Inhoudsopgave van 2022-09-14 - Mercury

ARC INVESTMENTS (ARC), majority owned by the Ubuntu-Botho Investments Group, lifted net asset value 14.7 percent to R10.06 per share in the year to June 30 after good financial performances by many of its businesses. The net asset value growth was due to good performances by some of the businesses it has invested in, such as Rain, TymeBank in South Africa, Tyme Global in Singapore, Alexforbes, Fledge Capital and Capital Legacy, ARC said in a statement. Looking ahead, co-chief executive Johan van Zyl said they were likely to consider fewer major acquisitions, following a “good run” since listing five years ago. “We’ll enter a phase of reviewing our portfolio and consider some pruning over the short to medium term. We have received some unsolicited offers for our shareholdings in…

Hopes that country’s economy will rebound next year have been dashed SOUTH Africa’s ongoing energy crisis has dimmed hopes that the economy will rebound significantly next year as growth has already started shrinking. Eskom yesterday ramped up its rotational load shedding to Stage 4 until tomorrow morning after promising it would ease it to Stage 2 for the test of the week. Last month, Eskom warned that South Africa could face up to 27 days of load shedding in September, lasting all the way into September 2023, if unplanned breakdowns soar to 16 000MW. It currently has 5 446MW on planned maintenance, while another 16 985MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns. The South African Reserve Bank last month forecast that the economy will expand by…

MINING activity in South Africa will probably be depressed for the remainder of the year, and drag economic growth even lower as the lingering impact of intensified power cuts and industrial action saw output falling more than expected in July. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday showed that mining output plunged by 8.4 percent in July year-on-year following a downwardly revised 7.1 percent decline in June. This was the sixth consecutive month of decline in mining production since February, with January being the only exception that saw a slight 0.1 percent increase in output. The July mining print, which was slightly ahead of consensus expectations of a 5 percent year-on-year decline, was also the second-largest single decline this year after April’s 15 percent fall.…

THE Sekunjalo Group of Companies’ (Sekunjalo) bank accounts at Nedbank will continue to remain open after the Western Cape High Court reserved judgment in the bank’s appeal against the interim interdict granted to Sekunjalo in June, preventing the bank from closing its bank accounts. Nedbank had sought leave to appeal the judgment handed down in June by Judge Mokgoatji Dolamo and had argued that the matter was appealable and, as such, had reasonable prospects for success. The June ruling said that, pending the final determination of Sekunjalo’s main Equality Court application, any of its accounts that had already been closed at the time of the hearing of the application should be reopened with immediate effect. The judgment also ordered that Nedbank retain the terms and conditions on which these accounts…

Former KwaZulu-Natal treasurer Dumisani Sipho Derrick Shabalala will petition the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) directly in a bid to stay out of jail after his application for leave to appeal his conviction and 15-year sentence was turned down in the Pietermaritzburg High Court yesterday. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) KZN spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said as the leave to appeal was dismissed, Shabalala’s bail was cancelled and he had to start serving his sentence immediately. However, speaking after the court hearing, Shabalala’s lawyer, Siphiwe Moloi of SD Moloi and Associates, said they would petition the SCA directly to appeal the lower court’s decision and to ask for Shabalala’s bail to be extended. On September 8, Shabalala was sentenced after being found guilty in June of corruption, fraud, money laundering and contravening…

There is glaring evidence that the two waves of floods that hit our city earlier this year nearly destroyed our entire basic services infrastructure. While disaster relief funding from the national government was still being processed, the municipality mobilised internal financial resources. Our priority was the welfare of our citizens and all our stakeholders. The eThekwini Municipality is the manufacturing and logistics hub of the country. Therefore, for goods to reach our port for export and imports, we must clear all hurdles that could pose a threat to this economic activity. The recent data from Statistics South Africa that pointed out that our economy nosedived by 0.7% in the second quarter sketched a vivid picture of the harm this calamity caused to our city. We have had instances where our…

The issue of awaiting-trial accused who often sit behind bars for years before they are sentenced, and then receive a life sentence, should be looked at by the Supreme Court of Appeal. This is according to a judge sitting in the Western Cape High Court who presided over an appeal by three men convicted of murder and sentenced to life in jail. The trio complained that they had been awaiting trial in prison for nearly six years before they were sentenced. This was because, for several reasons, the trial took a long time to conclude. According to them, it was unfair that they were each given a life sentence – 25 years in jail before they can be considered for parole – without the judge taking into consideration the six…

