- England begin quest to deliver on great expectations at Euro 2024
- Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia crowned Australian Open badminton champion
- Israel announces daily Gaza 'pause' for aid deliveries
- UK 'guinea pig' for election security before landmark votes
- Hajj pilgrims 'stone the devil' as Muslims mark Eid al-Adha
- Titmus and McKeown carry Australian Olympic swim hopes in bid to topple US
- Senegalese eye elegance for Eid at half the price
- Israel's 'economic war' chokes occupied West Bank
- Chinese Premier Li toasts warming trade ties in Australia
- Australia sink brave Scots at T20 World Cup, England advance
- Oilers rout Panthers to keep NHL Stanley Cup alive
- Trump boasts of cognitive test, then flubs doctor's name
- China to replace Australia's popular giant pandas
- Gaza tests historic bond between UK Muslims and Labour
- UK election picks over 14 years of Conservative rule
- Scotland 180-5 against Australia in T20 World Cup
- Pavon tries to snap 117-year French drought with US Open win
- Foreign-born pandas join China's efforts to boost wild population
- Shunned by West, Russian army deserters live in fear
- Gretchen Walsh sets 100m fly world record at US Olympic swimming trials
- Biden holds LA fundraiser as Trump courts Michigan
- Chinese Premier Li touts trade in rare Australia visit
- Gretchen Walsh sets 100m butterfly world record at US Olympic swimming trials
- DeChambeau leads US Open by three after birdie spree
- Young Chiefs forward Sititi touted for All Blacks call-up
- Aussie Kim moves clear at LPGA Meijer Classic
- Italy begin Euro 2024 title defence with win as Spain start in style
- England stay alive in T20 World Cup with rain-hit win over Namibia
- La Rochelle set up Top 14 semi-final against Toulouse
- Pavon grabs US Open lead with sizzling start at Pinehurst
- Italy 'too comfortable' in Albania win, says Spalletti
- England set Namibia 127 in crunch rain-hit T20 World Cup game
- Italy recover from disastrous start to win Euro 2024 opener
- Zelensky seeks internationally agreed peace plan to present to Russia
- Sri Lanka's Mathews admits 'we let country down' at T20 World Cup
- Raducanu edges ahead before bad light halts all-British semi-final
- Van Dijk says poor pitch for Dutch Euros opener 'a shame'
- England bat in rain-hit must-win T20 World Cup game against Namibia
- Spain coach says 'staying calm is power' after big Croatia win
- Aberg chases US Open debut win while Scheffler struggles
- Albania's Bajrami scores fastest ever Euros goal after 23 seconds
- Pakistan needs major change after reaching 'lowest point' says Imad Wasim
- Croatia coach Dalic 'apologises' for poor start to Euro 2024
- Venezuela opposition reports arbitrary detentions ahead of election
- Spain begin Euro 2024 in style, Switzerland win
- Messi spearheads Argentina's Copa America defence
- England have earned right to be Euro 2024 favourites: Kane
- Spain romp past Croatia in opener as Yamal makes Euros history
- Rain delays England's must-win T20 World Cup game against Namibia
- Quarter million protest in France against far right: police
Top UN court rejects emergency steps after Mexico embassy raid
The UN's top court Thursday rejected a request by Mexico for emergency measures over a raid on its embassy in Quito last month, ruling that Ecuador had given sufficient assurances that the diplomatic mission will be protected.
Ecuadoran security forces stormed the Mexican embassy in Quito in early April to snatch former vice president Jorge Glas, who is wanted on corruption charges and had been granted asylum by Mexico.
Mexico dragged Ecuador before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, asking judges to declare Quito in breach of international law.
It also sought "provisional measures" including that judges rule that Quito "take appropriate and immediate steps to provide full security of diplomatic premises... and archives, preventing further intrusion against them".
Mexico also asked judges to order Ecuador to "refrain from any act or conduct likely to aggravate or widen the dispute of which the Court is seized".
- 'No threats' -
But the ICJ judges said Ecuador had already given assurances it was "providing full protection to the premises of the Mexican mission and diplomatic residences."
Quito had told the court there were "no threats to the relevant properties or archives and Mexico is free to remove such property and archives whenever it wishes."
"The Court considers that the assurances given by... Ecuador encompass the concerns expressed by Mexico" in its request, ICJ presiding judge Nawaf Salam said.
"The Court considers that there is at present no urgency," judge Salam said, turning down Mexico's application for emergency measures.
Judges will next ruminate over the case proper, in which Mexico accuses Ecuador of "breaking international law" -- but that could still take months or even years.
Quito's rare incursion on diplomatic territory sparked an international outcry, and led Mexico to break ties with Ecuador and withdraw its diplomats.
Mexico's representative Alejandro Celorio Alcantara told judges last month that Ecuador's raid "crossed a line", setting a dangerous precedent when it came to international relations.
"There are lines in international law which should not be crossed," Celorio said.
Mexico is asking the ICJ to suspend Ecuador from the UN until it issues a public apology -- and for the court to declare itself the "appropriate judicial body" to determine Quito's responsibility in order to start a process to expel it from the world body.
Mexico based its application on the principles of the UN Charter, the 1948 Pact of Bogota -- which obliges signatories to solve disputes through peaceful means -- and the 1961 Vienna Convention which guarantees protection for diplomatic staff.
- 'Serious offences' -
Ecuador's diplomats hit back during the hearings, saying the embassy raid was "exceptional" and aimed "solely" to bring Glas -- which Quito said was a wanted fugitive -- to justice.
"Mexico for months misused its diplomatic premises in Quito to shelter a common criminal who had been duly convicted by the highest Ecuadoran courts of very serious corruption-related offences," said Andres Teran Parral, Ecuador's ambassador to the Netherlands.
Ecuador last month filed its own case against Mexico, making a similar argument that it "blatantly abused" its diplomatic mission to harbour Glas.
Glas, who was vice president from 2013 to 2017, faces graft charges stemming from his time in office.
He was detained at the embassy on a warrant issued in January on embezzlement charges relating to funds from public works contracts, issued after a devastating earthquake hit Ecuador in 2016.
Glas was also convicted in a separate fraud case in 2017.
The raid came hours after Mexico granted Glas's request for political asylum.
Several Latin American states, Spain, the European Union, the United States, and the UN chief have condemned the embassy intrusion.
Meanwhile, Glas remains behind bars at the southwestern Guayaquil prison, with his lawyers fighting to prevent the extraction of data from two cellphones and an iPad, seized when he was arrested.
B.Shevchenko--BTB