US envoy says Russian ship picked up weapons in South Africa
THE United States envoy to South Africa said he was confident that a Russian ship had picked up weapons in South Africa last year, in a possible breach of Pretoria's declared neutrality in the Ukraine conflict. The rand and South Africa's 2030 government bond extended losses after the U.S. assertion as currency traders said they were worried that South Africa could now face Western sanctions. The government is opening an independent inquiry led by a retired judge into the allegation, the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement. Earlier, Ramaphosa did not confirm or deny the shipment took place when…