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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Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Protesters in Epping 'want their voices heard' and 'won't stop' until migrant hotel is closed as 'two tier' Starmer starts snooping on social posts
Hundreds of protesters have descended on a hotel at the centre of an anti-migrant storm as demonstrations continue to spread across the country. Over 1,000 are expected outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, amid a growing clamour for it to be closed after an Ethiopian asylum seeker staying there was charged with sexually assaulting a schoolgirl days after arriving in the UK. Police have thrown a huge ring of steel around the hotel, while officers from forces including Merseyside, Surrey, Lancashire, the City of London and Sussex have been drafted in to the market town support Essex Police. The force has faced questions over its handling of the protests after footage emerged of them escorting pro-migrant activists to the hotel on July 17 - something they initially denied doing. Over the weekend, angry crowds gathered in Norwich, Leeds, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Southampton and Nottinghamshire - with counter-protesters fighting back by insisting 'refugees are welcome'. The largest demonstration today is set to be at The Bell Hotel, where protesters - some draped in St George's flags - have gathered with large placards saying 'protect our kids' and 'stop the boats'. It comes as it was revealed an elite division of police officers will be assembled to monitor social media for signs of civil unrest - a move which critics argue is controlling free speech. While police will be monitoring what's being said online, officers are also being deployed on the streets. In Epping, protest organiser Sarah White, 40, said they would continue demos until the hotel closed. The mother-of-three said: 'We won't stop. Today is going to be a great opportunity for our voices to be heard. 'It's going to be great to get a message out that we don't want these hotels. It's shocking.' She also condemned those who wanted to 'cause trouble' and said it was hoped to be a 'strictly' peaceful but 'loud' protest. The business owner said: 'This is about sending a clear message that we don't want a hotel in our town housing undocumented men. 'It needs closing down. No area should have them. 'I'm very excited about today.' Mother Rose Thomas, 44, from Basildon, said she was 'excited' for the day. She said: 'There's already a strong message. We don't want the hotels full of men from foreign countries.' Maureen Chapman, 73, has lived in Epping for 50 years and said she felt 'under threat'. She said: 'I have grandchildren living locally. We want this closed and we won't stop until it is. 'It's shocking. I don't feel safe. We're under threat. 'These people moaning, would they want it at the end of their street?' The Epping protests have been sparked by the charging of asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, with sexual assault after he allegedly attempted to kiss a 14-year-old girl. He denies the charges. The scenes in Epping have thrown the immigration debate back into the limelight, with demonstrations later held in Norfolk where the Home Office announced plans to change an asylum seeker hotel from housing families to single men. There have also been protests outside the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf which is set to be used to offer temporary accommodation for asylum seekers. A major protest is planned outside the four-star hotel in London's financial district again today. Protests against migrant hotels have escalated this weekend with tense stand–offs in Norwich, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and Leeds on Saturday. The anti-migrant sentiment is being fuelled by far-right accounts on social media - and the Government has taken action by setting up an elite force to monitor posts. Detectives are set to be drawn from forces around the country as the Government scrambles to crack down on potential violence by flagging up early signs of civil unrest. The new police division, assembled by the Home Office, will aim to 'maximise social media intelligence' after police forces were heavily criticised for their handling of last year's riots which quickly spread across the country. Angela Rayner last week warned the Government needs to address the 'real concerns that people have about immigration'. But critics say the social media crackdown is 'disturbing' and raises concerns for free speech. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, told The Telegraph: 'Two-tier Keir can't police the streets, so he's trying to police opinions instead. They're setting up a central team to monitor what you post, what you share, what you think, because deep down they know the public don't buy what they're selling.' The new police unit, called the National Internet Intelligence Investigations team, will work out of the National Police Coordination Centre in Westminster. The backlash to the plans has reignited anger over a judge's decision to jail Lucy Connolly, a mother-of-one who is married to a Conservative councillor, for 31 months over a racist tweet after the Southport murders. For today's protest, Essex Police have imposed restrictions to curb any violence or disorder, saying it is necessary and proportionate. The force said residents have reported feeling 'trapped', fearful of leaving their homes and anxious about protest activity. There will be a ban on anyone wearing face coverings and there will be designated sites opposite the hotel for protesters. A dispersal order will be in effect from 12pm on Sunday until 8am on Monday, covering Epping town centre and nearby transport hubs. The order gives officers the power to remove anyone suspected of anti-social behaviour. Hotel residents and staff have been advised to remain indoors after 5pm as some experienced verbal and physical harassment, including a resident chased and injured while returning to the hotel, the force added.
