Table of contents for 2023-02-13 in Mercury

President Cyril Ramaphosa was still “applying his mind” to the Cabinet reshuffle as speculation continues to mount following his State of the Nation Address (Sona). Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said yesterday the president had not decided on his Cabinet make-up and who would be appointed to the post of minister of electricity, but an announcement would be made soon. The president announced during the Sona that the minister of electricity would be appointed in the Presidency to assume full responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the electricity crisis. “The minister will focus full-time and work with the Eskom board and management on ending load shedding and ensuring that the Energy Action Plan is implemented without delay,” said Ramaphosa. It had been speculated that Ramaphosa was going to announce his new…

CRIME experts say the ease with which hit men can be hired in KwaZulu-Natal is one of the factors that has led to the murder rate soaring in the province. They were commenting after the murders of rapper Kiernan Jarryd Forbes, known as AKA, and his friend, Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, on Friday night outside a Florida Road restaurant in Durban. In a separate incident on Friday, Inkosi Zwelakhe Ndaba of Ntabamhlophe in Estcourt, was shot dead in his home. While Forbes and Motsoane appeared to have been targeted, the police have said the motive is still under investigation. MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison in KZN Sipho Hlomuka said provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi had indicated that experienced teams of investigators were working on both cases.…

Prior to Thursday’s State of the Nation Address, the speaker of the House allegedly referred to those parliamentary members she ejected for disrupting proceedings as “animals”. The squeaky clean leader of the EFF has strongly objected to her terminology. So do I. All animals, humans included, have to eat. In the process of doing so, they might need to damage some infrastructure in order to acquire the food item – be it animal or vegetable. This has been the norm since our planet came alive. To be referred to as an “animal” should not be seen as an insult. It’s a fact. I think where the speaker erred was in her definition. She should probably have called them “humans”. Currently in South Africa, undoubtedly more so than in any other…

The heartbreaking twin earthquakes that struck parts of Türkiye and war-ravaged Syria are truly devastating. The shocking and frightening images of pain and damage are beyond words and extremely distressing. People’s eyes are full of tears, their hearts have become filled will grief and sadness, and our cry is for Almighty God to have mercy on humanity. This is a catastrophe that has turned comfort into difficulty, wealth into poverty, health into pain, life into death and safety and security into fear – all in the blink of an eye. Life in its entirety is a trial, and, sometimes, tests befall the globe at scales beyond the imagination of the mind. It is especially at trying times like these that we must self-reflect and search for guidance from our divine…

HEY, is the golden age of British comedy about to stage a comeback? The TV sitcom Fawlty Towers is to be revived, according to the BBC. John Cleese, who played Basil Fawlty, will be returning to write and star alongside his daughter, Camilla. The classic show ran for two series on BBC 2, following the lives of Torquay hotelier Basil and his wife Sybil as they tried to keep their business and marriage afloat. The new series will explore how the misanthropic Basil navigates the modern world. It’s not yet clear on which channel or streaming service it will appear. No matter really. Today the entire world has instant access. Will we now see a return of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Steptoe and Son – rag and bone men –…

Universities face being saddled with huge student debt as a new funding cap by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) threatens to exclude stu- dents from finding accommodation. Accommodation at some universities costs between R46 000 and R149 000 per annum, far more than the R45 000 per annum offered by NSFAS for students approved for funding. Some universities, including Stellenbosch, UCT and the University of Witwatersrand, offer accommodation ranging between R52 000 and R149000, excluding meals, and depending on size and location. Last year students were allowed by NSFAS to stay in residences that cost up to R5 900 a month, but the amount was decreased and capped at only R45 000 across all universities this year. Students fear this could lead to exclusions and another decrease in…

Blue Origin, the private space company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was awarded its first interplanetary Nasa contract last week to launch a mission next year to study the magnetic field around Mars, the US space agency and company said. Plans call for Blue Origin’s recently developed New Glenn heavy-lift rocket to blast off with Nasa’s dual-spacecraft Escapade mission in late 2024 from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, the agency said. It will take the identical twin Escapades, short for Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, about 11 months to reach Mars orbit, where they will capture data from the planet’s magnetosphere and its interactions with solar radiation. New Glenn, with a reusable first stage designed to be flown on at least 25 missions, is named…

