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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 19 July (TBA) Mandela celebrates 92nd birthday as xenophobic attacks return
NELSON Mandela today celebrated his 92nd birthday - a day the United Nations is calling Nelson Mandela International Day in recognition of his moral leadership.
It is the first time the UN has marked a world day in honour of an individual.
Meanwhile, there has been an outbreak of attacks against foreign-owned businesses at an informal settlement in South Africa’s Kya Sands in northern Johannesburg.
Residents who spoke to the press said locals started attacking foreign owned spaza shops on Sunday night while threatening foreigners with violence. A Zimbabwean woman in the area said she was terrified.
"They took mealie meal, rice and things like that and they are still promising that they are going to fight us until we go," she said.
Reports say Police have increased their presence in the area and are encouraging immigrants not to flee their homes.
Meanwhile, police officers in Atteridgeville in Pretoria West on Sunday said residents there cannot blame their unemployment on hard working foreigners.
On Sunday the community was given a chance to raise their concerns about foreigners with Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa.
A witness said many residents of Atteridgeville said illegal immigrants are stealing their jobs, homes, water and electricity. “They told Mthethwa they will take the law into their own hands if government does not address poverty, unemployment and crime,” the witness said.
However, Mthethwa has promised that officers will use force to stop attacks on foreigners, adding that the residents cannot blame their African neighbours for the failings of local government.
A report on a South African website iAfrica quoted a crime intelligence officer who works in Atteridgeville as agreeing with the minister who said foreigners have jobs because they work hard to earn a living.
"To be honest South Africans are not hard workers. You will never see a South African cutting hair or selling cigarettes on the streets. We have to stop this because these are our brothers," he said.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Malawi |
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 30 May (TBA) Malawi President pardons imprisoned gay pair
Two gay men jailed in Malawi but later pardoned by the country's President Bingu wa Mutharika have been released from prison.
Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga had been given 14-year jail terms for "gross indecency and unnatural acts" after celebrating their engagement. They were pardoned during a visit by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
However, a government minister told the press that the men could be re-arrested if they continued their relationship.
Monjeza, 26, and Chimbalanga, 20, were released from prison on Saturday evening, hours after Mr Mutharika announced their pardon. Their imprisonment had sparked international condemnation and a debate about homosexuality in Malawi.
Gift Trapence, director of the campaign group Centre for the Development of the People (Cedep) which had been supporting the couple, said they had been taken separately to their home villages.
Meanwhile, Malawi's Minister of Gender and Children, Patricia Kaliati, said Monjeza and Chimbalanga's release did not mean they could continue their relationship.
"It doesn't mean that now they are free people, they can keep doing whatever you keep doing," she said.
Ms Kaliati said they could be rearrested if they "continue doing that".
The men's lawyer said they were unlikely to be treated in the same way if they were arrested again.
"The pardon only applies to the offence under which they were convicted. If, for example, they go back and the state is of the view that they have recommited the offence, the pardon will not apply," said Mauya Msuku.
Monjeza and Chimbalanga were arrested in December 2009, a day after they celebrated their engagement and had been in custody ever since.
Judge Nyakwawa Usiwa-Usiwa who sentenced the pair said their actions went "against the order of nature".
However, on Saturday, President Mutharika said he was pardoning the pair on humanitarian grounds.
"In all aspects of reasoning, in all aspects of human understanding, these two gay boys were wrong - totally wrong," he said. "However, now that they have been sentenced, I as the president of this country have the powers to pronounce on them and therefore, I have decided that with effect from today, they are pardoned and they will be released."
President Mutharika’s comments came after a meeting with UN chief Mr Ban, who praised the decision as courageous.
But Ms Kaliati insisted that the president had not bowed to international pressure in releasing the men.
She said Malawi would not now reconsider its laws against homosexuality.
"We have our own rules and laws which we are following, and our own constitution," she said.
In Uganda, MPs are debating whether to strengthen the laws to include the death penalty for some gay people - a move which has infuriated Western governments and human rights campaigners.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - East Africa |
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 16 May (TBA) Four African states sign pact to seek more water from River Nile
Four East African countries have signed an agreement to seek more water from the River Nile - a move strongly opposed by Egypt and Sudan.
Under colonial-era accords, the two countries get 90% of the river's water.
Upstream countries including Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Ethiopia say it is unfair and want a new deal but nothing has been agreed in 13 years of talks.
A further three countries were represented at the meeting in Entebbe, Uganda, and may sign up later.
Egypt, which says water is a matter of national security has dismissed the Entebbe agreement, saying it "is in no way binding on Egypt from a legal perspective".
"Egypt will not join or sign any agreement that affects its share," ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki was quoted as saying in press reports.
Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda signed the agreement in Entebbe, which would lead to experts determining how much water each country would be entitled to.
Kenya did not sign the agreement as its minister could not attend. Like Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, it sent officials to Entebbe.
Ethiopia, for example - the source of the Blue Nile - contributes an estimated 85% of the river waters but makes relatively little use of its natural resource.
Commenting on the issues Rwanda's Environment Minister Stanislas Kamanzi said: "Egypt has been requesting to defer the signing of the Cooperative Framework Agreement - we couldn't wait any longer, since we have been negotiating for over 10 years."
Egypt and Sudan say they will not sign a new deal unless they are first guaranteed an exact share of the water.
Ahead of the meeting, Ahmed el-Mufti, the legal counsel for Sudan's delegation, said Egypt and Sudan needed water more than those in more fertile regions.
"They have a lot of rain: This is nature," he said. "They do not need the water. Here in Sudan we need water."
Egypt's farmers are almost wholly dependent on the River Nile and its water. Ironically farmers in drought prone Ethiopia are not able to tap the water which flows through their own country, while Egyptian farmers are using the water to irrigate vegetable farms and exporting the produce to Europe.
Experts say that with populations and demand for water increasing and climate change having an impact, wrangling over the world's longest river could be a trigger for conflict.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 10 May (TBA) Tsvangirai party official acquitted on charge of plot against Mugabe
Roy Bennett (pictured) a leading member of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Zimbabwe has been acquitted on charges of plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe.
Bennett is an aide to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
Judge Chinembiri Bhunu ruled this morning in a court in Harare that prosecutors had failed to prove that e-mails allegedly linking Bennett to an arms dealer were genuine.
The case had threatened to split the country's unity government of long-term rivals Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
Bennett, a farmer, is a leading member of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). He was to have taken a position as deputy minister for agriculture in the government of national unity when he was arrested in February 2009.
Passing judgement on the case, Judge Bhunu said: "Having carefully considered the facts, I come to the conclusion that the state has failed to prove a prima facie case. The accused is accordingly found not guilty."
Furthermore, Judge Bhunu said that the prosecutors' key evidence - an alleged confession from an arms dealer - was inadmissible, and that the prosecutors had not proved that e-mails allegedly linking Bennett to convicted arms dealer Peter Hitschmann were genuine.
Bennett's supporters, including the prime minister, had said the charges were politically motivated and aimed at undermining the coalition government.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Nigeria |
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 06 May (TBA) New Nigerian President sworn in following Yar’Adua’s death
Goodluck Jonathan (pictured) has been sworn in as head of state in Nigeria, following the death of President Umaru Yar'Adua after a long illness.