EXTREME weather and climate change are undermining human health and safety, food and water security, and socio-economic development on the African continent. Rising water demand combined with limited and unpredictable supplies additionally threatens to aggravate conflict and displacement, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). The State of the Climate in Africa 2021 report provides authoritative scientific information on temperature trends and other climate indicators. The report noted water stress was estimated to affect 250 million people in Africa, and was expected to displace up to 700 million people by 2030. Four out of five African countries were unlikely to have sustainably managed water resources by 2030. “The worsening crisis and looming famine in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa shows how climate change can exacerbate water…

President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the industrialisation of South Africa’s economy was a key pillar of the country’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Programme. Ramaphosa was speaking at the launch of the Hesto Harnesses manufacturing facility in KwaDukuza yesterday. The 35 000m² facility is one of five capital investment projects which resulted in a commitment of over R1.4 billion by Metair in South Africa, and will produce wiring harnesses for the latest Ford Ranger and Isuzu models. The launch was also attended by KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube- Ncube and Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel. Ramaphosa said the investment commitment by Metair reflects long-term confidence in South Africa as a key link in the global automotive value chain. “We need to work together to unlock new business opportunities, transformation…

THE SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has claimed that there is a shortage of drinking water, sanitation remains a challenge and the delivery of houses is moving at a snail’s pace, months after the floods devastated KwaZulu-Natal. The commission appeared before the ad hoc Joint Committee on Flood Disaster Relief and Recovery on Monday to present its findings on the progress achieved in addressing the ongoing human impact of the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and North West. The SAHRC told the committee that in some instances seven family members share a two-roomed unit, with no running drinking water, nor privacy for anyone. “In addition, there is no security in the temporary shelters and women, in particular, are at serious risk.” The commission also found learners’ rights to…

HOW unfortunate it is that we only know about some of our heroes/heroines after they die. Something must be done otherwise we will look like a nation of hypocrites. In political circles the word imbokodo is transformed into a concept that symbolises strength. It emanated from a slogan used by the women who marched against the pass laws on August 9, 1956. The slogan was directed at then prime minister, JG Strijdom. “Wathint’Abafazi, Wathint’Imbokodo”, the women chanted. The reason for this explanation is because mama Rita Ndzanga came into the heat of politics before the 1956 women’s march. It is unfortunate that (like her) there are unknown or less known people who have contributed so much. In 1955 she worked as the secretary of the Railway Workers Union and was…

Crowds of well-wishers greeted King Charles with handshakes and warm words when he visited Northern Ireland yesterday as part of a tour of the UK to lead mourning for his mother Queen Elizabeth. Enthusiasm for the new monarch and fond memories of the queen were evident during a visit laden with symbolism and significance given Britain’s historical record in Ireland and the more recent years of violence in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles. In Scotland, Queen Elizabeth’s flag-draped coffin laid at rest in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, where thousands of people filed past it to pay their final respects. The casket was to be flown to London later yesterday for four days of lying in state before a state funeral on Monday. Elizabeth died on Thursday in her…

Los Angeles: Franco-Swiss director and New Wave standard-bearer Jean-Luc Godard, who revolutionised world cinema with his ground-breaking debut, Breathless, died at 91. French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Godard on social media with a message describing the auteur as “the most iconoclastic of New Wave film-makers, who had invented a resolutely modern, intensely free art.” Godard presented his last film The Image Book at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018 and was celebrated with the Special Palme d’Or. He was also planning to adapt the film into an exhibit in Paris, Madrid, New York and Singapore before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. | IANS…

London: Commonwealth nations could “rush for the door” of the bloc after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, an expert has warned, reports said. In addition to the UK, Charles III now rules in 14 Commonwealth countries which were former dominions of the British Empire. With republican movements gaining ground from Australia to the Bahamas, Charles faces a challenge keeping the Commonwealth realms in the royal fold, a report said. Several are to vote on becoming republics and replace him as head of state now that nostalgic ties to the late monarch are broken by her death. Barbados became a republic last year and Jamaica has indicated a desire to follow suit. | IANS…

