International
The Court urges the judge to continue proceeding in the case of Obiang’s son
The National Court has urged Judge Santiago Pedraz to carry out a series of pending proceedings in the open investigation of a son of the president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, and two other members of his government for the alleged kidnapping and torture of four opponents in November 2019.
The second section of the Criminal has considered the appeal of relatives of the victims, which was adhered by the Prosecutor’s Office and the Movement for the Liberation of Equatorial Guinea-Third Republic (MLGE3R), against the order of the magistrate who refused to practice those proceedings having ceded jurisdiction to Guinea.
In its order, to which EFE has had access, the court recalls that that decision to cede jurisdiction has already been revoked, so that in the same way the denial of evidence agreed by the judge must be understood to be revoked.
And he specifies that these evidentiary proceedings requested by the accusations “had already been previously admitted” by the judge and therefore “must be practiced” unless, “for a reason other than the revoked transfer of jurisdiction, they were not considered necessary.”
Among the proceedings requested are the statements of several members of the working group on arbitrary arrests of the UN or that of a former UN rapporteur against torture.
The order of the Chamber, dated April 19, arrives a few days after the magistrate declared the summary concluded and raised it to the Criminal Chamber.
Judge Pedraz adopted that decision after the Chamber, also when resolving an appeal from the relatives of the opponents, warned him that he, as an investigating judge, was not competent to cede jurisdiction in this case to Guinea as he had agreed in January, but responded in “exclusively” to the Criminal Chamber itself.
In addition, last February, the Chamber forced him to issue European and international arrest and prison orders against those investigated.
These are the son of Obiang, current Secretary of State for the Presidency of Equatorial Guinea; the director of Presidential Security, Isaac Nguema; and the Minister of State, Nicolás Obama.
According to the complaint filed with Pedraz, the four victims, the deceased Julio Obama, Martín Obiang, Bienvenido Ndong and Feliciano Efa, left on a trip in November 2019 from Madrid to Juba (South Sudan), but were arbitrarily detained and transferred to Equatorial Guinea on a presidential plane to be imprisoned and tortured. EFE
International
Police investigate deaths of Rob Reiner and wife as apparent homicide
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the deaths of Hollywood actor and filmmaker Rob Reinerand his wife as an “apparent homicide,” amid a wave of tributes to the director of classics such as When Harry Met Sally.
According to U.S. media reports on Sunday, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles mansion with what appeared to be stab wounds.
Several political figures shared messages of condolence following the reported deaths of the director of A Few Good Menand his wife.
While the LAPD did not officially confirm the identities of the victims, it stated that homicide detectives were dispatched to the Reiner residence.
“At this time, no additional details are available and the investigation into an apparent homicide is ongoing,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that no arrests have been made and that no individuals are currently being questioned as suspects.
“I’m not going to confirm whether anyone is being questioned at this moment or not. We are going to try to speak with as many family members as we can,” Hamilton said.
CNN reported that a family spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Reiner and his wife.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and former Vice President Kamala Harrisissued statements expressing their condolences.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
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