Nelson Mandela and five other senior statesmen will today form themselves into a team of international troubleshooters called "The Elders". The initiative, funded by Sir Richard Branson, will be launched in Johannesburg during celebrations marking Mr Mandela's 89th birthday. The former South African president, who spent 27 years behind bars during the apartheid era, is a figure with unparalleled moral authority. The idea is that he will team up with Jimmy Carter, the former US president, Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary-general, Mary Robinson, the former Irish president, Desmond Tutu, the Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town and Mohammed Yunus,...