Under U.N. financial regulations, any money unspent, often because states paid too late or not at all, is automatically subtracted from their future dues

International News via Reuters:

U.N. officials are hoping to overhaul a “bizarre” rule that could see the global body credit hundreds of millions of dollars in unspent dues to states next year, even as it faces fears of bankruptcy.

Under U.N. financial regulations, any money unspent, often because states paid too late or not at all, is automatically subtracted from their future dues. 

This means the global body would have to credit members nearly $300 million next year, U.N. officials say, reducing by close to 10% the planned budget of $3.2 billion.

Tatiana Valovaya, director general of the U.N. in Geneva, called the rule “bizarre”, saying reforms have been sought for years but so far have not succeeded.

“The organisation has to return to the member states the money which it hasn’t received, and that could make our situation for the year 2026 even more difficult,” she told reporters this week.

The U.N. is already facing a 15% budget reduction as it seeks to cut costs in its 80th year amid a cash crisis, driven largely by arrears from top contributor the United States.

A decision is set to be made on reforming the rule as part of ongoing talks on the 2026 budget, with the General Assembly set to make a decision before year-end, a U.N. spokesperson told Reuters.

U.N. fees are based on the size of each of its 193 members’ economies. Observers say the rule made sense when countries paid their dues punctually and in full but as of December 15 only 148 had done so, a U.N. website showed.

Many fear U.S. President Donald Trump will not pay the U.S.’ outstanding fees after criticising the body.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is seeking to temporarily suspend the return of credits as part of the budget package, a U.N. document showed. In October, he estimated the amount to be credited to states will rise to $600 million in 2027 based on unspent funds from 2025.

“That means a race to bankruptcy,” he said.

U.N. finances expert Ronny Patz called it a “runaway crisis”. “We are getting to a point where core functions cannot be performed and that impacts everything that depends on the Secretariat,” he said.

Reporting by Emma Farge; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York; Editing by Sharon Singleton

The country of nearly 175 million people has been on edge since a student-led uprising in 2024 toppled Sheikh Hasina’s long-standing government

International News via Reuters:

Printing presses at Bangladesh’s two leading newspapers went silent on Friday for the first time in decades after mobs torched their offices in the worst attack on the media ahead of February’s national elections.

The country of nearly 175 million people has been on edge since a student-led uprising in 2024 toppled Sheikh Hasina’s long-standing government. Hasina is now sheltering in New Delhi, straining ties with India.

Tensions spiked further after youth leader and election candidate Sharif Osman Hadi – a vocal critic of India – died on Thursday night in a Singapore hospital, days after being shot by masked assailants in Dhaka.

Hundreds of mostly young protesters then flooded Dhaka’s streets, ransacking and setting ablaze the offices of Prothom Alo, the nation’s largest daily, and The Daily Star. By Friday, their charred shells stood as grim evidence, windows shattered and interiors gutted.

STAFF TRAPPED FOR HOURS IN BURNING OFFICES

Journalists and a government source said the newspapers may have been targeted for being seen as pro-Hasina and pro-India, though both say they are independent. The Daily Star said in an online report that the mob had called them “Delhi’s lapdog” and “Sheikh Hasina’s enabler”.

“There have been sporadic attacks on newspaper offices but never at this scale,” Kamal Ahmed, the newspaper’s consulting editor, told Reuters.

“When they set fire to the building, the staff members inside could not escape. They went up to the rooftop, and they were trapped … for about five hours. Our employees were gasping for breath in the dark smoke.”

They were finally able to exit the building after 4 in the morning with the help of military reinforcements, he said.

The paper said in a statement “certain elements and quarters have exploited the public anger (after Hadi’s death) to incite mobs against two newspapers that have always stood for objective journalism”.

YUNUS GOVERNMENT UNDER FIRE

The latest violence has rattled the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who has faced criticism for failing to restore order since taking office in August 2024.

“This is a reflection of the interim government’s failure to control the rise of mobocracy,” said political analyst Asif Shahan, a professor at the University of Dhaka. “The monster has been unleashed and the key challenge for the next government is to tame this leviathan.”

Yunus’ press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, said he was sorry that he could not help the journalists in time despite him receiving “frantic, tear-choked calls for help”.

“I made scores of calls to the right people, trying to mobilise help, but it did not arrive in time,” he said in a social media post. “I wish I could dig up a great piece of earth and bury myself in shame.”

ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS CONTINUE

Bangladesh ranks 149 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index, two places ahead of neighbour India. Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International says harassment of journalists, writers and activists persists under the interim government.

At least 1,073 journalists have faced physical assaults, lawsuits, killings, threats, imprisonment, and property seizures in the past year, its latest report says.

Yunus’ government promised “full justice”, calling attacks on journalists “attacks on truth itself”.

But for those trapped Thursday night, the ordeal lingers. “The smoke was so thick we couldn’t see our hands,” said one journalist, declining to be named.

The Daily Star missed its first edition in 35 years but plans to resume Saturday, Ahmed said.

“Whatever progress the interim government … had achieved in respect of freedom of press and expression, this failure to prevent attacks on two top newspapers has undone that,” he said.

Prothom Alo could not publish on Friday for the first time in its 27-year-history, said its Executive Editor, Sajjad Sharif.

“It’s the darkest day for freedom of press,” he said.

Reporting by Tora Agarwala and Saurabh Sharma in New Delhi; Writing by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Ros Russell

Mayor Roberto Gualtieri told reporters the new payment system would start on February 1, adding that the measure was expected to raise 6.5 million euros a year

International News via Reuters:

Tourists who want to get close to Rome’s Trevi Fountain will soon have to pay a two-euro ($2.34) fee, the city mayor said on Friday, as authorities look to profit more handsomely from Italy’s many attractions.

Mayor Roberto Gualtieri told reporters the new payment system would start on February 1, adding that the measure was expected to raise 6.5 million euros a year.

“Two euros isn’t very much … and it will lead to less chaotic tourist flows,” Gualtieri said, stressing that citizens of Rome will continue to have free access to the fountain.

Tourists will have to pay if they want to get onto the stone steps surrounding the fountain’s basin, while the small surrounding square offering a view of the imposing monument will remain open for everyone.

The Trevi Fountain, where tradition dictates that visitors toss a coin into the water to guarantee their return to Rome, has long been a major tourist attraction, even for visiting world leaders.

Completed in 1762, the monument is a late Baroque masterpiece depicting Oceanus, the god of all water, and symbolising the varying moods of the world’s seas and rivers.

It has received nine million visitors so far this year, Gualtieri said, suggesting that he expects many people will opt to view the fountain from afar in future, rather than pay to get near the water.

Visitors on Friday said they would be willing to pay if the money was put to good use.

“If it means that money is used to keep it maintained, then yeah, that’s fine,” said British tourist Yvonne Salustri.

Gualtieri said five other relatively unknown sites in Rome that are currently free will start charging five euros for access from February, continuing the recent trend aimed at squeezing profits from Italy’s cultural heritage.

In 2023, a five-euro entrance fee was introduced for Rome’s ancient Pantheon. As a result the square outside is often crammed with people waiting for their turn to pay and enter.

Venice has introduced a tourist entry-fee system during the peak travel season, while Verona this month began charging for access to the balcony in the northern Italian city that is associated with Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”.

($1 = 0.8538 euros)

Reporting by Angelo Amante and Alvise Armellini; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Gavin Jones