Jonathan, in charge since February, will appoint a deputy and serve out the rest of the current presidential term until elections due next year. Yar'Adua died late on Wednesday in the capital Abuja.
Thousands of mourners attended the funeral in his home town of Katsina.
Jonathan, who took the oath of office in front of government ministers and other officials in Abuja almost 12 hours after Yar'Adua death, has declared seven days mourning.
Afterwards Jonathan made a brief address, saying his administration was committed to pursuing electoral reform and the fight against corruption "with greater vigour".
"While this is a major burden on me, and indeed the entire nation, we must - in the midst of such great adversity - continue to gain our collective efforts towards upholding the values which our departed leader represented," President Jonathan said.
He added: "One of the true tests will be that all votes count, and are counted, in our upcoming presidential election."
Analysts say all eyes will now be on President Jonathan - who is from the Christian South – to see who he appoints as his deputy. By tradition the Nigerian presidency alternates between the Muslim North and the Christian South, and whomever he selects is likely to be seen as the presidential candidate for the ruling party the PDP. |
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 01 Apr (TBA) ANC dismayed by court ban of revolutionary song
South Africa's ruling party, African National Congress (ANC), has expressed dismay at a court decision to ban the singing of a song with the words "Shoot the Boer".
The party says a campaign by white activists in South Africa to get the song banned, is an attempt to "elevate apartheid agents as victims".
The ANC wants the Constitutional Court to overturn a ruling by a white judge that the words amount to hate speech.
ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema (pictured) recently sang the song, prompting claims that he was inciting violence. South African's Afrikaans-speakers are known as Boers, a word which also means farmer.
ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe told a media conference that his party would take the matter to the Constitutional Court.
"These songs cannot be regarded as hate speech or unconstitutional. Any judgment that describes them as such is impractical and unimplementable," he said.
Malema recently sang the song at a rally in Johannesburg, causing a row in a country where racism is still a challenge, 16 years after the end of white-minority rule.
The mainly white Freedom Front Plus party and campaign group AfriForum want the courts to ban Malema from ever singing the song and also want him prosecuted.
AfriForum youth leader Ernst Roets claims that Malema's actions were responsible for the recent murders of several white farmers in Gauteng province.
Speaking to the BBC’s Network Africa programme Roets said: "What we have here is an extreme form of hate speech - it should be prohibited according to South African law. It is simply immoral to try to justify a song like this, to say that is must be seen in context."
Speaking from Johannesburg the BBC's Pumza Fihlani said some white South Africans want the song banned out of fear that it may incite attacks against them, while black South Africans, particularly those who took part in the struggle against apartheid, argue that the song is an important part of the country's history.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Niger |
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 21 Feb (TBA) Niger celebrates army coup of unpopular president
Thousands of people took to the streets of the Niger capital over the weekend in support for Thursday's military takeover.
Opposition politicians and coup leaders addressed a rally celebrating the overthrow of President Mamadou Tandja (pictured) and the dissolution of his government.
Niger has been suspended by the African Union, and the international community has been quick to condemn the coup.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also condemned it and called for calm.
The new ruling military council - the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy - has announced the lifting of a curfew declared hours after the coup and the re-opening of borders.
Ten people are said to have died when the junta seized power.
The coup follows growing discontent with Tandja following a controversial referendum last August to abolish limits on presidential terms of office.
A crowd put at 10,000 turned out on Saturday, with some people carrying signs in support of democracy and the army. Military leaders stood on top of trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns.
"We say thank you to the junta for their intervention," an opposition spokesman, Bazoum Mohamed, told the rally. "We are for the restoration of democracy and we are committed to joining the army in this mission."
A military leader, Harouna Djibrilla Adamou, told the crowds: "We thank you for your overwhelming support. What we did was in the best interest of Niger. We ask you to stay calm, we're here for you, we're listening and we assure you that we will never let you down," he said.
Niger's new rulers have promised to turn the country into an example of "democracy and good governance" and save its people from "poverty, deception and corruption".
Troops stormed the presidential palace during a cabinet meeting last Thursday afternoon, seizing Tandja and his ministers before announcing that they were suspending the constitution and dissolving all state institutions.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Somalia |
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 18 Feb (TBA) Somali minister survives assassination attempt
Somalia's state minister for defence Yusuf Mohamed Siyad (pictured) has survived an assassination attempt by a suicide bomber in Mogadishu.
Siyad told the press how a car was driven towards his vehicle and explosives on board were detonated, injuring two of his security guards.
Islamist rebel group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.
Analysts say the attack is the latest challenge to the Somalian government plan to tackle Islamist insurgents. Militant groups control much of the south of Somalia and are in constant conflict with the government.
A defiant Siyad said the latest attack would not distract him from his job.
"I used to patrol in the city at midnight and I will keep patrolling until we restore law and order," he said.
"This attack was a message from my enemy that they are committed to kill me and all the other government officials like me but for me it encourages me to be ready."
In December 2009, an al-Shabab suicide bomber attacked a graduation ceremony for medical students which was attended by senior officials. Three ministers died at the scene, and another minister died from his injuries last week.
18 Feb (TBA) Nigeria halts cemetery tussle
Nigerian soldiers have moved in to halt a confrontation between Christians and Muslims at a cemetery near the city of Jos, where religious tensions are high.
Christians were trying to stop Muslims from burying a dead child in the Naraguta area.
The cemetery is claimed by both Muslims and Christians and the ownership is the subject of a court case.
More than 300 people died last month during days of rioting in Jos between the two religious groups.
Muslims claim that the land they are now using as a cemetery was sold to them by Christians. But Christian groups deny this and say they still own the land.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Kenya power tussle |
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 16 Feb (TBA) Kenya President and PM wrangle over suspension of two ministers
President Mwai Kibaki (pictured) of Kenya has revoked the prime minister's suspension of two government ministers linked to corruption allegations.
The ministers of agriculture and education were suspended by Prime Minister Raila Odinga during fraud investigations into missing funds. But hours later the suspensions were lifted as Kibaki said Odinga did not have the authority to suspend ministers.
The two suspended ministers have denied any personal wrongdoing.
There had been growing calls for ministers to resign after millions of dollars of public money were siphoned off in an education and a maize scandal. A recent audit into a maize scandal revealed that $26m (£16.5m) had been diverted whilst over $1m were stolen in an education scam.
But just hours after the suspensions were announced, President Kibaki annulled them. He said he had not been consulted and that the prime minister did not have the authority to take such action against a minister.
Analysts say Kenya's fractious coalition government seems to have hit an all-time low, and there is now confusion as to who is in charge. Most Kenyans will view this whole issue as another round of bickering between politicians getting in the way of the fight against corruption.
16 Feb (TBA) Zimbabwe unity govt in turmoil
Fresh elections may be needed in Zimbabwe after political leaders failed to end their deadlock, former opposition party the MDC says.
MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa did not give a timeframe for any new polls but accused President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF of failing to keep promises made when the MDC joined a unity government.
"In our view it's a deadlock. We realise there is disenchantment among the people. MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) spokesman Nelson Chamisa told the press in Harare. "If the deadlock persists then our trajectory is to have free and fair elections," he added.