AmaZulu's bid for a potential successful campaign is already coming under scrutiny as the club weather their heaviest storm under head coach Brandon Truter. Usuthu have heavily refurbished their 2022/23 squad as both Truter and club owner Sandile Zungu look to rebuild the club into one they believe should be challenging the powerhouses of South African football. Usuthu are currently going through their most difficult period since Truter joined the club, a test of his ability to rally his troops and re-establish the kind of form that drew the eyes of many in the opening matches of the campaign. The KwaZulu-Natal based club shot to the top of the league standings with three victories and a draw in the first four matches, placing them in prime position to claim the…

ORGANISED business has come out swinging against the proposed carbon tax increments which will see gradual increases in the carbon tax rate for the 2023 to 2025 tax periods. The increases are by a minimum of $1/tCO2e, increasing gradually to $20 in 2026 and at least to $30/tCO2e (per ton of carbon emissions equivalent) in 2030. The Energy Council of South Africa, Minerals Council South Africa, Business Leadership South Africa, Business Unity South Africa, South African Petroleum Industry Association and Energy Intensive Users Group jointly proposed that the annual carbon tax increases continue to be based on the Consumer Price Index (+2 percent) structure until at least 2030, to allow for the review and alignment of policies. “Business and the South African economy cannot accommodate the steepness of the…

ATTACQ, the JSE-listed real estate investment trust (Reit) developing Waterfall City, did well in its year to June 30 by lifting distributable income per share from 34.2 percent to 62.8 cents and resuming dividend payments with the 50c per share, representing an 80 percent payout ratio. The group’s performance was in the context of South Africa’s record unemployment levels and low-growth economic environment and reflected the underlying quality of the portfolio, which has been characterised by continued growth in the burgeoning mixed-use Waterfall City precinct – the precinct has continued to attract local and global blue chip clients. “We emerged from Covid-19 with an improved company culture and capital structure. Our focus is now on new opportunities, mainly through the implementation of our environmental plan and delivery…

BUILDING and construction group Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon’s (WBHO) headline earnings per share decreased by 19 percent during the year to the end of June after revenues slid 11 percent due to a slump in civil construction and roadworks. Revenue for the year was 11 percent lower at R17 billion, while the headline earnings per share score sagged to almost R13 per share. The WBHO share price closed 0.45 percent down at R76.65 on the JSE yesterday. “Activity within both the building and civil engineering and roads and earthworks divisions slowed during the current reporting period,” the company said. Its international market also reported a “subdued procurement environment” especially in the UK, where the number of available bidding projects “reduced substantially”. The Manchester construction market was…

Parliament’s inquiry into suspended Public Protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office yesterday witnessed a heated clash between Mkhwebane’s lawyer, Dali Mpofu, and committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi, over the issue of the postponement of the hearings. The clash, which cut short the day’s proceedings, was as a result of Dyantyi’s refusal to grant Mpofu’s request for a postponement of the hearings until after Mkhwebane’s urgent application in the Western Cape High Court. The application is for an immediate enforcement of the court’s ruling which set aside her suspension by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mpofu wanted time to prepare for the case which had initially been set for yesterday. The application was postponed to Friday after the DA and Ramaphosa’s lawyers separately appealed against the judgment to the Constitutional Court.…

INVESTMENT analyst Dr James Greener notes in his latest grumpy newsletter that Larry, the No 10 Downing Street cat, now has a new carer. But that is not a grump, just an observation on events in Blighty. His grump is with the rather chunky bear that has the US bond market in his grip. “Simply, this means that people with cash to invest have over the past two years been demanding that the borrowers pay increasingly higher interest rates. “Conventionally the textbooks tell you that this is a manifestation of perceived higher risks in lending money. Even if in this case the borrower – the US government – is considered to be the least risky of all. Recall that they print the world’s reserve currency. “But the problem probably is…

Last year, Guillermo Palmadera, the mayor of a remote area in Peru’s Andes, was growing increasingly worried that a harsh dry season could spoil his district’s crops of barley, alfalfa and local tubers. The Andes have an annual dry season between May and September, but farmers in his district of Pamparomas say rains have been particularly sparse in the past couple of years, amid global human-caused climate change that is exacerbating extreme weather. Palmadera found a solution not with an engineer but with an archaeologist, who was surveying bits of an old stone wall in his district. Kevin Lane, an archaeologist at the University of Buenos Aires, had identified 18 abandoned dams built in Pamparomas before the Spanish colonisation of the Americas. Lane proposed refurbishing an old dam. “The problem…

