Ukraine: protesters block government buildings

Ukrainian protesters launched a nationwide strike and began to blockade government buildings on Monday and called for the ouster of the prime minister and his cabinet, as anger at the president’s decision to ditch a deal for closer ties with the EU.

The besieging of the building follows a huge rally in the capital by hundreds of thousands Ukrainians on Sunday. The rally was mostly peaceful, until a group of protesters tried to storm President Viktor Yanukovych’s office. After hours of scuffles, police chased protesters away with tear gas and truncheons.

It was a violent police action against protesters early Saturday that galvanized the latest round of protests whose aim is to bring down the president and his government.