However, a Zanu-PF spokesman blamed the MDC for the impasse.
The MDC says its activists are still being harassed and wants key officials appointed by Mr Mugabe, such as the attorney general and central bank governor, to be replaced.
Zanu-PF in return says the MDC has not done enough to attract foreign aid and investment since it joined the government. Observers say although the unity government has managed to halt Zimbabwe's economic collapse, donors remain wary of resuming funding.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Nigeria leadership |
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 10 Feb (TBA) Goodluck confirmed as Nigeria’s acting president
Nigeria's Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan (pictured) has become acting president, after the country’s Parliament voted to recognise him as acting president, in place of the ailing leader, President Umaru Yar'Adua.
President Yar'Adua has not been seen in public since going to Saudi Arabia in November to get treated for a heart condition.
His continued absence has sparked legal challenges, cabinet splits and mass street protests.
"I am fully aware of the responsibilities reposed in me, and I want to reassure all Nigerians that this is a sacred trust, which I shall discharge to my fullest abilities," Jonathan said in a televised address on Tuesday.
Jonathan said he would build on the amnesty for Niger Delta militants begun by President Yar'Adua.
Some militants in the region have threatened to break the amnesty, citing government delays in implementing the programme.
On Tuesday, both houses of Nigeria's National Assembly passed a motion for Jonathan to take over as head of state until President Yar'Adua is able to resume his duties.
Under Nigeria's constitution executive power is transferred to the vice-president when the president formally informs parliament of his absence.
President Yar'Adua never did this, but senate leader David Mark said that an interview President Yar'Adua carried out with the BBC's Hausa service on 12 January had effectively provided the assembly with the notice it needed.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Nigeria |
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 07 Feb (TBA) Nigeria's ailing president expected to hand power to vice-president
Nigeria's ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua (pictured) is expected to hand power over to his vice-president Goodluck Jonathan, according to reports attributed to his adviser, Abba Aji.
In an interview with the BBC Mr Aji apparently said that president Yar’Adua who is in a Saudi Arabia hospital would write a letter, formally informing the Senate he is on "medical vacation", - thus paving the way for his deputy Mr Jonathan to become acting president.
The president's allies have previously resisted calls for him to step aside although he has been in a hospital in Saudi Arabia since November. Mr Yar'Adua is suffering from an inflammation of the lining around the heart and has long suffered from kidney problems.
Nigeria's powerful state governors have said they believe Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan should be acting president.
Mr Aji, did not say when Mr Yar'Adua would write the letter but he said there would be no "undue delay".
For weeks, Nigeria has been beset with rumours and hoaxes over whether the president is alive or dead. Newspapers said the president was brain dead - or struck dumb.
Political tensions have been high - government business has stalled and legislation been frozen and cracks have appeared in the uneasy peace in the oil-producing Niger Delta.
Analysts said the first signs of a split emerged in Nigeria's cabinet recently, when Information Minister Dora Akunyili urged her colleagues to admit that the president was no longer fit to govern. But she was apparently shouted down in the cabinet meeting.
The federal high court has ruled that there is no constitutional requirement for the president to hand over power when he is abroad receiving medical treatment.
But he now appears to have given in to all the pressure.
Observers say Nigeria's split between the mainly Muslim north and the mainly Christian south has complicated the issue.
Northern power-brokers may be reluctant to see Mr Yar'Adua, a northerner, hand over power to Vice-President Jonathan, from the south, before the next scheduled presidential elections in 2011.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Haiti victims |
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 21 Jan (TBA) Haiti plans to house earthquake survivors in tented village
Haiti officials are planning to house 400,000 earthquake survivors in new tented villages outside the capital, Port-au-Prince.
The announcement was made by Interior Minister Paul Antoine Bien-Aime. He said 100,000 people would initially be sent to 10 settlements near the suburb of Croix Des Bouquets as soon as possible.
An estimated 1.5 million Haitians were left homeless by the 7.0-magnitude quake, which killed around 200,000 people.
Speaking to the press, Bien-Aime said the authorities had already sent out public buses to take survivors to the south and north of the country.
"The government has made available to people free transportation. A large operation is taking place," he said.
At least 500,000 people are currently living outdoors in 447 improvised camps in Port-au-Prince, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Of the 350 settlements assessed by the IOM and the Haitian government, only 179 had improvised shelter material and tents, and only three had access to potable water.
21 Jan (TBA) Malawi President to re-marry
Bingu wa Mutharika the president of Malawi, has announced he is to marry a former tourism minister, Calista Chapola-Chimbombo.
Chapola-Chimbombo, served in President Mutharika’s first cabinet in 2004 and is a prominent member of the governing Democratic Progressive Party.
President Mutharika's first wife, Ethel, died from cancer 2007, and his future wife is also widowed. The couple plan a traditional engagement ceremony on Valentine's Day before their 1 May wedding.
There had been intense speculation about the couple since they appeared beside each other during the wedding ceremony of President Mutharika's daughter in December.
However, Ms Chapola-Chimombo had denied any affair, telling a local newspaper: "There is nothing between me and the president."
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Haiti Senegal |
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 17 Jan (TBA) Senegal offers free land to Haitian earthquake victims
Senegal's president Abdoulaye Wade (pictured) says he will offer free land and "repatriation" to people affected by the earthquake in Haiti.
President Wade said Haitians were sons and daughters of Africa since Haiti was founded by slaves, including some thought to be from Senegal.
"The president is offering voluntary repatriation to any Haitian that wants to return to their origin," said President Wade's spokesman, Mamadou Bemba Ndiaye. "Senegal is ready to offer them parcels of land - even an entire region. It all depends on how many Haitians come. If it's just a few individuals, then we will likely offer them housing or small pieces of land. If they come en masse we are ready to give them a region."
Tuesday's earthquake killed tens of thousands and left many more homeless according to various estimates. Buildings across the country have been reduced to rubble.
First reports from the epicentre of the earthquake suggest the damage is even more dramatic than in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Reports say the scene in Leogane, west of Port-au-Prince, is "apocalyptic", with thousands left homeless and almost every building destroyed.
In the capital, survivors have become desperate as they wait for aid being handed out by international agencies.
The UN says up to 80-90% of buildings in Leogane, about 19km (12 miles) west of Port-au-Prince, have been destroyed. Many survivors have been leaving quake-hit areas in search of food, water and medicine.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is due to arrive in Haiti on Sunday.
The UN has launched an appeal for $562m (£346m) intended to help three million people for six months, while some two million people are thought to need emergency relief.
Estimates of how many people died following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday have varied. The Pan American Health Organization put the death toll at 50,000-100,000, while Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said 100,000 "would seem a minimum".
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Haiti |
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 13 Jan (TBA) Thousands feared dead in Haiti after earthquake
Around 100,000 people are feared dead in Haiti following a huge quake which has devastated the country's capital. The 7.0-magnitude quake, Haiti's worst in two centuries, struck on Tuesday
Haitian President Rene Preval has said the UN mission chief in Haiti was among the dead, but the UN cannot confirm this. It said 14 other UN staff had died and 56 were injured.
Speaking to the press Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said he believed more than 100,000 people had died. The Red Cross says up to three million people are affected.
In his first interview since the earthquake, President Preval told the press he feared thousands of his people had died.