MORE drama unfolded in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial yesterday as the third witness was expected to take the stand in the Pretoria High Court. Three media houses were asked to leave the courthouse over allegations they chased a witness with cameras. According to State advocate George Baloyi, the witness was literally chased by members of the media with cameras. Baloyi said this had petrified and unsettled the witness, who had to be taken to a room. “While we support the coverage from the media, events from this morning are unacceptable. Intrusive, overbearing conduct by the media against the witness is a cause for concern.” Baloyi asked that the court reiterate guidelines. Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela asked the media houses responsible to leave court proceedings, however they were later allowed back…

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has yet to make a decision over whether it will prosecute those responsible for the deaths of anti-apartheid activists, despite a commitment made three months ago. In June, Parliament heard that investigations into the deaths of the Cradock Four – Fort Calata, Matthew Goniwe, Sparrow Mkonto and Sicelo Mhlauli – were at an advanced stage. National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi at the time said they hoped to make a decision “within a month to six weeks, it won’t be longer than that”. However, it emerged on Sunday that Batohi’s deadline, which was July 15, had not been met and the affected families had not been contacted. This was despite Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola saying in a recent written parliamentary reply…

PUBLIC Works and Infrastructure Department deputy director-general Imtiaz Ahmed Fazel is set to become the next inspector-general of intelligence (IGI) after the National Assembly approved his nomination. If appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, Fazel will take over from Setlhomamaru Isaac Dintwe, who left the position in March. Fazel’s nomination secured the required two-thirds majority when votes from the ANC and opposition parties totalled 334. This was after the nomination of Reverend Frank Chikane garnered only 232 votes when it was brought up to the House in June and therefore a new nomination had to be put forward. Speaking during the debate, EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said his party would not oppose the nomination of Fazel. “We want stability in that office and we want a progressive move forward. We want…

Cape Town hosted the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 from Friday to Sunday where Australia and Fiji were crowned champions of the quadrennial tournament. The attendance figures broke the previous record numbers set in 2018 in San Francisco. “It was amazing to see the fans come out to watch Africa’s first ever Rugby World Cup Sevens. The atmosphere was amazing and the action kept the fans on the edge of their seats,” said mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. | Mercury Correspondent…

William Ruto was sworn in as Kenya’s fifth president yesterday, a week after the Supreme Court rejected a challenge by his defeated opponent in a close-fought election that he won by portraying himself as an underdog “hustler” battling the elite. Deputy president for the past decade, Ruto must now confront an economic crisis in East Africa’s wealthiest and most stable nation, where food and fuel prices are surging, unemployment is high and public debt rising. “A village boy has become the president of Kenya,” Ruto said at the ceremony, as the crowd erupted in cheers. As severe drought exacerbates a major food crisis in East Africa, he promised to make 40 million half-price bags of fertiliser available next week. The 55-year-old won last month’s election despite a public repudiation by…

Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray was hit by an air strike yesterday local officials said, two days after rebel authorities there said they were ready for a ceasefire. The reported drone strike on the regional capital Mekele left at least one person injured, said Kibrom Gebreselassie, a senior official at Ayder Referral Hospital, the biggest in Tigray. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which has been at war with Ethiopia’s army and its allies for nearly two years, said a military drone “bombed” Mekele University in the early hours of yesterday, causing injuries and property damage. Dimtsi Weyane, a TPLF-affiliated TV network broadcasting in Tigray, said its station was also hit, forcing it off air and “causing heavy human and material damage”. Tigray has been hit by several air strikes…

NUR-SULTAN: Pope Francis said yesterday he was willing to go to China at any time but had “no news” to offer over speculation he might meet Chinese President Xi Jinping while both are in Kazakhstan. Francis arrived in Kazakhstan at the start of a three-day trip to attend a peace meeting of world religious leaders. Francis, who suffers from a knee ailment, for the first time on his trips used a finger ramp to exit the plane and enter the terminal on a wheelchair. Francis used a cane to walk around the plane greeting reporters as he usually does on such trips. He appeared in pain by the time he returned to his own seat in the front section of the aircraft. The pope has tried to ease the historically…

