A senior Pakistani civil servant sparked an embarrassing diplomatic incident when he was allegedly caught on CCTV stealing the wallet of a visiting Kuwaiti delegate.

The Kuwaitis made a complaint to Pakistani officials during a mission to discuss investment plans when one visitor said his wallet had gone missing during the meeting.

Officials searched the Economic Affairs Division of the finance ministry and frisked employees in the hunt for the wallet, Dawn, a leading Pakistani newspaper reported.

It was only when CCTV in the meeting hall was checked that a senior bureaucrat with the Pakistan Administrative Services was seen taking the wallet. A six-second clip said to show the incident was widely shared on social media. The clip showed a man taking a wallet from a conference table and putting it in his pocket.

The official reportedly denied involvement until he was confronted with the video and then produced the missing wallet.

Pakistani officials at first refused to tell their guests who the culprit was, until the furious Kuwaitis insisted and were shown the film.

Sources in the ministry told the paper an internal inquiry was now underway against the bureaucrat and further action would be taken according to its conclusions.

Pakistan’s new prime minister, Imran Khan, has long pledged to clean up government and has for years railed against the graft and corruption among senior politicians and officials.

When questioned about the incident, Fawad Chaudhry, information minister, told a press conference that most of the civil service had their “moral training” during the previous governments.

Russia is waging a covert propaganda campaign to torpedo a referendum in Macedonia this weekend which could pave the way for the small Balkan country to join Nato and the EU, diplomats and analysts warned.

Macedonians will vote on Sunday on whether to change the name of their country to North Macedonia, resolving a 27-year diplomatic standoff with Greece.

Athens has always objected to the country calling itself Macedonia, arguing that it implies territorial claims on its northern region of the same name.

But Moscow is vehemently opposed to Nato enlargement in the Balkans, which it regards as its sphere of influence, and has allegedly flooded social media in Macedonia with false accounts calling for a boycott of the referendum.

Thousands of fake Twitter and Facebook accounts with the hashtag #Bojkotiram, meaning "boycott" in Macedonian, have appeared in recent weeks, according to Macedonia’s Investigative Reporting Lab.

The objective appears to be to reduce the turnout of the referendum to under 50 per cent of eligible voters, meaning it would lack legitimacy.

It could be a close-run thing. A recent poll found that 57 per cent of respondents plan to vote, but many people spoken to by The Telegraph on the streets of Skopje said they were still unsure whether they would take part.

Some of the false accounts try to stir up friction between Macedonia’s Slav majority and its ethnic Albanian minority, which makes up about 25 per cent of the population.

Ethnic Albanians are overwhelmingly in favour of the deal, seeing EU membership as a means of tackling poverty and discrimination, but that is unpopular with those ethnic Slavs who bitterly resent having to change the country’s name at the behest of Greece. Tensions between the two erupted into armed conflict in 2001.

“Russia is doing everything it can to stave off more countries joining the West,” said Heather Conley, director of the Europe programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington.

“In Macedonia, that includes exploiting weaknesses that exist, such as the tensions between ethnic Slavs and ethnic Albanians. There’s a combination of disinformation and using economic influence to support nationalist organisations and politicians,” she told The Telegraph.

“The aim is to sow complete confusion and to make the West look as decadent and dysfunctional as possible.”

British officials warned earlier this month that Moscow may try to influence the outcome of the referendum with an online disinformation campaign, as it allegedly did in the US elections and the Brexit referendum.  

Last month, a fake story claiming that American troops on exercise in Macedonia used ammunition containing depleted uranium went viral.

The defence minister, Radmila Sekerinska, said the report was untrue and founded on “baseless lies”.  

The story was “fake news” designed to erode trust in Nato and undermine the referendum, she said.

In July, Athens expelled two Russian diplomats accused of trying to stoke opposition within Greece to the historic accord with Macedonia.

Greek officials said they had “irrefutable evidence” that Russia was trying to interfere.

Zoran Zaev, the prime minister of Macedonia, accused a Russian oligarch living in Greece of funding radical nationalist groups and football hooligans in Macedonia with the aim of stoking violent protests against the deal.

The US has openly accused Moscow of trying to influence the referendum. On a visit last week to Skopje, the Macedonian capital, Jim Mattis, the US Defence Secretary, said there was no doubt that the Russians have “transferred money and that they are also conducting broader influence campaigns.”

Michael Carpenter, a former Obama administration official and now an analyst at the Penn Biden Centre for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, warned that Russia “fiercely opposes” the name change deal.

“The Kremlin continues to direct its army of internet trolls to bombard the social media space in both countries with anti-agreement propaganda,” he wrote in a recent essay.

“By spreading hateful propaganda and financing violent demonstrations, Russia is actively stoking ethnic grievances, which sadly remain a powerful force in Balkans politics.”