Telegraph
16 hours ago
- Telegraph
Milei's bet on China threatens an ugly fallout with his idol
When firebrand libertarian Javier Milei was campaigning to be president, he vowed that under his watch Argentina would not engage with 'decadent communists' like the Chinese, branding their leaders murderers and thieves. But 18 months is a long time in geopolitics. Milei, one of the few world leaders to attend the presidential inauguration of his political hero Donald Trump in January, has performed a remarkable political U-turn. On Monday, Milei rewrote the visa rules to make it easier for Chinese people to visit or work in Argentina. A week earlier, he unlocked a $5bn (£3.7bn) China-backed hydroelectric project in the country's south, which had been fractiously frozen since before he took office. And in April he renewed a currency swap arrangement with China, worth about 35bn yuan (£3.6bn) – a move that prompted an alarmed White House to dispatch Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, to Buenos Aires to deliver a dressing-down. By cosying up to China, Milei is risking his idol's ire. What has changed? Economics vs politics On the campaign trail in 2023 Milei told Argentine voters: 'I am not going to do business with any communist.' He has previously branded the country a 'bloody dictatorship'. But by last December he was having a sit-down with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio, and said he was up for a trip to Beijing. 'If you compare Milei during the campaign to Milei as president, he has softened his views on many, many issues. One of them is China,' says Bruno Binetti, an associate fellow at Chatham House, a think tank. 'He is adapting to the realities of governing, without this affecting his core beliefs and identity.' While Trump and Milei might be political soulmates – radically anti-woke, anti-regulation, anti-net-zero – Argentina cannot do without China's appetite for its exports, nor its investment into areas like mining and energy. 'If you want the economy to grow, if you want to show that Milei's economic model can generate growth, then you need good ties with China,' Binetti says. Milei has tried to separate this economic need from Argentina's wider political and diplomatic relationships, from his radical reform agenda – which has won him admirers worldwide, including Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader. He has refused to join the anti-Trump Brics group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. 'We must separate the geopolitical question from our commercial question,' Milei told the Wall Street Journal last year. Trading and economic relationships should be driven by business and he would not be 'meddling in whatever the private sector decides'. But economics and politics don't separate so easily, particularly in Trump's binary, zero-sum world. Peter Lamelas, Trump's nominee as the next ambassador to Argentina, told a US Senate committee hearing this week that his mission was 'to reduce the malignant influence of opposing powers' in Latin America – and that includes China. 'Argentina is essential, critical to opposing authoritarian regimes like Venezuela and China,' he said. Jim Risch, a Republican senator and the committee's chairman, urged Lamelas to fight China's 'expanding influence' in the region and to 'reduce China's technological and financial influence in Argentina'. Snubs and dealmaking This was not an exchange the two men might have anticipated having. When Trump returned to power, Milei – whom the American calls 'a friend' and 'my favourite president' – would have been at the very bottom of the White House's list of leaders to worry about. Not only was Milei at Trump's inauguration, but he came back a month later to publicly present Elon Musk, then setting up his department for government efficiency, with a version of his trademark bureaucracy-slaying chainsaw. The gift – which was inscribed with Milei's catchphrase 'Long live freedom, dammit!' – was handed over at a Conservative Political Action Conference, where Milei also met Trump. The two leaders discussed Argentina's 'groundbreaking economic reforms', according to a White House readout. Milei was back in the US yet again in April, heading to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort for the 'American Patriots Gala', where he picked up an award recognising his 'unwavering dedication to freedom, market economics and conservative values'. But this time, Trump was unavailable. Supposedly a problem with the US president's helicopter prevented him from getting to Florida in time to catch Milei on this flying