World

The European Parliament sacked one of its vice presidents on Tuesday amid corruption accusations allegedly linked to World Cup host Qatar, as EU officials scrambled to contain a widening scandal.

The assembly’s MEPs voted 625 to one to strip Greek socialist MEP Eva Kaili of her vice presidential role, despite her lawyer declaring that she was innocent and “has nothing to do with Qatar’s bribes”.

The government of Qatar has denied any connection to any wrongdoing in the case. 

Kaili’s arrest came during a series of police raids across homes and offices in and near Brussels in which at least 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million) in cash was seized. 

As the 44-year-old former TV news presenter sat in a Brussels jail cell, her colleagues in the Strasbourg parliament scrambled to distance themselves from the scandal.

The parliament’s president, Maltese conservative Roberta Metsola, called the sacking vote after reaching agreement with the leaders of the parliament’s political groupings, amid fears the scandal could spread.

On Wednesday, a Belgian judge will decide whether to maintain Kaili and three co-accused in custody pending trial. 

She was arrested last week during a series of raids by Belgian graft investigators on the homes and offices of several MEPs and their assistants or associates. 

Kaili is the only serving MEP to have been charged. But several more have had their offices put under police seal while investigations continue.

– Bags of cash-

A Belgian judicial source, confirming reports in Belgian newspapers Le Soir and Knack, said 600,000 euros were found at the home of one suspect, Italian former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri; 150,000 euros in Kaili’s flat; and 750,000 in her father’s hotel room. 

Because some of the cash was found in Kaili’s home, a judicial source said, Belgium concluded that she was caught red-handed, thus preventing her from asserting immunity from prosecution normally extended to serving MEPs.

A Belgian judicial source told AFP that investigators believe that figures representing Gulf monarchy Qatar had been paying off European politicians to burnish the country’s image.

Qatar is a key energy supplier to Europe, and plays an important intermediary role in several diplomatic tangles.

But it has also been criticised for the alleged mistreatment of migrant workers, most notoriously those who built the World Cup stadiums. 

Kaili visited Qatar just before the competition and called it a “front-runner in labour rights”, to the consternation of activists and some of her colleagues. She has also defended Qatar’s quest to win EU visa waivers for its citizens.

Qatar denies any involvement in European corruption. “Any claims of misconduct by the State of Qatar are gravely misinformed,” an official told AFP.

Kaili’s lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos told private Greek television channel Open TV: “Her position is she is innocent. She has nothing to do with Qatar’s bribes.”

Asked if any cash was found at Kaili’s home, Dimitrakopoulos said: “I am not confirming or denying. There is confidentiality. I have no idea if money was found or how much was found.”

But Brussels has been rocked by the claims, and Metsola, defending the integrity of the parliament, has sought to portray the alleged bribes as an assault on democracy.

Some MEPs braced for more revelations. “I’m fearful that what we’re seeing here is just the tip of the iceberg,” warned German social democrat Rene Repasi. 

Metsola also promised Qatar’s EU visa waiver bid would be sent back to a parliamentary committee for further scrutiny, delaying or derailing the measure.

– Further allegations –

Kaili was one of six people arrested. Four have been charged with “criminal organisation, corruption and money laundering” and two released.

One of those released was Luca Visentini, the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, a global labour body that has pushed Qatar on labour rights. 

“Should any further allegations be made, I look forward to the opportunity to refute them, as I am innocent of any wrongdoing,” he said in an ITUC statement.

The European Parliament is expected to approve a second text calling for more transparency to deter corruption in European institutions, which will go to a vote on Thursday. 

A Malian mother who gave birth to nine babies in Morocco last year returned home on Tuesday with her infants, Health Minister Dieminatou Sangare told AFP.

“Joy and satisfaction to see them in good health. The mother and babies are doing well and have arrived safe and sound in Mali,” she said in a message.

Sangare showed pictures on her Facebook page of her welcoming the two parents and their nine children in the capital Bamako.

Halima Cisse, a young woman from the northern city of Timbuktu, gave birth to five girls and four boys in Casablanca in May 2021.

Mali’s government flew her to the city’s Ain Borja clinic, which had better facilities to cope with multiple pregnancies than in the impoverished Sahel state.

Doctors had worried for the health of the mother-to-be and for the babies’ chances of survival, given the high risk of very premature birth.