Evelyn Farkas, a former deputy assistant secretary of defence for Russia and the Balkans, said Russia’s interference in Macedonia was akin to its attempts to derail Montenegro’s bid to join Nato, “although unlike in Montenegro, there is no evidence Moscow has tried to assassinate the prime minister.”

The Russians were accused in 2016 of plotting to overthrow the government of Montenegro and sabotage its plan to join Nato by killing its prime minister, Milo Djukanovic.

The plot was foiled just hours before it was due to be carried out and would have plunged the country into turmoil on the eve of becoming Nato’s 29^th member.

Ms Farkas, a fellow with the Atlantic Council, wrote that the campaign to boycott the referendum in Macedonia has been led by United Macedonia, a pro-Russian party which has a partnership with Vladimir Putin’s United Russia.

While Mr Zaev, the prime minister, fervently hopes that the yes vote will win on Sunday, Macedonia’s president is against the accord with Greece.

On Thursday, Gjorge Ivanov urged Macedonians not to vote, calling the name change a "noose" and a "flagrant violation of sovereignty."

Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, he criticised the procession of EU and American officials who have visited Macedonia in recent weeks to throw their support behind a yes vote.

Bear lovers scored a key victory Thursday after French authorities secretly helicoptered a Slovenian she-bear into the Pyrenees mountains.

The bear was flown over roadblocks erected by irate local farmers who say the beasts pose a threat to their flocks.

Conservationists hope the female, soon to be joined by a second, will prevent the bear population from dying out in the western Pyrenees as only two lonesome males – father and son – are left in the area.

But a group of angry farmers wielding shepherding staffs had set up bales of hay and tractors along key roads into the Pyrenees from France to Spain, and had spent the night manning roadblocks in a bid to stop them being trucked in.

"It’s war," said large letters daubed in white paint across the road.

"We saw the helicopter over Etsaut. It was hovering and let down a cage," said Olivier Maurin, a local sheep farmer and organiser of the anti-bear protest.

Mr Maurin said farmers intended to launch a “hunt” in the woods, not to kill but to scare the bears away from their sheep and other livestock.

Jean-Pierre Chourrout-Pourtalet, the mayor of the small town of Sarrance who joined farmers at one of the roadblocks, pledged to chase the bears off the land.

"I have enacted a bylaw outlawing bears and wolves from within municipal borders and I am duty-bound to see the law enforced," he told AFP.

Anti-bear farmers have previously taken the law into their own hands, targeting the animals with various traps, including one containing honey laced with glass.

Francois de Rugy, France’s environment minister, insisted the government would stand firm in its drive to shore up biodiversity – enshrined in a law passed this summer – by reintroducing bears to the area.

Speaking on France Info radio, he slammed "the unacceptable attitude" of those "who feel entitled to set up roadblocks and threaten me with guns". Not all farmers were against the bears presence. Elise Thebault, a sheep farmer from Etsaut, said: “The bears have always been here since the dawn of time.

We have always lived side by side. You never see them and it doesn’t affect our lives.” The government compensates farmers for any livestock deaths from bear attacks but that has failed to reduce tensions.

Bears were re-introduced from Slovenia in the 1990s after hunters all but wiped out France’s native population.

The last time was in 2006, when five were freed near the Spanish border, but the lovelorn males, Canellito and Néré, are the only ones left in the western Pyrenees.

Another 37 have been counted in the central section of the mountain range along the Spanish border.

But conservationists say the two isolated males are unlikely to reach the group and would have to fight dominant males before being able to mate with the females.

The reintroduction of the creatures, which can weigh 250kg (almost 40 stone) and stand two metres tall on their hind legs, has been a divisive and impassioned issue for more than 20 years.

The quarrel mirrors a similar dispute over wolves, which have returned to France from Italy after being hunted to extinction by the early 20th century.

Polls suggest the French are vastly in favour of the bears, although farmers blamed them for the deaths of more than 200 sheep who tumbled off cliffs while being chased by bears in 2017.

The Ariege stretch of the Pyrenees has seen a doubling of bear attacks over the last two years to more than 230 so far in 2018, according to a local farmers’ union.

Breeders in the area have lost at least 372 livestock so far this year, it asserted.

Ireland has been accepted as a member of the international organisation of francophone nations amid concern that Brexit could leave its English-speaking diplomats out in the cold.

It may not be the land of “bonjour” but the country was authorised to become an observer member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie — the French equivalent of the Commonwealth — at a summit in Armenia attended by President Emmanuel Macron.

Dublin’s application came amid concerns it lacks clout in continents such as Africa, where France retains extensive links in French-speaking countries, notably in the West.

