
Equatorial Guinea urges UN to block the sale of a Paris mansion seized by France
The African country filed a case at the International Court of Justice in 2022, alleging France is violating international law by refusing to return assets seized during a corruption investigation into Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the son of Equatorial Guinea's long-serving president.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Appeals judges order ICC prosecutor to recuse himself from Venezuela investigation
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court on Friday ordered chief prosecutor Karim Khan to recuse himself from an investigation into Venezuela, citing a conflict of interest. Khan's sister-in-law, international criminal lawyer Venkateswari Alagendra, has been part of a team representing the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the five-judge appeals panel at the ICC says her involvement creates an issue of 'bias' for the prosecutor. The British barrister, who is currently on leave from the court, stepped down temporarily pending an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. Alagendra and Khan worked together previously on cases, including as defense counsel for Kenyan President William Ruto and for Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Alagendra is the sister of Khan's wife, human rights lawyer Shyamala Alagendra. The Washington-based Arcadia Foundation, which focuses on human rights issues in Venezuela, filed a complaint with the court in 2024, asking for Khan to be removed from the case over a conflict of interest. The court dismissed the initial complaint in February. In written filings, Khan told the court he could not 'recall' any discussion with his sister-in-law about the facts of the case and did not attend any meetings where she was present. The ICC has an ongoing investigation into violence that followed Venezuela's 2017 election but has so far not sought any arrest warrants. Khan announced in late 2021 that he was opening the investigation after a lengthy preliminary probe and an official referral — a request to investigate — in 2018 from Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay and Peru. However, the full-scale investigation was put on hold when Venezuelan authorities said they wanted to take over the case. The ICC is a court of last resort that only takes on cases when national authorities are unwilling or unable to investigate, a system known as complementarity. Khan pressed ahead with efforts to continue the court's first investigation in Latin America. ICC judges agreed with Khan and authorized him to resume investigations in Venezuela in 2023. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
UN Lays Out Survival Plan as Trump Threatens to Slash Funding
(Bloomberg) -- Secretary General Antonio Guterres is slashing more than $700 million in spending and laying plans to overhaul the United Nations as its largest sponsor, the US, pulls back support. We Should All Be Biking Along the Beach Seeking Relief From Heat and Smog, Cities Follow the Wind Chicago Curbs Hiring, Travel to Tackle $1 Billion Budget Hole NYC Mayor Adams Gives Bally's Bronx Casino Plan a Second Chance Boston's Dumpsters Overflow as Trash-Strike Summer Drags On Guterres's plan calls for 20% cuts in expenditures and employment, which would bring its budget, now $3.7 billion, to the lowest since 2018. About 3,000 jobs would be cut. Officially, the reform program is pegged to the UN's 80th anniversary, not the new US administration. But the scale of the reductions reflects the threat to US support, which traditionally accounts for 22% of the organization's budget. President Donald Trump has suspended that funding and pulled out of several UN bodies already, with a broader review expected to lead to further cuts. 'We're not going to be part of organizations that pursue policies that hamper the United States,' Deputy State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told reporters Thursday. The planned cuts at the UN come as the Trump administration has eliminated tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid as part of its drive to focus on what it sees as US interests. Conflicts from the Mideast to Ukraine and Africa have added to the need for global assistance. After years of financial struggles, the UN under Guterres already was planning to make sweeping structural changes. He warned in January it was facing 'a full-blown liquidity crisis.' Overall, spending across the UN system is expected to fall to the lowest level in about a decade - down as much as $20 billion from its high in 2023. 'UN 80 is in large part a reaction from the Secretary General to the kind of challenges posed by the second Trump administration,' said Eugene Chen, senior fellow at New York University's Center on International Cooperation. Guterres is expected to release details of his overhaul plans in a budget in September. The plan calls for restructuring many of its programs. Guterres controls the UN's regular budget, which is only a fraction of the total expenditures of its affiliates. Facing funding shortages of their own, agencies like UNICEF and UNESCO are also planning major cutbacks. The Trump administration already has stopped funds from going into the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, withdrawn from the UN Human Rights Council and left UNESCO. Guterres' plan has also drawn criticism, both from Trump allies and inside the UN. 'There are some things that the UN does that arguably should be increased in terms of resources,' said Brett Schaefer, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. 