Describing the scene in the capital as "unimaginable", Preval said: "Parliament has collapsed. The tax office has collapsed. Schools have collapsed. Hospitals have collapsed.
"There are a lot of schools that have a lot of dead people in them."
Preval later said that Hedi Annabi, the Tunisian head of the UN stabilisation mission in Haiti (Minustah), had died after the UN HQ building was destroyed.
However, the UN said it could not confirm the news but that Annabi had been in the building at the time and was likely to be under the rubble, along with many others.
US President Barack Obama has vowed "unwavering support" for Haiti after what he called a "cruel and incomprehensible" disaster.
Obama said he had ordered "a swift, co-ordinated and aggressive effort to save lives" and that the first US rescue teams would arrive later on Wednesday.
A US Navy aircraft carrier is expected to reach Haiti in a couple of days and a number of smaller vessels are already in the area, US defence officials said.
Rajiv Shah, of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said US teams were on their way to Haiti with specialised rescue equipment and that some efforts were already under way on the ground.
The quake, which struck about 15km (10 miles) south-west of Port-au-Prince, was quickly followed by two aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude.
The first tremor had hit at 1653 local time (2153 GMT) on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said. Phone lines to the country failed shortly afterwards.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Nigeria |
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 08 Jan (TBA) Nigerian politicians claim President Yar’Adua signature was forged on budget
Opposition politicians in Nigeria have alleged that President Umaru Yar'Adua allies forged his signature on the country's supplementary budget last month.
They have written to the police asking them to investigate the forgery claims.
However, the government said President Yar'Adua (pictured) signed the budget despite being treated for a heart condition in Saudi Arabia.
Yar'Adua has been away for six weeks, fuelling fears of a power vacuum in Nigeria. Several court cases have been launched demanding that power be officially handed to the vice-president.
Reports in Nigeria say one group of activists has even suggested the president should be declared a missing person, and a search party should be sent out.
Doctors say President Yar'Adua is suffering from acute pericarditis - inflammation of the lining of the heart. He also has a long-standing kidney complaint.
In a bid to dispel growing speculation over Yar'Adua's health, ministers have insisted the president is recovering from treatment. Information Minister Dora Akunyili said the president had spoken to his colleagues over the telephone on Tuesday.
In the latest move, an umbrella group for the main opposition parties known as the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has demanded that the police investigate the alleged forgery.
The group's lawyer, opposition official Femi Falana, said in the letter that the CNPP had tried to verify claims by the government that the budget had been taken to Saudi Arabia for the president to sign on his sick bed.
"To its utter dismay our client (CNPP) has confirmed that the signature of the president and the seal of the Federal Republic of Nigeria were forged by some persons in the presidency," the letter read.
"Our client has instructed us to request you to use your good offices to set the engine in motion for the investigation and prosecution of those who carried out the nefarious act."
The CNPP said it would take the issue to the federal court next week if the police failed to act.
In the other cases, one activist wants Mr Yar'Adua to be sacked because of his ill health and the Nigerian Bar Association is demanding that power be handed over to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 10 Dec (TBA) Mugabe's party opens first Congress since unity government
President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party opens its first congress this Friday, since going into a government of national unity with the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)last year.
Analysts believe that the congress will be one of the most difficult in the history of Zanu-PF, as supporters are divided over how to handle their role in the new unity government, and over Mugabe’s eventual successor.
"ZANU-PF will come out of the congress still limping," commented Takura Zhangazha, Country director of the Media Institute of Southern Africa in a report attributed to the AFP news agency.
"They won't come out with a pragmatic approach to revitalise the party," he said.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) forced ZANU-PF into the minority in parliament for the first time in elections last year.
Tsvangirai also defeated Mugabe in the first round of the presidential race, but pulled out of the run-off as the nation descended into political unrest, which rights groups say was fuelled largely by ZANU-PF.
Analysts say Zanu-PF has been riven by internal squabbles over who should eventually succeed Mugabe, who has already been endorsed as the candidate in the next elections slated for 2013, when he will be 89 years old.
But observers say there's no sign that the party is ready to tackle its challenges, much less turn around years of crisis that have left millions of Zimbabweans chronically dependent on foreign food aid.
Officially Zanu-PF delegates are expected to discuss the state of the party, the unity government, work on a new constitution and proposed media reforms.
However, analysts expect little debate.
"There will be no noise during the congress, and there will be no meaningful debate," said Lovemore Madhuku, chairman of the pro-democracy group National Constitutional Assembly."ZANU-PF has been divided for some time."
"We have seen provincial chairmen resigning and that's an indication that he is not in touch with what is happening in the party and on the ground," Madhuku added.
Takavafira Zhou, a political scientist at Masvingo State University, said Zanu-PF is now suffering because it has never fostered a culture of debate and openness, leaving divisions to fester underground.
"Mugabe has built a cult personality in ZANU-PF," Zhou said."The main problem is that the culture of debate is limited. There are people who are aggrieved who will not be able to speak out."
Opinion polls show that ZANU-PF will likely lose any new election.
Although Mugabe has flatly refused to discuss his retirement plans, analysts have said he is unlikely to contest the next presidential poll - expected in
the next two years or in 2013 if the current unity government runs a full term. Ordinary members are calling on Mugabe to hand over power to someone younger.
Meanwhile, a Zanu-PF politburo meeting was disrupted on Wednesday by a bomb scare. Sources said the meeting only resumed after a sweeping clearance by the members of the Army's bomb disposal unit.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 22 Nov (TBA) Hollywood actress to star in film about Winnie Mandela
US actress Jennifer Hudson (pictured) is to play Nelson Mandela's ex-wife, Winnie, in a film about her life, according to media reports.
An article in Variety magazine said Hudson was thrilled about the role and has described Winnie Madikizela-Mandela as a "powerful and extraordinary woman".
Winnie was persecuted for many years under the South African apartheid regime while Mandela was in prison. She played a vital role in South Africa’s liberation struggle and in the freeing of her husband after 27 years in jail.
Sources said South African film-maker Darrell Roodt will direct the film.
Roodt work includes world-renowned films Cry, The Beloved Country and Sarafina.
Hudson is the second international actor set to play a South African icon in recent months.
Hollywood is also preparing to release Invictus, a Clint Eastwood film about Mandela in which US actor Morgan Freeman will play South Africa's first black president.
Mandela and Winnie were divorced in 1996 - six years after his release from prison.
Although still a popular figure at grass roots level, Winnie’s political fortunes took a dive after she was implicated in the kidnap and murder of a young activist, Stompie Seipei, who was believed to be an informer for the apartheid government - although she has always denied the charges. She was convicted of theft and fraud in 2003.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Guinea |
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 19 Nov (TBA) SA mercenaries 'training Guinea military junta'
South African mercenaries are training supporters of Guinea's military junta, according to the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, William Fitzgerald.
In an interview with the BBC Fitzgerald said the mercenaries had been seen at a camp south of the Guinean capital, Conakry.
The South African government has already promised to investigate the reports which have been in the French media.
South Africa's director general of International Relations Ayanda Ntsaluba said the mercenary allegations were being taken seriously.
"The allegation is that there is a group of South Africans, mercenaries who are training militia largely recruited on an ethnic basis, supporters of the current military youth," he said.