Joining the club, even as an observer, was part of an attempt to “double the scope and impact of Ireland’s global footprint in the period to 2025”, Helen McEntee, Ireland’s European affairs minister, told the summit.

Brushing off claims that the Irish are no more versed in le français than the British, she insisted her countrymen had a “passion” for French, reminding doubters that Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett wrote some of their works in French.

OIF figures suggest that 12 per cent of Irish citizens speak the language of Molière, which may not sound a lot but is a good deal higher than the 0.1 per cent of Ukrainians and Uruguayans who speak French and whose countries already enjoy observer status. 

Ireland hopes that membership will help it court ministers and strengthen economic ties around the world, as well as tightening links with France as Britain leaves the European Union.

Paris, which calls most of the shots at the OIF, paying almost half of its annual €80 million (£70m) budget, backed the Irish bid. 

Founded in 1970 to bring together French-speaking nations in the name of peace, democracy, human rights and sustainable development, the OIF has come under fire for turning into a tool for French soft power around the globe.

Those wishing to join only need show a “will to favour the development of the use of French".

That explains why at the summit in Yerevan, Gambia, Malta and Louisiana were also made observer members whilst Kosovo, Serbia and the United Arab Emirates became full members.

But one hopeful new entrant, Saudi Arabia, pulled out at the last minute after Canada cried foul over its human rights record.

The widening of its remit has irked a growing number of francophone purists. "The OIF is running a real risk of losing its cohesion," Pierre-Andre Wiltzer, a former French minister responsible for "francophonie" told AFP.

Mr Macron is facing further controversy at this summit over the choice of a successor to Michaëlle Jean, the Canadian of Haitian origin who has been its general secretary since 2014. 

The clear favourite is Louise Mushikiwabo, foreign minister of Rwanda, a nation which, in 2009, sparked Gallic criticism for making English an official language alongside Kinyarwanda, Swahili and French.

Mr Macron backed her candidacy in an attempt to mend fences with Rwanda after decades of frosty relations over France’s alleged role in the 1994 genocide.

That sparked fury among rivals back in France. Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally party, said: “I am outraged that France should back a minister of (President Paul) Kagame, who is violently anti-French and from a country that has . . . turned its back on the French language.” 

Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee, overcame a major hurdle on Friday as a committee of congressmen approved his confirmation, but he now faces an FBI investigation before a final vote in the US Senate. 

In a dramatic day of backroom deal-making in Washington, DC, the Senate Judiciary Committee, which vets candidates, voted along party lines to progress Mr Kavanaugh’s nomination by 11 votes to 10. 

However Jeff Flake, a Republican senator on the committee, unexpectedly said he was only voting to support Mr Kavanaugh on the provision that sexual assault allegations the candidate faces are investigated by the FBI. 

He called for a delay in a vote of all 100 senators – the final step in Mr Kavanaugh’s confirmation process – for up to a week while the FBI carries out its inquiries, insisting that “due diligence” must be shown. 

Mr Flake’s shock decision to support the Democrats’ call for the FBI to step came just hours after he had announced he would be voting for Mr Kavanaugh without conditions. It further pushes Mr Kavanaugh’s confirmation into uncertainty.

The key moment in Mr Flake’s change of heart appeared to be when he was confronted in a lift by two victims of sexual assault who demanded to know why he was supporting Mr Kavanaugh. 

“Don’t look away from me. Look at me and and tell me that it doesn’t matter what happened to me!” said one woman, speaking through tears as she kept the lift door open. The scene lasted around four minutes. 

The drama on Capitol Hill played out the day after Mr Kavanaugh, 53, and Christine Blasey Ford, a 51-year-old California professor who accuses him of sexual assault, both gave emotional testimony about the allegations. 

On Thursday, Prof Ford said she was “100 per cent” sure that Mr Kavanaugh was the person who drunkenly pinned her to a bed and tried to take off her clothes at a high school house party in the summer of 1982. 

However Mr Kavanaugh categorically denied the claim and angrily lashed out at a flurry of allegations he has faced late in the confirmation process, saying the proceedings had become a “national disgrace”. 

Two other women – Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick – have also gone public to claim Mr Kavanaugh committed sexual misconduct during his student days. Neither woman has given public testimony. Mr Kavanaugh has denied both claims. 

Hanging in the balance is a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court, which comes with the chance to shape American society for generations to come. 

After Thursday’s emotional hearing – which was broadcast live on television channels and watched by millions – it was time for senators on the committee to vote on Friday. 

Mr Kavanaugh faced two hurdles. First to get approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee, made up of 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats, then to win a vote from the full US Senate. 

Mr Flake, the one Republican who was wavering on the committee, announced on Friday morning that he would be voting for Mr Kavanaugh, infuriating liberals and effectively confirming the committee would approve the nominee. 