Islamabad: The number of polio cases detected in Pakistan this year has increased to 18 after a three-month-old infant in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district was paralysed by the virus, the health ministry announced. It said yesterday that the child, suffering from polio-induced disabilities, had an onset of paralysis on August 25. The humanitarian crisis in the wake of unprecedented floods will pose graver challenges to Pakistan in future, as millions of people are displaced and move to urban centres for refuge. Large-scale movement of people and high transmission season for the poliovirus escalates the risk of wild poliovirus spreading. | IANS…

THE BENCH Marks Foundation said yesterday it had been calling on the government to put exclusion zones around tailings of about 500 to 1 500 metres and not to allow any development near them as this is dangerous. This follows the collapse of a mine tailings dam in Jagersfontein on Sunday, in the Kopanong Local Muni- cipality in the Free State, which led to the death of one person, and the displacement of many others. The cause of the collapse has yet to be determined. The dam collapsed at about 6am on Sunday. The flow of water had stopped by Sunday afternoon. In an interview, Bench Marks Foundation spokesperson David van Wyk said the mining companies should also have known that it was wrong to have its tailings in…

LIBSTAR, a food producer whose brands include Denny mushrooms and Lancewood cheeses, said yesterday it had delivered a resilient interim performance despite supply chain disruptions, particularly in import and export shipment delays. Its results for the six months to June 30 showed that its largest category, Perishables, delivered revenue growth of 14.6 percent and an increase in normalised earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of 27.8 percent, supported by strong volume sales of pre-packed hard cheese by Lancewood and efficiencies in the value-added meat processing division, Finlar. The second-largest category, groceries, grew revenue by 2.2 percent and normalised Ebitda fell 17.7 percent due to supply chain disruptions and increased logistics costs in the Cape Herb & Spice export division. Libstar group revenue increased…

A MAMMOTH R7.7 billion expansion and environmental upgrade project at the Sappi Saiccor mill was officially opened by President Cyril Ramaphosa in Umkomaas, KwaZulu-Natal yesterday. The project was first officially announced at the Presidential Investment Conference in 2018. The project would strengthen the country’s role as a global supplier of Lyocell, the fibre of the future for sustainable textiles. Sappi Global board chairperson Sir Nigel Rudd said: “The board believes that the South African forestry industry is globally competitive and can make further substantial contributions to the South African economy. This investment reflects our confidence in our South African operations.” Chief executive Steve Binnie said there was growing global demand for renewable textiles derived from sustainable wood fibre. Sappi supplies more than 50 percent of the…

Prince Simakade has finally filed his legal bid to challenge the recognition of Misuzulu KaZwelithini as the king of the Zulu nation, starting his journey to dethrone his half-brother. The first-born son of the late King Goodwill Zwelithini also wants President Cyril Ramaphosa’s gazette that announced and certified the recognition of the king to be declared invalid and set aside. Just days before the Reed Dance at Enyokeni Palace, the prince has approached the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. The court papers were filed with the court on Monday and the sheriff of Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal served all the cited parties yesterday. The Reed Dance festival has been in the spotlight after the prince claimed the palace was his base and out of bounds to the king. It also…

There are helpful and simple (but not easy) ways to avoid “relationship erosion”. Let’s imagine you are facing a difficult meeting or discussion, from intimate to casual, formal to informal. Decide how you will be, not how others will be, or how you wish you could be, and decide how you will be(have). This takes time before the meeting where you give deep thought to how you will be(have), assess how you have already behaved and how your behaviour has perhaps played a role in the problems you are facing. If you refuse to plan and prepare, you are likely to fall into old traps and habitual reactivity, which will only prove to erode your situation further. If you prepare well and you “hold on to yourself” in the meeting,…

THREE people have been murdered at eThekwini Municipality’s landfill sites, raising fears that a syndicate is now controlling operations. Head of Durban Solid Waste Raymond Rampersad told councillors of the murders at a recent meeting. He briefed the councillors on the challenges at landfills that included illegal dumping and hundreds of people scavenging for items to sell, and indicated that the murders, which he called “extremely concerning”, took place recently at the Verulam and Buffelsdraai landfill sites. He said he feared there was now a criminal organisation operating at the sites that was trying to control what items were salvaged for sale, and this could have led to the murders. “On a daily basis when the trucks come to offload, they are surrounded by hundreds of people. For instance, you…