Guinea's junta has been fiercely criticised for a deadly crackdown on opposition supporters in September. Human rights groups say more than 150 people were killed when troops fired on an anti-government protest and many women were systematically raped.
Guinean officials say 57 people died and that most were trampled to death.
The demonstration was called in protest at rumours that Capt Moussa Dadis Camara (pictured) who seized power last December, planned to run for president next year despite a promise not to do so.
Fitzgerald said he agreed with reports that Capt Camara was trying to shore up his position by recruiting mercenaries.
"Some of us have seen the South Africans who are up at a camp called Forecariah south of the city - so yes that is a cause for concern," he said. "I believe that they are military trainers."
Last month, the UN created a tribunal to investigate the killings in Guinea's capital Conakry on 28 September. The US and the African Union have imposed sanctions against Capt Camara and 41 members of his junta.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 12 Nov (TBA) UN declares 18 July as Mandela day
The United Nations General Assembly has declared 18 July Mandela Day, to mark the contribution of Nelson Mandela to world freedom.
The 18 July was chosen because it is Nelson Mandela's birthday. He turned 91 earlier this year.
Charities associated with Mandela have been campaigning for such a day for some time. They want people to give 67 minutes to a good cause - reflecting the 67 years Mr Mandela has spent as an activist.
The resolution was introduced by South African Ambassador Baso Sangqu. He described his former president as an icon and a symbol of hope whose life had mirrored United Nations' ideals.
Libyan diplomat Dr Ali Abdussalam Treki, the current General Assembly president, said the move showed the body's "attachment to freedom".
In South Africa, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said it was pleased about the UN's declaration.
"It serves as a catalyst for each and every person around the world to realise that they have the ability to change it through action," said Achmat Dangor, the foundation's chief executive . "As Mr Nelson Mandela reminded us 'it is in our hands' to create a better world," he added.
12 Nov (TBA) Landslide kills 20 in Tanzania
A landslide in Tanzania has killed at least 20 people after a torrential downpour triggered a flash flood.
Seven schoolchildren are among the dead and more people are missing, local officials said.
Rescuers are digging out bodies in the village of Goha, Kilimanjaro province, which was swamped when the side of a mountain collapsed on Tuesday night.
Until the four days of rain came, eastern Africa has been battling a drought for the past two years.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 08 Nov (TBA) Tsvangirai calls off boycott of unity government
Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) the Zimbabwean Prime Minister has called off his party's boycott of the unity government with President Robert Mugabe.
Tsvangirai told the press over the weekend that he was giving Mugabe 30 days to implement the power-sharing agreement on "the pertinent issues we are concerned about".
Tsvangirai was speaking after the Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) regional crisis talks in Mozambique had ended.
Sadc, the guarantor of Zimbabwe’s power-sharing agreement, which was signed last year, urged all parties to respect the deal and said they had 15-30 days to "engage in dialogue".
The MDC accuses Mugabe's Zanu-PF of continuing to harass its activists and acting in "bad faith".
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change says outstanding issues should be agreed within 15 days and then implemented within 30 days. However, Mugabe did not speak to the media after the summit.
Sadc head Tomaz Salomao said South Africa's President Jacob Zuma would soon visit Zimbabwe to evaluate progress, while Mozambican President Armando Guebuza said he thought the situation would change within 30 days.
Political analysts in Harare said MDC ministers in the governmente of national unity are expected to attend the next Zimbabwe cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Tsvangirai walked out of the coalition government on 16 October in protest at the detention of a senior MDC official on terrorism charges and over Mugabe's failure to implement political agreements.
The MDC also said there had been "increased violent" attacks on party members by militants from President Mugabe's Zanu-PF, as well as renewed invasions of white-owned farms.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 01 Nov (TBA) Mugabe the ‘stumbling block’ in national unity government
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe (pictured) has been forced to accept that the January Sadc Summit Communiqué which eventually led to the formation of the coalition, is a binding document, sources in Harare revealed on Saturday.
A source said by acknowledging the January communiqué as binding, Mugabe had effectively agreed to review his position regarding the
appointment of RBZ governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC has been calling for the removal of both Gono and Tomana who were appointed by Mugabe acting on his own instead of in consultation with Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara the leader of the smaller faction of MDC.
Mugabe had repeatedly vowed not to replace Gono and Tomana saying the appointments were done "constitutionally".
But with Tsvangirai's MDC suspending co-operation with Mugabe’s Zanu-PF a fortnight ago, Sadc foreign ministers were called in to try and avert another political crisis, in Zimbabwe.
Mugabe has also refused to share the posts of provincial governors, noting that those appointments were dependent on his benevolence. This was in contradiction of section 7(vii) of the communiqué, which states that "the negotiators of the parties shall meet immediately to consider the National Security Bill submitted by the MDC-T as well as the formula for the distribution of the Provincial Governors".
Sources close to the Sadc foreign ministers review of the Global Political Agreement, which brought Mugabe and Tsvangirai together in government said it had became clear to the ministers from Mozambique, Zambia and Swaziland, who were in Zimbabwe last Friday, that Mugabe was the stumbling block.
A Zimbabwean political analyst who attended the closed meetings said the ministers were "shocked" by the slow implementation and blatant disregard of the agreement, which led to the formation of the inclusive government.
"It became clear in the meetings that Zanu PF is the culprit. The visit clearly exposed Mugabe and Zanu PF as the stumbling block," the analyst said.
In a statement the Sadc ministers on Friday said: "The parties agreed to attend to all outstanding issues arising from the implementation of the GPA and the Sadc Summit Communiqué of January 2009."
On Saturday Mugabe called for more dialogue with his estranged coalition partners. "When you have as party, even as individuals, taken a stand that you shall work together with our political neighbours, and they have reciprocated at the same terms, then the requirement is that we continue step by step together," Mugabe said.
Analysts said Mugabe’s conciliatory tone was in sharp contrast to his address to the Zanu-PF Central Committee where he said the MDC-T's disengagement will not affect the operations of the inclusive government.
Meanwhile, reports by Tsvangirai’s MDC say war veterans and Zanu PF militants have intensified attacks against MDC-T supporters in the rural areas following the party's disengagement from dealing with Zanu PF ministers in the inclusive government.
MDC-T secretary for social welfare Kerry Kay expressed concern over the new wave of attacks against the party's activists and supporters.
She said Zanu PF has "re-activated" its terror squads and camps in the rural areas, blamed for murder, rape, plunder and general violence in last
June's election.
"What they are doing is shocking," Kay said. "They are attacking our supporters on the basis that we withdrew from the unity government, which is not true. I fear this could degenerate into chaos to the levels of last year."
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 19 Oct (TBA) Tsvangirai seeks SADC support over Zimbabwe unity government disputes
MORGAN Tsvangirai (pictured) the Zimbabwean Prime Minister and leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says his party will boycott the country's power-sharing government until sticking points have been resolved.
Tsvangirai, who has been working in a power sharing government with President Robert Mugabe for the past nine months will this week meet regional leaders to pressure Mugabe to resolve disputes in the country's unity government.
Last Friday Tsvangirai announced that his MDC would disengage from Mugabe's "dishonest and unreliable" ZANU-PF party in the country's unity cabinet set up in February this year.