However minutes after issuing a press release announcing the decision he was confronted by two women who said they had been sexually assaulted and were demanding an explanation for his stance. 

“You have two children in your family. Think about them,” said one woman, fighting back tears. “What are you doing sir? This is the future of our country.”

Another shouted: “Look at me when I’m talking to you! You’re telling me that my assault doesn’t matter, that what happened to me doesn’t matter and that you’re going to let people who do these things into power.”

Later that day, just moments before the committee was due to vote, Mr Flake left the room. He huddled with Democratic senators and appeared to be reconsidering his decision. 

Then he announced a change in position. Mr Flake said he would vote through Mr Kavanaugh at the committee stage but demanded a delay in the full Senate vote of up to a week while the FBI investigates – matching a key Democratic demand. 

Mr Flake said: “This country is being ripped apart here, and we’ve got to make sure that we do due diligence. … I do think we can have a short pause and make sure that the FBI can investigate.”

After the comments a vote was held and the committee approved Mr Kavanaugh’s nomination.  

Donald Trump, the US president, bowed to pressure and ordered the FBI investigation. Just days earlier he had said the FBI did not want to look at the claims. 

He said in a statement that the inquiry must be "limited in scope" and be completed in "less than one week". Mr Kavanaugh confirmed in a statement that he would "cooperate". 

All "credible" allegations are expected to be looked at. It is unclear whether that means all three women who have publicly made allegations will be interviewed. 

Ms Ford’s lawyer, Debra Katz, welcomed the FBI investigation and thanked the senators who pushed for it but decried the limits imposed on it. "A thorough FBI investigation is critical to developing all the relevant facts," Ms Katz said.

Before Flake’s move, committee Republicans voted down a Democratic motion seeking to subpoena Mark Judge, a Kavanaugh friend who Ms Ford said witnessed the assault. Mr Judge had told the committee in a written statement he does not recall any such incident. He is likely to be central to any FBI probe.

Mr Judge’s lawyer said he would cooperate with the FBI or any other law enforcement agency.

Separately, the US president said that Ms Ford had been a “very credible” witness but also praised Mr Kavanaugh’s testimony as “incredible”. 

Mr Trump added: “I just want it to work out well for the country. If that happens, I’m happy."

Three volunteers from the Red Cross have been injured while trying to carry out a safe burial of a victim of the current Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Two of the volunteers were seriously wounded and are now receiving medical care, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement.

The latest attack is a reminder of the challenges facing authorities as they struggle to contain the latest outbreak of the disease in the North Kivu part of the country. There have been 162 cases of Ebola, including 106 deaths since the outbreak was first declared in August.

 The Red Cross said that its teams have faced incidents of violence and aggression from communities resisting safe and dignified burials since the start of the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu.

In September, one Red Cross volunteer was injured when people threw stones at a vehicle transporting a burial team. However, the most recent attack is the most violent incident to date.

Dr Fatoumata Nafo-Traoré, the Red Cross regional director for Africa, said: “This is an awful reminder of the dangers that these volunteer safe and dignified burials teams face. While we categorically denounce the attack on our colleagues, we understand the fear and frustration that many communities in North Kivu feel right now.

"People are scared and there are many rumours circulating that only serve to heighten the sense of fear and distrust.”

When a patient dies from Ebola their bodies are still infectious so they must be covered, running counter to local tradition. Congolese burial practices usually involve close and intimate bodily contact, with the body cleaned and decorated in preparation for burial

Last week, Ebola response operations were suspended after an attack in the city of Beni killed 21 people. A period of mourning was declared and the city was effectively in lockdown.

Peter Salama, WHO’s deputy director-general for emergency preparedness and response, said that the lack of security, pockets of resistance and exploitation of local people’s natural fears by politicians in the run-up to elections in December were creating a "perfect storm".

Earlier this week, WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus , briefed the United Nations security council on the situation in DRC.

He said WHO staff had encountered mistrust, especially around a village called Ndindi, which is where many of the most recent cases have occurred.

"Small but significant numbers of people refuse active follow-up, or refuse to be treated in the Ebola treatment units. We are working closely with religious leaders, youth and women’s groups and with the families themselves to overcome this obstacle," he said.

Dr Tedros added that there was also danger of the outbreak spreading into neighbouring countries – particularly Uganda as there have been two cases on the shores of Lake Albert, near to the border with Uganda. 

The disease has also spread into inaccessible "red zones", which are occupied by armed groups.

"This spread is extending the long tail of the outbreak," he said. 

Dr Tedros said WHO was working around the clock to contain the outbreak.

And he added: "Finally, I would like to highlight the fact that this epidemic is occurring in the context of much wider humanitarian needs, in a country whose people have suffered enormously over several decades."

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