last week they were told to vote for, making it not certain that the new bill will have an easy passage. The Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said on Wednesday the government hoped to fix the situation with the new law. 'We anticipate the vote tomorrow. The relevant parliamentary committee has already given its approval. We are getting this fixed,' he said. The institutions targeted by the law are the national anti-corruption bureau, known as Nabu, and the specialised anti-corruption prosecutor's office, Sapo. Both work independently of other law enforcement bodies specifically to target high-level corruption. Oleksandr Klymenko, the head of Sapo, told journalists in a briefing at his office in Kyiv on Wednesday that he hoped parliament would pass the law and that it would be ratified and enacted 'immediately'. Klymenko said the moves against Nabu and Sapo were payback from other parts of the Ukrainian system for its pursuit of high-level corruption, noting that the bodies had opened investigations into 31 sitting MPs. 'The main thing about our work is the enormous preventive effect it has,' he said, claiming that the prospect of being caught means fewer top officials risked engaging in corrupt activities. Explaining the hastily passed law last week, Zelenskyy said he feared Nabu and Sapo had been infiltrated by Russian agents, and that he wanted to ensure closer cooperation between different law enforcement bodies. But this has been brushed off by many Ukrainians as excuses. Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion Several European leaders spoke to Zelenskyy last week about the law, urging him to find a way out of the crisis. 'It was important for him to hear it from his peers,' said a western diplomat in Kyiv. European officials have cautiously criticised the bill in public. 'The dismantling of key safeguards protecting [anti-corruption bureau] Nabu's independence is a serious step back,' the European commissioner for enlargement, Marta Kos, wrote on social media. She added that the two bodies were 'essential' to keep Ukraine on the path to EU accession. The political crisis comes as Donald Trump appears to be taking a slightly tougher tone with Russia, lowering an earlier 50-day deadline for Russia to make progress on a ceasefire to '10 or 12 days' earlier this week, saying he does not see a serious desire to end the war from Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy on Thursday called on Ukraine's allies to pressure Moscow further after the latest strikes on Kyiv. 'Today the world once again saw Russia's answer to our desire for peace with America and Europe … That is why peace without strength is impossible,' he wrote on Telegram. Moscow continues to bombard Ukraine with nightly missile and drone attacks, while on the battlefield Russia continues a very slow advance. The Russian defence ministry claimed on Thursday that it had captured the eastern town of Chasiv Yar, once home to 12,000 people, which has been the site of fierce battles for more than a year. Ukraine has not confirmed the Russian claims.
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
Ukraine's parliament to consider restoring power of anti-graft agencies
KYIV, July 31 (Reuters) - Ukrainian lawmakers on Thursday are expected to consider a bill restoring the independence of the country's two main anti-corruption agencies, aiming to defuse a political crisis that has shaken faith in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's wartime leadership. Thousands of protesters rallied in Kyiv and other cities in recent days in a rare show of discontent after lawmakers led by Zelenskiy's ruling party rushed through amendments last week defanging the respected agencies. Zelenskiy reversed course after the outcry and under pressure from top European officials, who warned Ukraine was jeopardising its bid for EU membership by curbing the powers of its anti-graft authorities. Demonstrations had continued even after he submitted the new bill restoring their independence, with hundreds rallying near the presidential administration in Kyiv late on Wednesday to chants of "Shame!" and "The people are the power!". "I really want parliament to vote (for the new measure) just as quickly as it did last time," said protester Kateryna Kononenko, 36, referring to last week's fast-tracked approval of the controversial amendments. Activists also called for demonstrations near parliament ahead of Thursday's vote in an attempt to pressure lawmakers to approve the new bill. Eradicating graft and shoring up the rule of law are key requirements for Kyiv to join the EU, which Ukrainians see as critical to their future as they fend off a Russian invasion. Last week's amendments had given Zelenskiy's hand-picked general prosecutor the power to transfer cases away from the anti-graft agencies and reassign prosecutors - a step critics had said was designed to protect allies from prosecution. While much smaller, the rallies of the past week have sparked comparisons to Ukraine's 2014 Maidan revolution, when protesters toppled a president they accused of corruption and heavy-handed rule. More than two-thirds of Ukrainians support the recent protests, according to a recent survey by Ukrainian pollster Gradus Research. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) have stepped up a closely watched campaign against graft since Russia's February 2022 invasion. They have produced charges against lawmakers and senior government officials, including a then-deputy prime minister who was accused last month of taking a $345,000 kickback. Speaking to Reuters last Friday, after Zelenskiy's reversal, NABU chief Semen Kryvonos said he expected pressure against his agency to continue, fuelled by what he described as corrupt forces uninterested in cleaning up Ukraine. He added that he and other anti-corruption officials felt a greater sense of responsibility following the protests, but also called on the country's leadership to help their effort. "This responsibility must be shared with the government, which needs to react and say, 'Okay, there's corruption here - let's destroy it.'"