Analysts say the MDC's decision may not mean the end of the power-sharing government but it will put pressure on the Southern African Development
Community (SADC), the regional body under whose auspices former South African President Thabo Mbeki brokered a settlement in Zimbabwe last year.
The MDC boycott has sparked the country's biggest political crisis since the formation of the new administration, but Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba underplayed the the move, saying Mugabe would chair a cabinet meeting on Tuesday without the MDC.
MDC sources said Tsvangirai is scheduled to meet Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Tuesday. Guebuza chairs the SADC's political panel on defence and security, in Maputo.
Furthermore, Tsvangirai is also planning to travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo this week for a meeting with President Joseph Kabila, current SADC chairman, to urge the body to force Mugabe to honour the power-sharing agreement.
"He (Tsvangirai) will be meeting SADC leaders, including Jacob Zuma (South Africa) and Jose Eduardo dos Santos (Angola)," the source said.
The MDC accuses Mugabe of failing to implement the terms of last year's political agreement, such as the appointment of senior government officials,
including a new central bank governor and the attorney general, and the swearing-in of Tsvangirai's nominee for the post of deputy agriculture minister, Roy Bennett.
Bennett is facing charges of illegal possession of arms for purposes of committing terrorism and banditry and was last week detained in prison after
he was indicted to face trial. He was later released on bail.
Mugabe has refused to swear Bennet into cabinet until he is acquitted but Bennett, who denies the charges that carry a maximum death sentence upon conviction, says he has been targeted as part of a wider political campaign against the MDC.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 11 Oct (TBA) Tsvangirai congratulates Obama for Nobel Peace Prize award
Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has congratulated US President Barack Obama (pictured) for being named 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner, saying he is an inspirational figure among all the different peoples of the world.
"The MDC would like to congratulate US President Barack Obama for winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize today," Tsvangirai said in a statement.
"The MDC believes that President Obama's inspirational figure; his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation
between peoples make him a perfect candidate for winning this award," it added.
Obama - the first African-American to head the White House and only came into office in January - beat a strong field of 205 candidates that included
Tsvangirai himself, to win the prestigious prize.
The MDC said Tsvangirai's nomination as one of the candidates for the prize was fitting international recognition of the "determination by the people of
Zimbabwe to achieve peaceful, democratic change".
"As a party, we are happy that our president was one of the short-listed nominees. For years, the MDC president, the party and the people of Zimbabwe at large have fought tirelessly and tenaciously for a peaceful and democratic Zimbabwe in which all people work and live in harmony," the MDC said.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised the US President for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples".
"Very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the committee said
in a citation.
Obama, becomes the third senior US Democrat to win the prize this decade, after former Vice President Al Gore won in 2007 along with the UN climate panel and Jimmy Carter in 2002. Obama has called for nuclear disarmament and is working towards restarting the stalled Middle East peace process.
The prize worth 10 million Swedish crowns will be handed over in Oslo, Norway, on December 10.
Previous Southern African leaders who have won the Nobel Prize are former South African President Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Meanwhile Tsvangirai, has won two other awards for the promotion of human rights in Zimbabwe.
Last week he was in Spain where he was awarded the prestigious human rights award from the International Bar Association. Tsvangirai also received the International Lifetime Achievement Award 2009 from the Spanish Foundation Cristobal Gabarron, for his fight for peace and democracy.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 25 Sep (TBA) Mugabe denies responsibility for Zimbabwe economic woes
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe (pictured) rejected assertions by CNN's Christiane Amanpour in a rare interview on Thursday, that his policies have driven the nation once known as Africa's breadbasket, to virtual economic collapse.
Instead Mugabe cast himself as an African hero battling imperialism and foreign attempts to oust him, rejecting the widespread perception that he was a dictator clinging to power at the expense of the welfare of his people and country.
The 85-year-old Mugabe, accused Britain and the United States of seeking to oust him by imposing economic sanctions, the effects of which he said were worsened by years of drought.
He denied that Zimbabwe is in economic shambles, saying it grew enough food last year to feed all its people. He alaso defended policies that have driven white farmers off their land as properly restoring that land to indigenous Africans.
"The land reform is the best thing (that) could have ever have happened to an African country," said Mugabe. "It has to do with national sovereignty."
Mugabe appeared to get frustrated with some of Amanpour's direct questioning, repeatedly denying widely accepted evidence and reports on his
nation's woes.
He denied that his ZANU-PF party lost elections in 2008 that forced him to accept a power-sharing agreement with his chief rival, Morgan Tsvangirai,
who now is prime minister.
"You don't leave power when imperialists dictate that you leave," he insisted. "There is regime change. Haven't you heard of (the) regime change
program by Britain and the United States that is aimed at getting not just Robert Mugabe out of power but get Robert Mugabe and his party out of
power?"
When Amanpour challenged him by saying most of the sanctions were directed at individuals, rather than economic entities, Mugabe said she was wrong.
"The U.S. sanctions are real sanctions, economic sanctions. Have you looked at them?" he said. "It's because of sanctions, mainly."
Mugabe also rejected criticism from South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner for his role in the anti-apartheid struggle, who
has accused Mugabe of turning Zimbabwe into a "basket case" and repressing his own people.
"It's not a basket case at all," Mugabe said. He later called Tutu's comments "devilish talk" and added: "He doesn't know what he's talking
about, the little man."
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 10 Sep (TBA) EU officials to meet Mugabe, Tsvangirai in Zimbabwe
EU officials are scheduled to visit Zimbabwe this weekend to push for progress within the country’s government of nationally unity, a move that could pave the way for a normalisation of ties Europe.
The visit It will be the first such contact since the EU imposed sanctions targeting Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and his top aides in 2002.
This week southern African leaders meeting in the Democratic Republic of Congo urged the international community to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe, now that it has a power-sharing government.
The EU's aid commissioner and a Swedish minister will head the EU team.
Meanwhile, EU officials stress that it is far too soon to talk about lifting targeted sanctions immediately. They say it is just a preparatory visit, to re-establish a political dialogue.
The EU acknowledges that significant progress has been made in Zimbabwe since Mugabe’s Zanu-PF formed a government with the rival MDC, but it is mindful that President Mugabe has still not fulfilled all his promises to end harassment of the opposition, and to respect human rights.
Swedish Development Minister Gunilla Carlsson and EU Aid and Development Commissioner Karel de Gucht will hold talks with President Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and other senior officials.
At the end of a two-day meeting in the DRC, the Southern African Development Community issued a statement saying it "noted the progress made in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement" in Zimbabwe.
Furthermore, Sadc called on the international community "to remove all forms of sanctions against Zimbabwe".
Analysts said Sadc seemed to have snubbed Zimbabwe Prime Minister Tsvangirai, who had lobbied for a special summit to assess the progress of the power-sharing government.
South African President Jacob Zuma, who has criticised Mugabe in the past and was expected to side with Tsvangirai, said there should be no conditions placed on the removal of sanctions.
"We are saying the lifting of sanctions is going to help the process of implementation of the agreement by the parties in Zimbabwe," Zuma said.
The US-based group Human Rights Watch said it was too early to remove sanctions because "the levers of power are still very much in the hands of the oppressors".