'And then there are some things that the UN shouldn't be decreasing but eliminating altogether.' He cited the UN's nuclear watchdog and the World Food Program as contributing significantly to US interests and singled out the Food and Agriculture Organization and Human Rights Council as having mandates at odds with American policy. Meanwhile, UN staff in Geneva announced last week they passed a motion of no confidence in Guterres and the plan. 'Staff felt its slash and burn approach lacked focus, had no strategic purpose, and was making the UN more top-heavy and bloated,' Ian Richards, president of the UN Staff Union in Geneva, posted on LinkedIn about the UN 80 report. That vote has largely symbolic importance, according to NYU's Chen. Still, Guterres' efforts to get ahead of the inevitable cuts that reductions in US support will bring could help the UN adapt, he added. 'Maybe that's a silver lining,' Chen said. 'We'll all be primed for reform.' --With assistance from Eric Martin. How Podcast-Obsessed Tech Investors Made a New Media Industry Everyone Loves to Hate Wind Power. Scotland Found a Way to Make It Pay Off Russia Builds a New Web Around Kremlin's Handpicked Super App Cage-Free Eggs Are Booming in the US, Despite Cost and Trump's Efforts What's Really Behind Those Rosy GDP Numbers? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
UN Lays Out Survival Plan as Trump Threatens to Slash Funding
(Bloomberg) -- Secretary General Antonio Guterres is slashing more than $700 million in spending and laying plans to overhaul the United Nations as its largest sponsor, the US, pulls back support. We Should All Be Biking Along the Beach Seeking Relief From Heat and Smog, Cities Follow the Wind Chicago Curbs Hiring, Travel to Tackle $1 Billion Budget Hole NYC Mayor Adams Gives Bally's Bronx Casino Plan a Second Chance Boston's Dumpsters Overflow as Trash-Strike Summer Drags On Guterres's plan calls for 20% cuts in expenditures and employment, which would bring its budget, now $3.7 billion, to the lowest since 2018. About 3,000 jobs would be cut. Officially, the reform program is pegged to the UN's 80th anniversary, not the new US administration. But the scale of the reductions reflects the threat to US support, which traditionally accounts for 22% of the organization's budget. President Donald Trump has suspended that funding and pulled out of several UN bodies already, with a broader review expected to lead to further cuts. 'We're not going to be part of organizations that pursue policies that hamper the United States,' Deputy State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told reporters Thursday. The planned cuts at the UN come as the Trump administration has eliminated tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid as part of its drive to focus on what it sees as US interests. Conflicts from the Mideast to Ukraine and Africa have added to the need for global assistance. After years of financial struggles, the UN under Guterres already was planning to make sweeping structural changes. He warned in January it was facing 'a full-blown liquidity crisis.' Overall, spending across the UN system is expected to fall to the lowest level in about a decade - down as much as $20 billion from its high in 2023. 'UN 80 is in large part a reaction from the Secretary General to the kind of challenges posed by the second Trump administration,' said Eugene Chen, senior fellow at New York University's Center on International Cooperation. Guterres is expected to release details of his overhaul plans in a budget in September. The plan calls for restructuring many of its programs. Guterres controls the UN's regular budget, which is only a fraction of the total expenditures of its affiliates. Facing funding shortages of their own, agencies like UNICEF and UNESCO are also planning major cutbacks. The Trump administration already has stopped funds from going into the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, withdrawn from the UN Human Rights Council and left UNESCO. Guterres' plan has also drawn criticism, both from Trump allies and inside the UN. 'There are some things that the UN does that arguably should be increased in terms of resources,' said Brett Schaefer, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. 'And then there are some things that the UN shouldn't be decreasing but eliminating altogether.' He cited the UN's nuclear watchdog and the World Food Program as contributing significantly to US interests and singled out the Food and Agriculture Organization and Human Rights Council as having mandates at odds with American policy. Meanwhile, UN staff in Geneva announced last week they passed a motion of no confidence in Guterres and the plan. 'Staff felt its slash and burn approach lacked focus, had no strategic purpose, and was making the UN more top-heavy and bloated,' Ian Richards, president of the UN Staff Union in Geneva, posted on LinkedIn about the UN 80 report. That vote has largely symbolic importance, according to NYU's Chen. Still, Guterres' efforts to get ahead of the inevitable cuts that reductions in US support will bring could help the UN adapt, he added. 'Maybe that's a silver lining,' Chen said. 'We'll all be primed for reform.' --With assistance from Eric Martin. How Podcast-Obsessed Tech Investors Made a New Media Industry Everyone Loves to Hate Wind Power. Scotland Found a Way to Make It Pay Off Russia Builds a New Web Around Kremlin's Handpicked Super App Cage-Free Eggs Are Booming in the US, Despite Cost and Trump's Efforts What's Really Behind Those Rosy GDP Numbers? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.