Looking back, it was surprising that black people following boxing had a soft spot for Gerrie Coetzee – until, of course, he had a black boxer or any non-white as an opponent. Nobody dared to support an Afrikaner against a black person; Afrikaners represented oppression against black people. It was no wonder then when in 1979, in his world heavyweight title fight against black American boxer John Tate, black people were behind Tate, somebody they had probably only heard of for the first time. Gerrie lost the fight, to the jubilation of black people. However, the upset from black people was obvious when Coetzee won against Leon Spinks. He kept the belt (title) for a short while, losing it to Greg Page the following year . The jubilation among…

Tehran: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will head to China within days for a three-day visit aimed at strengthening economic co-operation, state media reported yesterday. Raisi is expected to hold private talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and delegations from both countries are due to sign “co-operation documents”, according to Irna. The agency added that Raisi will also take part in meetings with Chinese businessmen and Iranians living in the country. Iran and China have strong economic ties, especially in the fields of energy, transit, agriculture, trade and investment. In 2021, both countries signed a 25-year “strategic co-operation pact”, said to include “political, strategic and economic” components. | AFP…

DUBAI: The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday that public debt in some Middle East and North Africa (Mena) states is of “concern” and that governments need to build resilience through fiscal policies to protect against shocks in uncertain times. Kristalina Georgieva, speaking at the Arab Fiscal Forum in Dubai, urged authorities to adopt “robust” fiscal frameworks and address climate change. The IMF forecast last month that economic growth in Mena would slow to 3.2% this year, before ticking up to 3.5% in 2024. Inflation was seen surpassing 10% in 2023. | Reuters…

Rescuers pulled a seven-month-old baby and a teenage girl from the rubble yesterday, nearly a week after an earthquake devastated TÜrkiye and Syria and killed more than 28 000. UN relief chief Martin Griffiths said he expected the death toll to at least double after he arrived in southern TÜrkiye to assess the quake’s damage. Tens of thousands of rescue workers are scouring flattened neighbourhoods despite freezing weather that has deepened the misery of millions now in desperate need of aid. Security concerns led some aid operations to be suspended, and dozens of people have been arrested for looting or trying to defraud victims in the aftermath of the quake in TÜrkiye, according to state media. But miraculous tales of survival still emerged from the destruction and despair. “Is…

A US fighter jet shot down an unidentified object over Canada on Saturday, the second such incident in North American skies since the dramatic downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon a week ago. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a joint US-Canadian military operation led to the takedown of the object, the latest in a series of mysterious air intrusions. “Canadian and US aircraft were scrambled, and a US F-22 successfully fired at the object,” Trudeau tweeted this weekend. Shortly after the 3.41pm local time downing of the object, aviation authorities shut down part of the airspace over the northwest US state of Montana after detecting what they called a “radar anomaly,” the US Northern Command said. In a sign of jitters over possible intrusions, Northern Command said US fighter…

The Champions League knockout stage kicks off this week with a blockbuster showdown between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich topping the bill and doubts surrounding all of the English contenders. Since the World Cup in Qatar there has been another transfer window of record spending by Premier League clubs, whose £815-million (about R17.6-billion) outlay on new players in January represented 79% of the total across Europe’s biggest five leagues according to analysts Deloitte. There are, nevertheless, doubts surrounding all the English sides taking part in the last-16, even Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. The Abu Dhabi-backed club will still be favourites to overcome RB Leipzig, but they have appeared flawed domestically of late and perhaps the uncertainty surrounding the future will leave them feeling greater pressure to perform in Europe this…

I am writing to express my concern about the recent decision by the SA Tourism board to appoint a forensic investigator to hunt down the whistle-blower in the R1 billion soccer-sponsorship scandal. This decision sends a dangerous message to the public and will have a chilling effect on future whistle-blowers who are considering coming forward with important information. Whistle-blowers play a crucial role in promoting transparency and accountability within organisations. They bring to light information that would otherwise remain hidden, helping to uncover corruption and unethical behaviour. By doing so, they help to maintain public trust in the institutions they work for and help to create a better society. However, the consequences of blowing the whistle can be severe. Whistle-blowers often face retaliation, including the loss of their job, harassment…