She was 25 weeks pregnant when admitted and medical staff managed to extend her term to 30 weeks.

All were delivered safe and sound by Caesarean section, using a team of 10 doctors assisted by 25 paramedics.

They each weighed between 500 grams and one kilogram (1.1 and 2.2 pounds) but needed to stay in Morocco to benefit from specialist care.

The verified world record for the most living births is eight, born to an American woman, Nadya Suleman, nicknamed “Octomum”, in 2009 when she was 33.

“This is a first. It’s a source of pride for us,” Sangare said.

She said “the state honoured its commitments” in helping Cisse and expressed her thanks to the Moroccan medical team.

Former Peruvian president Pedro Castillo, who was removed from office and arrested last week on charges of rebellion and conspiracy, insisted Tuesday he would “never give up” his cause.

Castillo also called on police and the military to “stop killing” protesters demanding his release and reinstatement, after violent clashes between security forces and demonstrators left seven people dead in recent days.

“I will never give up and abandon this popular cause that brought me here,” the leftist Castillo said during a court hearing.

“From here I would like to urge the armed forces and national police to lay down their arms and stop killing these people thirsty for justice.

He said his arrest was unjust and arbitrary.

“I am not a thief, a rapist, corrupt or a thug,” he added during the virtual hearing into his appeal against provisional detention.

Castillo was arrested last Wednesday after he attempted to dissolve congress and rule by decree just hours before the legislature was due to hold a third impeachment vote against him. Castillo and his family were being investigated for alleged corruption.

Congress went ahead with its vote and overwhelmingly decided to impeach him for “moral incapacity.”

He was provisionally detained for seven days as prosecutors accused him of rebellion and conspiracy.

Within a matter of hours his vice-president Dina Boluarte, a former prosecutor, was sworn in as Castillo’s successor.

However, Castillo’s supporters began protesting almost immediately, with matters escalating on Sunday when two people were killed in clashes between demonstrators and the security forces.

Another five people died on Monday in more violent clashes.

Six of the seven dead have been in Apurmiac region, where Boluarte was born.

The other death happened in Peru’s second largest city Arequipa as police cleared hundreds of protesters from the runway at the city’s airport where they had set up barricades of burning tires, logs and rocks.

Boluarte tried to calm tensions on Sunday by vowing to bring forward elections from 2026 to 2024 and declaring a state of emergency in flashpoint areas.

Protests continued on Tuesday with road blocks in 13 of the country’s 24 regions, according to police.

The worst hit areas are in the north and the south, including the region of Cusco, a hotspot for tourism in the country as it is home to the Machu Picchu Inca citadel, and Arequipa.

Indigenous and agrarian organizations have also called an indefinite strike to begin on Tuesday.

That forced the train service between the city of Cusco and Machu Picchu to be suspended, the rail operator said.

Cusco airport was also shut overnight due to attempts by protesters to get inside.

The situation in Lima was calm on Tuesday morning following clashes on Monday night in which police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters trying to reach the congress building.

US researchers announced a historic nuclear fusion breakthrough on Tuesday, hailing a “landmark achievement” in the quest for a source of unlimited, clean power and an end to reliance on fossil fuels.

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California said an experiment it conducted this month “produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it.”

The US Department of Energy described the achievement of fusion ignition as a “major scientific breakthrough” that will lead to “advancements in national defense and the future of clean power.”

LLNL director Kim Budil described it as “is one of the most significant scientific challenges ever tackled by humanity.”

Scientists have been working for decades to develop nuclear fusion — touted by its supporters as a clean, abundant and safe source of energy that could eventually allow humanity to break its dependence on the fossil fuels driving a global climate crisis.

The LLNL said a team at its National Ignition Facility (NIF) conducted the first controlled fusion experiment in history on December 5, achieving what is known as “scientific energy breakeven.”

“This is a landmark achievement for the researchers and staff at the National Ignition Facility who have dedicated their careers to seeing fusion ignition become a reality, and this milestone will undoubtedly spark even more discovery,” US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said.

– More developments needed –

Nuclear power plants around the world currently use fission — the splitting of a heavy atom’s nucleus — to produce energy.

Fusion on the other hand combines two light hydrogen atoms to form one heavier helium atom, releasing a large amount of energy in the process.