visit. That wasn't the only snub. The day before, Trump had unveiled his 'liberation day' tariffs – and there was no exemption for Argentina from the 10pc worldwide hit. Today, Trump's Aug 1 trade-deal-or-tariff deadline is looming and there is not yet any sign of any agreement with Milei that might ease the pain for Argentina's soy and beef exporters. By contrast, in early May several Chinese officials visited Buenos Aires to sign a deal to buy $900m of Argentine soybeans, corn and vegetable oil. The White House did reportedly help Argentina to secure a new $20bn loan programme from the International Monetary Fund in April. Mauricio Claver-Carone, Trump's special envoy for Latin America, said he hoped this might supplant the Chinese currency swap agreed at almost the same time. 'What we would like to see, eventually, is the end of the famous line of credit Argentina has with China,' he said. 'That line of credit is extortionate, and as long as they maintain that line of credit, China will always be able to extort.' Beijing shot back. 'Fair-minded people are able to tell who is extorting and coercing others and making trouble,' said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian. Balancing act Milei will probably try to keep the two superpowers in some kind of balance. But both will be looking to use carrots and sticks to tip favour their way. China seems to be making most of the running right now, and has ambitions to get further ahead of Trump. A Chinese official told the Argentine newspaper Clarin earlier this year: 'We're doing well, but not as well as we'd like'. If Beijing is appealing to Milei's pragmatism, Washington can count on his passion. His friendship and ideological affinity with Trump will likely stop the scales from tipping too far towards China. 'Milei sees himself clearly as a global leader figure in a Right-wing, pro-West, pro-market movement. And his alignment with Trump is a big part of that identity – it makes him feel part of something bigger,' Binetti says. 'You'd think that given Milei's symbolic role in some Trumpist circles in the US, he would get a little bit more leeway.' If Milei's rapprochement with the Chinese continues to deepen, he might end up testing just how far that leeway extends.
Sky News
a day ago
- Sky News
There seems no end in sight to asylum hotel protests - as five intense minutes by a roundabout in Norwich proved
Why you can trust Sky News It was an unlikely backdrop for a protest - a large roundabout on the outskirts of Norwich. But behind the trees flanking one of the carriageways was the reason hundreds had come - another hotel being used to house asylum seekers. Just as towns and cities around the country have seen protests in recent days, most prominently in Epping in Essex where at least 18 arrests have been made, this time the focus was the Brook Hotel. It started peacefully - bar the beeping of horns of passing cars and the chants from protesters on both sides. But in a flash, it all changed. Witnesses say one of the pro-immigration protesters had approached the much larger group wearing a balaclava and in seconds the pent-up fury spilt over as an angry crowd surged towards the police, shouting and swearing. Some tried and failed to hold back the furious crowd urging peace as a small group of police and protesters rolled down a verge, while backup officers emerged from a side road. But as quickly as it started, it was all over - an intense five minutes that seemed to take the wind out of their anger. Trying to find anyone willing to speak was almost impossible: "We don't talk to the mainstream media," a common phrase. But David Beane, from nearby Costessey, a veteran and the father of an eight-year-old boy, had clear views he wanted to share. "I know homeless people from the forces. I got out of the force, no dental treatment, I can't get a doctors. They get everything," he said. "I'm all up for immigrants coming, but sign the paperwork. You show who you are, you come in, you abide by our laws." It was David's first time at a protest. Another local man attending was Glen. "They're in there, free rent, free everything," he said. There have been protests in nearby Diss too this week. The Park Hotel in the town has now informed the Home Office that it will close altogether if it is ever made to house single men rather than families at the location. Back in Norwich, torrential rain was enough the bring an end to the day's event. Only a few stragglers remained two-and-a-half hours after it had all begun. But it seems likely they will be back. There seems to be no end in sight to the current spate of disruption.