EFF leader Julius Malema’s initiated misbehaviour is no surprise. He gave ample prior notice thereof by publicly stating that they would not allow the president to present his State of the Nation speech. The Speaker’s unfortunate reference to the EFF’s behaviour to animals was in effect an insult to animals because animals do not behave that way. What surprises me is the mention that the ANC is contemplating having a coalition arrangement with the EFF in eThekwini and other local authorities, including Gauteng metros. The behaviour of the EFF is so patently predictable and dishonourable that the only ANC members that would be happy about such an arrangement would be the rebel faction within their public ranks. That is why they (the ANC leaders) continue to tolerate the rebels with…

In your edition of February 10, Ebrahim Essa suggests that religion is a “man-made invention” and “part of a giant political scheme”. He is not the first misguided person to espouse this viewpoint. Since the advent of humanism as part of the Renaissance movement 300 or so years ago, many people, emboldened by “man’s” new-found confidence that he was the sole “master of his own destiny” have espoused the viewpoint that secularism has liberated them from the power of religious and political absolutism. Mr Essa seems to hold the same viewpoint. Unfortunately for these believers in man’s infallibility, humanity has not exactly covered itself in glory during the past few centuries. Religion has long faced the tension between theology, the belief in a God and the forces of secularism. Even…

“You can’t drive a 10-ton truck over a one-ton bridge,” my dad would say, or at least I think it was dad. Perhaps it was one of my many sage uncles. The literal meaning was obvious, but it was always meant in the context of relationships. A relationship has to have resilience and have experienced much before it can take the heaviness that sometimes must flow between and among people. My sons can hit me with any news when necessary. We have decades of love and struggle, joys and failures that have flowed among us. Our relationships have muscles. They are toned and exercised, and muscles my sons trust. It’s muscle I trust. They can bring a 10-ton truck over the bridge and the 50-ton bridge we have built together…

The proverbial “when you snooze, you lose”, truism recently came to play before the court. A decade ago, Absa obtained judgment against a family which struggled to pay their monthly instalments, to sell their property on execution. But over the past 10 years, the bank didn’t execute the order and the family remained living in the house. They did make payments over the years in the amounts they could afford. But now, a decade after they first obtained the judgment to sell the house on execution, the bank returned to court to obtain an order allowing it to go ahead with the sale and perhaps set a reserve price on the house when it was executed. But a Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg judge would have none of it. He questioned…

Unisa officially opened the 2023 academic year on Friday, with Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Puleng LenkaBula saying there would be a number of activities to celebrate the institution’s 150th anniversary. While acknowledging that the institution had faced a number of challenges, she also noted that they had managed to end last year on a high note, which was a sign that it remained on track with rolling out its strategy and improving its operations. For one, Unisa had improved its international rankings, increased the number of National Research Foundation-rated scholars, seen a number of scholarship programmes recognised for their impact locally and globally, and improved its success rates in some fields. In addition, LenkaBula said the university, which ought to be celebrated as a “pioneer of the distance education model”,…

PARLIAMENT’S committee of inquiry into suspended public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office resumes its hearings this morning after a fortnight’s break with evidence expected from a subpoenaed witness, public protector investigator Bianca Mvuyana. The committee has reaffirmed its decision to summon former public protector Thuli Madonsela to appear before it to answer questions despite her having written a letter declining the request for her to appear before the committee as a witness. The request had been made by Mkhwebane’s legal team, who had approached Madonsela in November last year. Committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi said the committee believed Madonsela could add value to the process as she handled some of the investigations that are before the committee. During its last meeting before adjournment, the committee discussed the letter in…

One of Gauteng’s most wanted criminals, linked to about 100 house robbery cases has been positively identified via his fingerprints after he gave police the wrong name when he was arrested. Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo said the “prime suspect” had been in hospital after he was injured at the time of his arrest in November during a shoot-out with police. “Fingerprint results revealed that the suspect arrested in November 2022 gave police a false name to try to evade prosecution for about 100 cases of house robberies. The fingerprints identified him as one of the most wanted men in the province. “He is linked to more than 100 house robberies committed in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg over the past eight years. The suspect has since been denied…