CIUDAD JUAREZ: Venezuelan migrant Brayan Pinto, 18, and his small fluffy white dog, Brandy, trekked together across several countries and a tropical jungle to reach the US-Mexico border. On Sunday, the two companions had to say goodbye. “She’s been with me for two years,” Pinto said, hugging the fluffy animal with the pink collar – a mix of Pekingese and toy poodle – within view of El Paso, Texas. Brandy had been a gift from his mother before her death to become his emotional support pet. “Now that we’ve reached the United States, they tell me I have to leave her because she can’t cross to the other side,” he said. Before walking alone towards the US border, Pinto recalled their long journey together. “Leaving her is like leaving a…

MSUNDUZI mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla has highlighted the critical areas they want the new head of electricity to focus on in order to stabilise the city’s troubled grid and ensure reliable supply of power. Council announced during the council meeting on Friday last week the return of Sabatha Nomnganga as the head of electricity. His return has not been widely welcomed as he left the municipality in 2018 under controversial circumstances. He left after reaching a financial settlement with the municipality following untested allegations of wrongdoing. The opposition parties have described his return as improper, but the council argued that Nomnganga was not blacklisted by the National Treasury and, as such, was eligible for employment by the municipality. During an interview with The Mercury this week, Thebolla said they had appointed…

A woman was seriously injured in a shooting incident on the N2 at Spaghetti Junction on Monday evening. Medi Response paramedics said that on the arrival of paramedics, it was established that a woman had been driving alone when she encountered rocks blocking the freeway. “She stopped to assess the situation when two persons approached her car, opening fire on her. She was struck by a bullet on her leg,” said spokesperson Paul Herbst. He said an off-duty Fidelity Security manager arrived on the scene and intervened, managing to detain one suspect. “He proceeded to render first aid to the victim and awaited Medi Response advanced life support paramedics, who assumed care of the patient. The lady was stabilised and transported to hospital for further care. Well done to the…

Modernity and traditional ways need to co-exist but on Africa’s evolutionary terms VAMPIRIC predatory western European colonialism that destroyed the lives of the hundreds of millions of indigenous people on continents around the world, including in Europe, followed by a violent anti-Earth, anti-life capitalism that was foisted on the vast majority of peoples, ecologies, and environments, lingers on 530 years later from the genocidal Columbian invasion of the Americas and Africa, accompanied by chattel and sexual slavery, including of 9 year-old girls, persistent in this pathological world today. The saddest and most depressing part in South Africa is the manner in which Steve Biko has been suppressed and marginalised in school textbooks, political, social, educational, and media circles. He is dismissed as “outdated” and “irrelevant” to the South African nation…

Russia said yesterday it was carrying out “massive strikes” across the Ukrainian front line and accused Ukrainian soldiers of abusing civilians in territories recaptured in a dramatic counter-offensive. Moscow’s retaliation came after it was forced to pull back its troops from swathes of the north-east, particularly in the Kharkiv region, following Kyiv’s lightning assault to wrest back terrain. The territorial shifts marked one of Russia’s biggest setbacks since its troops were repelled from Kyiv in the earliest days of the nearly seven-month war, yet Moscow signalled it was no closer to agreeing to a negotiated peace. “Air, rocket and artillery forces are carrying out massive strikes on units of the Ukrainian armed forces in all operational directions,” the Russian defence ministry said in its daily briefing on the conflict. “High-precision”…

Armenia said yesterday that nearly 50 of its soldiers had been killed in the worst clashes with Azerbaijan since their war two years ago, but Russia said it had convinced the historic rivals to agree to a rapid ceasefire. After several hours of fierce border fighting overnight, Armenia appealed to world leaders for help, saying Azerbaijani forces were trying to advance on its territory. The fighting was the worst since the end of a 2020 war between the ex-Soviet republics over the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region that left more than 6 500 killed on both sides. Russia said it had succeeded in bringing the clashes to a halt. Armenia’s defence ministry said that clashes had subsided but that the situation on the border “remains tense”. | AFP…

LONDON: Climate change impacts are “heading into uncharted territories of destruction”, UN secretary-general António Guterres warned yesterday on the release of a multi-agency scientific report reviewing the latest research on the problem. The report, led by the World Meteorological Organization, warns that the world is “going in the wrong direction” on climate change. As greenhouse gas concentrations increase in the atmosphere and world leaders fail to adopt strategies to hold warming below 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures, the Earth is inching closer toward dangerous climate tipping points, the United in Science report says. | Reuters…