Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°16°CTCT30°17°PretoriaPTA31°17°DurbanDBN27°64%

Finland and Norway leaders call Putin, splitting Nordic allies

Published

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a 90-minute call with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday 27 October. Danish and Swedish leaders doubted the move, as Europe worries about being shut out of Ukraine peace talks.

Stubb and Støre said the call followed a meeting in Oslo on 20 October and took place in consultation with Ukraine. Stubb said the call was frank and substantive. He said Russia's neighbours have a direct stake in how the war ends.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said: "It was not coordinated with any of us." She also said Europe should stick together rather than go alone, according to Danish media. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also cast doubt on the move. Støre said Europe should speak with Russia to complement the messages sent by the US administration.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the call offered nothing new. The Kremlin said Russia's interests must be taken into account in any settlement.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday that European nations will not be invited to the next Russia-US-Ukraine talks. Moscow has agreed in principle to a fourth round, with mid-November and Abu Dhabi floated. Three rounds have so far excluded Europe, as US President Donald Trump presses Kyiv to strike a deal.

Key facts

Who
Donald Trump (US President); Vladimir Putin (Russian President); Alexander Stubb (Finnish leader (as named 'Stubb' in text)); Støre (Norwegian leader (first name not given in text))
What
European capitals are growing anxious about being excluded from talks to end the war in Ukraine and remain divided over how to gain a place at the table, as US President Donald Trump intensifies pressure on Kyiv to strike a deal with Moscow.
When
30 October 2026
Where
Ukraine, Europe, Finland
Status
Reported

Related stories

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

  1. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll
  2. IEC says local election voting went largely smoothly
  3. IEC says about 12 million had voted by 5pm

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

  1. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
  2. Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
  3. Ramaphosa wants US trade deal after AGOA suspension

See every update

AI Cooling

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

  1. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations
  2. CrowdStrike to buy two AI security startups
  3. Google lets schools turn off AI tools but limits Search

See every update