‘R2 trillion investment’ unlikely amid ongoing electricity crisis Another year, another State of the Nation Address (Sona). For millions of South Africans, this is when the government of the day showcases its programme for the year ahead, consolidated by the impending National Budget for the next financial year, its performance in delivering what was promised in the previous year, what went wrong and what hope there is for the future. Sona 2023 was no exception. When President Cyril Ramaphosa stood at the lectern to address the nation, I wonder how aware he and his colleagues were of the enormity of his speech, nay, the proposed recipes to remedy the disastrous stewardship of the nation, country, economy and society by his governing ANC administration, now in its 29th year of uninterrupted…

BRUSSELS: Belgian prosecutors have charged another EU lawmaker, Marc Tarabella, with corruption in a cash-for-influence scandal that shook the European Parliament. Tarabella, a Belgian socialist, was detained on Friday. Le Soir quoted prosecutors as saying he was charged with corruption, money laundering and membership in a criminal organisation. Tarabella’s lawyer, Maxime Toller, said his client denied any wrongdoing. The so-called Qatargate started last December when authorities charged four people linked to the European Parliament – which sits in the Belgian capital Brussels – over allegations that World Cup host Qatar lavished them with cash and gifts to influence decision-making. | reuters…

SEVILLE: The Spanish film academy’s Goya Awards paid tribute to the late Spanish film-maker Carlos Saura, while French actress Juliette Binoche picked up an international honorary award. Saura, who died on Friday aged 91, had been due to receive the academy’s honorary Goya Award at the annual ceremony. It was awarded posthumously, and, to applause, his widow Eulalia Ramón read out Saura’s own words, written before his death: “I am sorry I cannot be with you”. Saura was credited with leading the awakening of Spain’s art cinema after decades of fascist dictatorship under Francisco Franco. | Reuters…

A British crime boss has been arrested in Thailand after five years on the run, Thai police said yesterday. Richard Wakeling, 55, fled Britain in 2018 after he tried to smuggle £8 million (R172m) of liquid amphetamine into the country in 2016. He was sentenced in absentia to 11 years and placed on the British National Crime Agency’s (NCA) “most wanted” watch list. Wakeling was caught on Friday in the Thai capital Bangkok by the Central Investigation Bureau working with the NCA. “Since 1993 he regularly travelled to Thailand. “But after being charged he changed his name and his passport’s nationality to Irish, that’s why it didn’t show up on the system,” a senior Thai police officer said. Wakeling will appear in court today to begin the extradition process, he…

New Zealand’s prime minister Chris Hipkins has warned residents to hunker down and prepare an evacuation plan as a cyclone was to begin pummelling the northern tip of the country yesterday. Cyclone Gabrielle is forecast to envelop the upper half of the North Island over a 48-hour period from yesterday evening, two weeks after parts of the same region had devastating floods. Auckland remains under a state of emergency after flash floods swamped the city on January 27, resulting in four deaths and forcing thousands from their homes. Debris from that deluge remains on the streets of the country’s biggest city, which now faces another bout of heavy rainfall and severe winds. | AFP…

The Sharks have a fight on their hands to keep star fullback Aphelele Fassi in their ranks, with the Stormers known to have him in their sights when he comes off contract at the end of this year. The 25-year-old has been at the Sharks since he finished school at Dale College in King Williams Town in 2017 but could be in the market for a change in scenery in December. It is known that Stormers coach John Dobson is keen on adding Fassi’s brilliant attacking skills to his already potent backline. Fassi, however, is on the books of Roc Nation, the American sports marketing giants, and with their affiliation with the Sharks, they are unlikely to steer him in the direction of their arch-rivals from the Cape. Fassi is…

Marcus Rashford extended his hot streak with the late goal that inspired Manchester United's 2-0 win against old rivals Leeds on yesterday. After Rashford scored to spark United's comeback from two goals down in Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Leeds, Rashford tormented the Yorkshire club once again. Rashford netted with 10 minutes left at Elland Road to make it four successive Premier League games with a goal for the England forward, who has scored in eight of his last nine appearances in the competition. Following Alejandro Garnacho's frustrated reaction to being substituted on Wednesday, the Argentine teenager made amends as he came off the bench to seal United's hard-fought victory five minutes after Rashford's goal. United's win was just their second in their last five league games, although they have now…

