La Paz  - Bolivia broke diplomatic ties with Israel over the "disproportionate" attacks of the Israeli Army on the Gaza Strip, Bolivian President Evo Morales said Wednesday in La Paz.

Morales made the announcement as diplomats accredited in Bolivia greeted the president in accordance with protocol, Bolivian media reported.

He exhorted the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate the ongoing attacks in Gaza which have already over 1,000 lives.

La Paz  - Two sp

La Paz - Bolivian President Evo Morales saluted Wednesday the "historic" triumph of Barack Obama, who was elected to become the first African-American president in US history.

"Mr. Obama's triumph is really historic. We congratulate him on that triumph and we await the improvement in our (bilateral) relations in the future," Morales said as he arrived at the presidential palace in La Paz for a ministerial meeting.

Morales himself achieved a historic electoral feat when he was elected to become the first president of indigenous descent in Bolivia's history in 2006.

La Paz - The government and opposition agreed to hold a nationwide referendum Sunday on the new draft constitution proposed by the president, after he agreed to term limits, a senior official said.

Rural Development Minister Carlos Romero said on Monday the agreement moves up the next general election by one year, to January 2009, which President Evo Morales would contest for his second and final term.

La Paz  - Negotiations broke down in Bolivia when regional governors in rebellion against the federal government refused to sign an agreement with President Evo Morales' administration, a senior official said.

Rural Development Minister Carlos Romero insisted Sunday night that the two sides made significant advances on the issue of autonomy during 10 hours of talks in the city of Cochabamba.

"They can't say that there wasn't any agreement," Romero said. "If they're trying to say there was no consensus, then they are just playing politics, and we're not interested in that."

But one of the governors said no consensus had been reached.

La Paz - Bolivia's government, led by leftist President Evo Morales, and the conservative opposition adjourned talks until Monday without breakthroughs on key issues in their dispute over autonomy and tax revenues that has led to deadly violence.

Working groups for both sides have been unable to agree on a formula on dividing up tax income from oil and gas between the federal government and states, the opposition's Mario Cossio, governor of the breakaway state of Tarija, said Thursday.