That’s the process that occurs inside stars, including our sun.

On Earth, fusion reactions can be provoked by heating hydrogen to extreme temperatures inside specialized devices.

Researchers at the LLNL use the massive National Ignition Facility — 192 ultra-powerful lasers all pointed into a thimble-sized cylinder filled with hydrogen.

Like fission, fusion is carbon-free during operation, but has many more advantages: it poses no risk of nuclear disaster and produces much less radioactive waste.

However, there is still a long way to go before fusion is viable on an industrial scale.

“Many advanced science and technology developments are still needed to achieve simple, affordable IFE to power homes and businesses,” LLNL said.

Other nuclear fusion projects are also in development around the world, including the major international project known as ITER, which is currently under construction in France.

Instead of lasers, ITER will use a technique known as magnetic confinement, containing a swirling mass of fusing hydrogen plasma within a massive donut-shaped chamber.

South Africa’s scandal-engulfed President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday easily survived a vote in parliament on whether to initiate impeachment proceedings that could have forced him out of office.

After a heated debate, his ruling African National Congress (ANC) party defeated the motion by 214 votes to 148, with two abstentions through open voting.

The “inquiry will therefore not be proceeded with”, declared National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, preventing an impeachment over allegations he concealed a huge cash theft at his farm.

The removal of Ramaphosa could have thrown the Africa’s most industrialised country into political instability.

Ramaphosa — championed as a graft-busting saviour after corruption-stained predecessor Jacob Zuma — escaped thanks to the support of a majority of MPs from the ANC, which has been further divided by the scandal.

The extraordinary parliamentary session opened noisily in Cape Town to discuss the findings of an independent panel which said Ramaphosa may be guilty of serious violations and misconduct.

The 70-year-old president survived the day, thanks to his party’s majority in parliament.

Last week, he secured the renewed backing of the ANC, which holds 230 of the National Assembly’s 400 seats, after mounting a legal bid to have the damning report annulled. Some of his party MPs were absent during voting.

Justice Minister Ronald Lamola trashed the report saying “there is not sufficient evidence to impeach the president”.

“The panel report has set the bar too low to impeach a sitting president,” he said.

– ‘Constitutional delinquent’ –

The ANC national executive had vowed last week to shoot down any attempt to force Ramaphosa from office. 

That decision upset some, who said the executive had forced their hand. 

A few ANC lawmakers, including Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma — Ramaphosa’s rival, a cabinet minister and Zuma’s former wife — defied the party command.

Ramaphosa’s graft-tainted predecessor Zuma survived several no-confidence motions during his tenure before his own party forced him to resign in 2018.

Opposition parties presented a largely united front on the issue. 

Julius Malema, the fiery leader of the second largest opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party, expressed “deepest disappointment” in Ramaphosa who was once a “celebrated… architect” of South Africa’s constitution. 

He said Ramaphosa was now “peeing” on that document, calling him a “constitutional delinquent”.

Vuyolwethu Zungula, leader of the African Transformation Movement, a small opposition party which tabled the motion for the parliament-sanctioned inquiry into the scandal, said the “watershed moment” would “affirm that no one is above the law”.

– Sudanese element –

Ramaphosa, who was at his home during the vote, kicked off his day in the capital Pretoria, attending under pouring rain a police graduation ceremony.

If the opposition had had its way, Ramaphosa would have faced the prospect of having the affair further scrutinised by parliament in a year that leads to general elections in 2024.

An impeachment vote itself would have needed the support of a two-thirds majority of MPs to succeed.

The president, who was a wealthy businessman before entering politics, found himself in hot water in June when a controversial ex-spy boss filed a complaint against him to the police.

Arthur Fraser alleged Ramaphosa had concealed the theft of several million dollars from his farm in 2020.

He accused the president of having the burglars kidnapped and bribed into silence instead of reporting the matter to the authorities. 

Ramaphosa has not been charged with any crime and has denied wrongdoing.

The findings of the three-person special probe, issued last week, brought forward details that have left South Africa agog.

Ramaphosa acknowledged the theft of $580,000 in cash that was stashed under sofa cushions at his farm — a safer place, his employees said, than the office safe.

He said the money was payment for buffaloes bought by a Sudanese businessman, who recently confirmed the transaction in interviews with British media.