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UNESCO suspends science prize named for African head of state

Other News Materials 21 October 2010 17:46 (UTC +04:00)
UNESCO said Thursday it had suspended the awarding of an international science prize named for the authoritarian president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
UNESCO suspends science prize named for African head of state

UNESCO said Thursday it had suspended the awarding of an international science prize named for the authoritarian president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, DPA reported.

The UNESCO-Obiang Nguema Mbasogo International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences will be awarded again when a consensus is found on its future, the Paris-based education and culture organization said in a statement.

The award's 300,000-dollar prize was funded by Equatorial Guinea. It had provoked the ire of several human rights organizations, who claimed the money came from illegal affairs.

Obiang Nguema has been in power since 1979. His country has been repeatedly criticized by Transparency International and other groups for alleged corruption.

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