BARELY singed by load shedding because of extensive investment in power back-up systems, pharmaceutical manufacturers said there were only a few take aways from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address on Thursday, which failed to deal with the less than inflation price increases granted in December. In an interview, chairperson of the Pharmaceutival Task Group Dr Stavros Nicolaou said the industry was left questioning the government’s capacity to deliver on making the manufacture of essential medicines conducive. “We have a mixed reaction to the State of the Nation address (Sona). Though we have not extensively been affected by load shedding because of back up measures, which have pushed up the cost of production, the 3.28% increase granted to the industry places the future supply of medicines into question. We are facing very…

SA Local Government Association (Salga) KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Thami Ntuli has welcomed the acknowledgement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that several municipalities needed interventions to turn them around. The lobby group said they had been encouraged by the president’s frank response, but stressed that they wanted to see more action. In his State of the Nation Address (Sona), Ramaphosa said the poor performance of many local governments remained an area of concern. He noted that too many of the country’s municipalities, 163 out of 257, were dysfunctional or in distress due to poor governance, ineffective and sometimes corrupt financial and administrative management and poor service delivery. He indicated that the government was implementing a number of interventions to address failures at local government level and improve basic service delivery and this would…

On a Sunday this month at about 8am, I noticed two eThekwini female employees in Waterkant Road, Durban North, opposite the Shell service station, who were apparently engaged in sweeping up the accumulated leaves. I choose to say apparently because they were leaning on their brooms and busy chatting away with little respect for the overtime costs (it was a Sunday) to the council and/or the ratepayers. Earlier in the year, once again on a Sunday, I noticed a female eThekwini employee watering flowers in the traffic circle situated near the Point Yacht Club and opposite the slipway. One has to ask how this gross misuse of resources can be justified by the Metro council management as these tasks are surely not that urgent that they need to be carried…

It would seem that the SA Tourism board is not letting go of its plan to sponsor an overseas soccer team. The aim would seem to be to sell South Africa to the potential tourists overseas, the same South Africa that is bedevilled by water, sanitation and power issues; the breakdown of all state-owned entities with the attendant problems that that causes; robbery, hijacking, murder, political assassinations and drive-by shootings; disruptive and destructive protest action on a daily basis and beaches with sewage pollution problems, etc. ad infinitum! So, if one were a potential tourist, why, quite frankly, would you want to visit here? What in the creation of cats are we offering? But the R1 billion is a great place to hide the kickbacks, commissions and introduction fees, etc.…

I wish to inform Mr Essa (The Mercury, February 10), that Christianity is not a religion, it is a way of life based upon firstly loving and worshipping our God above all things and secondly loving all people as we love ourselves by putting into practice what our role model, Jesus Christ, taught us. What a wonderful world it would be if we all implemented those two basic commandments! Sadly, Mr Essa is right in that humans distort the true meaning of this to create disharmony and division for their own agendas.…

The Hawks have started looking for witnesses and next of kin as it starts investigating several cases committed by the apartheid security police which were unearthed during the sittings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in the mid-1990s. This comes after Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola revealed in a written parliamentary reply last year that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had referred some of these cases back to the Hawks for further investigation. The Hawks have issued a statement calling for assistance in its probe into some of the killings carried out by apartheid police. “The Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team responsible for investigating cases emanating from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission requests the assistance of the public in tracing witnesses and next of kin of…

Police sergeant Philani Praiselord Mkhwanazi was sentenced by the Richards Bay Regional Court, following his conviction of rape and corruption. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said: “In November 2020, the complainant was arrested for (alleged) shoplifting and taken to the Esikhaleni police station where she was kept with another woman arrested for the same offence. “At some stage, Mkhwanazi moved the complainant out of the cell and into another room. There he asked her for sex in exchange for her release. She gave consent on the understanding that she would be released. “However, when they were done Mkhwanazi did not release her, but returned her to the cell. She reported the incident to her cell companion and another police officer at that station and evidence was secured.”…