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 31 Aug (TBA) Tsvangiari’s MDC chooses Stevenson for Senegal post
Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change has moved to take up its allotment of diplomatic posts under the
Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed by the three principals to the inclusive Government, by nominating former legislator Mrs Trudy Stevenson for the position of Zimbabwe's ambassador to Senegal.
Mrs Stevenson (pictured) is the MDC’s secretary for research and policy and former Member of Parliament for Harare North.
Reports in Harare said Mrs Stevenson is already undergoing training with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as she prepares to assume her new role in the West-African country.
The decision to second Mrs Stevenson to the position came after the party's first nominee and House of Assembly Member for Insiza South constituency Siyabonga Ncube, declined the ambassadorial post last week.
31 Aug Zuma urges action on Zimbabwe pact
President Jacob Zuma of South Africa has said in order for Zimbabwe to successfully recover, the terms of the Global Political Agreement which brought Zanu-PF and the MDC into a coalition government must be implemented without any delay.
Zuma was speaking at the conclusion of his two-day official visit to Zimbabwe at the opening of the Harare Agricultural Society Show on Friday.
He said the Global Political Agreement, signed in September last year, aimed at resolving long-running political tensions in the country, needed to move with speed and progress.
Zuma reiterated that there were clear signs that Zimbabwe was on the road to recovery, however the challenge "we now face is to ensure that the country's recovery is completed in the shortest space of time.
"For this to happen, it is absolutely necessary that the Global Political Agreement be fully implemented without delay."
Zuma met President Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, the three signatories to the agreement in his capacity as Southern African Development Community (SADC) Chairperson.
Zuma’s visit preceded the SADC summit on 7-8 September in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has ostensibly been called to review progress in the implementation of the agreement.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 28 Aug (TBA) SA president expected to ‘press Mugabe on attacks on MDC activists’
South African President Jacob Zuma (pictured) is due in Zimbabwe today on what will be his first visit to the neighbouring country since he was elected in May.
ANC sources said Zuma will meet Zimbabwe President Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to discuss an end to continued alleged human rights abuses against political opposition members to Mugabe’s Zanu-PF.
Zuma's two-day visit comes amid renewed speculation about the health of Mugabe, who is 85.
However, Mugabe’s officials have denied reports that he is ill, labelling them the product of "sick and evil minds".
Zuma is the current chair of the Southern African Development Community, the body which helped to broker a power-sharing deal which brought Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in a coalition government with Mugabe’s Zanu-PF in February.
The MDC has consistently accused Zanu-PF of bad faith over a range of issues connected to the deal, including most recently the unilateral appointment of the central bank governor and attorney general.
The MDC also wants Zuma to put pressure on Mugabe to end the alleged attacks and harassment of MDC activists which have continued since the party joined the government.
A spokesman for Zuma's ANC party said he planned to be more outspoken about Zimbabwe's problems - a contrast to the "quiet diplomacy" of his predecessor Thabo Mbeki.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Kenya |
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 15 Aug (TBA) World's oldest pupil dies aged 90
Kimani Nganga Maruge (pictured) famously dubbed Kenya's oldest pupil, has died in Nairobi aged 90.
Maruge, a great-grandfather to 30 children held the Guinness World Record for being the oldest person to start primary school, at the age of 84.
His house in the Rift Valley was burnt down in post-election violence last year and he was later moved from a camp to an old people's home in the capital.
Despite the disruption, Maruge kept hard at his studies and had two years left to finish his primary education.
A veteran of Kenya’s Mau Mau independence movement, Maruge never had the opportunity to go to school when he was younger.
The father-of-five said his late enrolment for school was driven by his desire to read the Bible for himself. He was also suspicious that he might not have been getting his full pension so he was also keen to study maths.
Maruge enrolled at Kapkenduywa primary school, in Eldoret in 2004, a year after the Kenyan government introduced free primary schooling.
With one of the best attendance records he was made a prefect in the school where two of his 30 grandchildren were pupils.
A spokesperson for Cheshire Homes in Kenya where Maruge spent the last year of his life, told the press that he was dedicated to his studies right to the end.
Even after he was diagnosed with cancer in February he asked for teachers to teach him at home.
In 2005 Maruge travelled to the United States where he called on world leaders attending a summit to make education for the poor a priority.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Nigeria |
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 02 Aug (TBA) Nigeria unrest death toll tops 700
Around 700 people were killed in the recent wave of violence in Nigeria, according to a senior regional military official.
Col Ben Ahanotu, head of security in Maiduguri city which accounted fro much of the violence, said that mass burials had begun there.
Earlier estimates of the number of victims of the unrest, in which police battled Islamists, put the figure at 400.
Reports in Nigeria said life in the affected areas is now beginning to return to normal with banks and markets reopening.
Col Ahanotu said the compound of the Islamist sect behind the violence was being used as one of the burial sites because bodies were decomposing in the heat. He told the press that officials gathering bodies had found "almost 700".
The compound, which was the headquarters of the Boko Haram sect was destroyed by government troops and is now a smouldering rubble.
Media reports in Nigeria said more members of the sect have been arrested in house-to-house searches across northern Nigeria.
A military spokesman said two of those killed were soldiers and 13 were police officers. The number of injured, meanwhile, is still being counted. The Red Cross had earlier said about 3,500 people fled the fighting.
Maiduguri is the capital of Borno state but the fighting spread to cities across the north of the country and the total death toll is unknown. The violence ended on Thursday when the sect's leader, Mohamed Yusuf, was killed by police.
The police say he was killed in a shoot-out while he was being detained. But Col Ahanotu says he captured Yusuf and handed him over alive.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 19 July (TBA) Mandela birthday marked by devotion to service
Former South African president Nelson Mandela (pictured) celebrated his 91st birthday today with a message for millions of his well-wishers around the world to mark the day by devoting the day to a "service".
Organised celebrations took place in South Africa and the United States to mark the famous and former Roben island’s prisoner’s special day.
In New York, a star-studded concert featured performances from Stevie Wonder, Cyndi Lauper and Carla Bruni, as well as a birthday tribute from President Obama.
But in a message played at the event, Mandela explained that the first annual "Mandela Day" was not a holiday, but "a day devoted to service".
19 July (TBA) Gen wins Mauritanian presidency
Mauritania's military leader, Gen Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, has been declared the winner of the country's presidential election.
The announcement was made by the country’s Interior minister who said Gen Abdelaziz had won outright, with 52% of the vote in Saturday's poll.
Gen Abdelaziz seized power in a coup last year.
Even before the results were announced, Gen Abdelaziz challengers said the outcome had been "prefabricated" and called for an international inquiry.
Earlier, one of the main opposition candidates, Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, told a news conference: "The results which are starting to come out show that it is an electoral charade which is trying to legitimise the coup."
A statement from the group of four challengers read: "We firmly reject these prefabricated results, secondly we call on the international community to put in place an inquiry to shed some light on the electoral process."
There were nine candidates in all.
The election commission said voter turnout was
61%. The military coup in August 2008 ousted Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi who was Mauritania's only democratically elected leader since independence in 1960. He had been in power for less than a year and a half.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Ghana |
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 11 July Obama urges Africa to take charge of its own destiny
US President Barack Obama (pictured) today urged Africa to take charge of its own destiny in world affairs.
