World news in brief: Mali pressed to pay ‘enormous’ debt for regional dam

Bamako — Mali owes more than $94m to the entity managing a dam which also provides power to Senegal and Mauritania, and the debt has become “a question of life and death” for its ability to continue operating, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The funding gap raises the spectre of more electricity supply problems in Mali, where outages in recent years have dented public support for the military government that took power after coups in 2020 and 2021.

The Manantali Dam and power plant came online in 2002 and has an installed capacity of 200MW. More than half of what it produces goes to Mali while Senegal gets 33% and Mauritania gets 15%.

Mali now owes “an enormous amount of more than 54-billion CFA francs ($94.12m) to Sogem, the entity that manages Manantali and several other projects, according to an April 25 letter from Sogem to the director-general of Energie du Mali, Mali’s electric utility.

“It is now a question of life or death for our installations and for Sogem,” reads the letter signed by Sogem director-general, Mohamed Mahmoud Sid’Elemine. Reuters

Norway seeking deeper ties with neighbours

Oslo — Norway said on Thursday it would seek to deepen security ties with Nordic neighbours and major European allies, bolstering protections against a resurgent Russia and signalling a shift for a nation long one of Nato’s most Atlanticist members.

In its first ever national security strategy, the government said that while the Nato military alliance remains key, the changes made in US policy on trade and security had made transatlantic ties less predictable.

“Relations between the US and Europe have changed. Unconventional and confrontational policies, including major changes in trade policy, have generated considerable uncertainty in transatlantic relations,” the document said.

“Continued extensive US military presence in Europe is not a given.” Reuters

Top ammunition maker growing ‘like never before’

Düsseldorf — Europe’s top ammunition maker Rheinmetall reaffirmed on Thursday that it could exceed its 2025 guidance, citing higher demand from Germany, Ukraine and other European nations.

Defence stocks across Europe have gained ground in recent months, driven by the continent’s efforts to ramp up military spending in response to US pressure and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“We are experiencing growth like never before in the group and are getting closer to our goal of becoming a global defence champion,” Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said in a first quarter results statement on Thursday. He added that customers are buying entire factory volumes.

Rheinmetall shares were up 1.6% at 8.46am (GMT) having risen 170% this year. The group’s market capitalisation of €75bn ($85bn) has overtaken German auto conglomerate Volkswagen. Reuters

Missiles, air defence boost Kongsberg’s profits

Gdansk — Norway’s Kongsberg said on Thursday its order intake and profits soared in the first quarter, driven by demand for missiles and air defence systems at a time when European nations are stepping up their defence spending.

Kongsberg saw its quarterly order intake rise 63% from a year earlier to 20.74 billion Norwegian kroner ($2bn), half of which was for the defence and aerospace unit.

Its shares rose 6% in early trading and were among top performers on Europe’s benchmark Stoxx 600 index as of 8.09am GMT. Reuters

AfD sheds ‘extremist’ classification — for now

Berlin — Germany’s domestic spy agency BfV has paused its classification of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) as an extremist organisation in what the AfD on Thursday called a partial victory for its challenge against the decision.

The agency would not publicly refer to the AfD as a “confirmed right-wing extremist movement” until an administrative court in the western city of Cologne has ruled on an AfD bid for an injunction, a court statement said.

The BfV’s move last week to classify the far-right AfD as extremist produced sharp reactions along the fault lines of German politics, with some legislators calling for the AfD to be banned and the AfD casting it as an attack on democracy. Reuters