At least six people have been arrested in connection with the bombing of an ATM at a business in Leslie, Mpumalanga. The police also recovered wads of stained bank notes. Police believe the mastermind of the ATM bombing is a 31-year-old man currently renting a room in Spruitview, Ekurhuleni in Gauteng. He allegedly assembled a team of criminals from Tokoza, Zonkizizwe and Soweto in Gauteng to execute the crime in Mpumalanga. “A police crime intelligence-driven operation that was executed by Secunda crime intelligence unit, Mpumalanga provincial task team, Ermelo tracing team and Leslie visible policing led to the arrest of six suspects allegedly linked to the blowing up of an ATM in one of the businesses areas in Leslie on Wednesday 8 February 2023,” said police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala.…

As Teen Suicide Prevention Week is marked, the SA Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) has encouraged parents, loved ones, family, friends, teachers and guardians to do mental health “check-ins” with teens. “Most teens who are thinking about suicide are honest and relieved when asked direct questions about their suicidal thoughts or feelings,” said Sadag operations director Cassey Chambers. “Informing and empowering parents and teachers about how to have these conversations with teens is the first step to preventing teen suicide.” The organisation said children as young as 10 were taking their lives. “There have been several suicides across the country recently, including a 10-year-old girl in KwaZulu-Natal, another 10-year-old girl in Gauteng, a 17-year-old pupil from KZN, and a 17-year-old boy in Soweto. “These are just some of the…

FRUSTRATED members of the eThekwini Municipality VIP security team are considering legal action against the municipality to force it to restore their duties as the primary security detail of the city’s VIP and councillors. At least two team members, who were part of the tense meeting between City officials and the members last week, said this was a consideration after the meeting failed to produce any tangible results. The members spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media. The Mercury reported last week of the tension between metro police and the VIP security. The City denied any tensions and said the two units were working well together. Last week, about 150 members of the VIP security team held a meeting with council Speaker…

Military-ruled Myanmar is set to allow civilians “loyal to the state” to apply for licences to carry firearms, according to media reports and an unverified government document. The leaked document, purported to originate from the home ministry, sets out criteria for those seeking a gun licence. Experts worry that allowing civilians to carry guns would empower pro-junta groups and only serve to escalate the violence and near-daily clashes between the military and armed resistance forces that have raged nationwide. US-based conflict monitoring group Acled says about 19 000 people died last year as the military’s crackdown on protests led many to take up arms against the junta. | Reuters…

JERUSALEM: US President Joe Biden has called for wide agreement to be reached in Israel on sweeping changes to the judiciary pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right government which have sparked nationwide protests. Israel’s parliament may today begin legislation for the judicial overhaul, which would increase the government’s sway in selecting judges while weakening Supreme Court power to strike down laws or rule against the executive. Biden said: “Israeli democracy is built on checks and balances, and on an independent judiciary. Building consensus for fundamental changes ensure people buy into them so they can be sustained.” | Reuters…

BERLIN: Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will end his term as planned in October, a spokesperson for the alliance said, after a newspaper reported a further extension was in the works. “The mandate of Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has been extended three times, and he has served for a total of almost nine years,” NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said. “The Secretary-General’s term comes to an end in October of this year and he has no intention to seek another extension of his mandate.” Earlier, Welt am Sonntag reported Stoltenberg’s term was to be extended again as the alliance sought to maintain stability during the war in Ukraine. Stoltenberg, an economist by training and a former leader of Norway’s Labour Party, had his Nato term extended last year. He was prime minister of…

The leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner said yesterday that his troops had taken an eastern Ukrainian village a few kilometres from the key city of Bakhmut which Moscow has been trying to capture for months. “Wagner’s assault units took the town of Krasna Hora,” Wagner’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said. It was impossible to independently confirm the claims. Experts have debated the strategic importance of Bakhmut, but the city has turned into a key political and symbolic prize in the battle. Rivalry between the paramilitary Wagner group and the Russian army have come to the surface during the fight for Bakhmut – though the Kremlin denies any rift. On January 11 Prigozhin claimed his fighters had taken control of the city of Soledar near Bakhmut. The Russian defence ministry…