Speaking in Ghana on his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office, Obama also told parliament that good governance was vital for development.
He noted that major challenges awaited Africans in the new century, but vowed that the US would help the continent.
Obama said he chose Ghana as his first port of call on the continent because of its strong democratic record.
"We wanted to make sure to come to an African country after the G8 and after my business in Moscow to emphasise that Africa is not separate from world affairs," Obama said after meeting President John Atta Mills in the capital, Accra.
"What happens here has an impact everywhere," he said.
Delivering a message that "Africa's future is up to Africans", Obama conceded that the legacy of colonialism had helped breed conflict on the continent.
"But the West is not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade, or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants," he added.
He commended Ghana's own progress, governance and economic growth, saying Ghana's achievements were less dramatic than the liberation struggles of the 20th Century but would ultimately be more significant.
"Development depends upon good governance," Obama told legislators. "That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long. And that is a responsibility that can only be met by Africans."
Obama said four key areas were critical to the future of Africa and of the entire developing world, citing democracy, opportunity, health and the peaceful resolution of conflict.
He pledged to continue strong US support for public healthcare initiatives in Africa, and called for sensible use of natural resources such as oil in the face of the threat of climate change.
"Africa is not the crude caricature of a continent at war," Obama added. "But for far too many Africans, conflict is a part of life, as constant as the sun," describing wars as a "millstone around Africa's neck".
"You have the power to hold your leaders accountable, and to build institutions that serve the people," Obama said, describing freedom as Africa's "inheritance" and urging the continent to beat disease, end conflict and bring long-lasting change.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 09 July SA strikers halt work on World Cup stadiums
Around 70,000 construction workers in South Africa have gone on strike, halting work on stadiums being built for the 2010 World Cup.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), whose members include construction workers, has rejected a 10% pay rise offered by management and are demanding 13%.
NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said: "The government must help us, otherwise we are going to delay 2010. We will strike until 2011."
Organisers of the world cup tournament are still confident that the grounds will still be ready, unless the strike continues for months.
On Monday judges rejected a request from the employers to outlaw the strike, which unions say is indefinite.
Soccer City union organiser Patrick Geqeza told the press that he blamed management inflexibility for precipitating the strike.
"We feel bad about going on strike. But they don't want to meet us half way," he said.
Currently, construction workers are being paid 2,500 rand ($310; £192) a month.
Press reports in South Africa say scores of workers are outside Soccer City stadium wearing blue overalls and brandishing sticks after downing their tools at midday on Wednesday.
Five entirely new stadiums are being built for the World Cup, while five are being modernised.
Danny Jordaan, (pictured) head of the World Cup organising committee, said he respected the right of the workers to strike but felt the dispute should be resolved without affecting the construction schedule.
"The construction workers have been the lifeblood of the 2010 Fifa World Cup project," he said in a statement. "Their hard work has ensured that we are on track to meet our deadlines and that our stadiums will be among the best in the world next year."
Analysts say if the strike continues projects such as the high-speed rail link between the airport and Johannesburg will be of greater concern than the stadiums.
The rail-link is scheduled to be operational just two weeks before the tournament starts. The 2010 World Cup will be the first to be hosted by an African country.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 07 July 2009 Mugabe slams US top African official as an “idiot”
Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe (pictured) has slammed, Johnnie Carson the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs as an "idiot".
Mugabe, who met Carson on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Libya last weekend said he objected to Carson’s condescending attitude.
In an interview with Zimbabwe's state-owned Herald newspaper Mugabe said: "You wouldn't speak to an idiot of that nature."
Furthermore, he said: "I was very angry with him, and he thinks he could dictate to us what to do and what not to do in the inclusive government."
The Herald quoted Mugabe saying: "You have the likes of little fellows like Carson, you see, wanting to say: 'You do this, you do that.' Who is he? I told him he was a shame, a great shame, being an African-American."
Mugabe’s meeting with Carson was the first at such a high level between the two countries for several years.
Mugabe once described Carson's predecessor Jendayi Frazer as "that little girl trotting around the globe like a prostitute."
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Ethiopia |
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 03 July African health ministers resolve to improve women, child health
African Ministers of Health have endorsed a Call to Action resolution aimed at improving the health of women and children worldwide.
The resolution was taken at a meeting in Addis Ababa today where delegates from 42 African nations met this week.
A press statement from United Nations Population Fund (unfpa) said the Call to Action decried the chronic shortage in the number of skilled health workers in Africa who can deliver life-saving interventions.
“There are fewer than five doctors for every 100,000 people on the continent, and each year 20,000 health professionals abandon their posts in rural areas in pursuit of jobs in urban areas or abroad,” the statement noted. “The consequence of this migration of health workers is disproportionately felt by the poorest and most marginalised people.”
During the four-day meeting, more than 350 participants including heath ministers and health programme managers, noted that poor access to reproductive health care, including family planning, and to quality care during pregnancy, are contributory factors in the deaths of half a million women and over a million newborns every year.
By endorsing the Call to Action, delegates committed to ensuring that national human resource plans address the critical shortage of trained health professionals and the specific skills required to save mothers and newborns.
In his closing remarks Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,(pictured) urged his colleagues to be creative in seeking solutions to the tragedy of maternal mortality and morbidity in Africa.
“Let us train more health workers and introduce financial and non-financial incentives to retain them, as part of a comprehensive strategy that addresses the health system in each country,” he advised.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Libya |
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 03 July AU agrees to co-ordinate common interest policies
The African Union (AU) has agreed a plan to give its executive arm enhanced powers to co-ordinate common-interest policies, officials say.
Reports from Libya where AU leaders are meeting said the compromise on the draft came after hours of heated debate in a closed session in the town of Sirte.
Although the African Authority will not be able to act internationally unless it has a mandate from heads of state, political analysts say its creation is an important stepping stone towards a federal government for the continent.
The concept is the brain child of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi (pictured) who wants a United States of Africa.
Sources said the African Authority proposal had been resisted by South Africa and Nigeria, among others, who objected to giving the body too much power.
It aims to simplify the AU's structure, allowing more control over diplomatic, trade and defence matters.
The African Authority will "represent the common interests of the member states of the union and speak in their name in international forums on international trade,” the draft agreement says.
The structure will create a president, a vice-president, and a secretary of peace and security and common defence. Other secretaries will replace the current union's commissioners.
Significantly the powers of the Authority focus on co-ordination rather than unilateral implementation.
While it will co-ordinate key policies, the African Authority will only be able to act with the consent of members, rather than exercising power over them.
Commenting on the resolution, Benin's Foreign Minister Jean-Marie Ehouzou said the final text "reflects everybody's position".
"The states are ready to cede a little bit a part of their sovereignty for the benefit of the [union]," he said.
Gaddafi, who is also the current AU chairman had pushed hard for the grouping to be given wider regional and defence powers.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Michael Jackson |
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 26 Jun Michael Jackson’s death stuns music fans around the world
Pop star Michael Jackson’s death in Los Angeles at the age of 50 has stunned his fans and music lovers all over the world.
Paramedics were called to the singer's Beverly Hills home at about midday on Thursday after he stopped breathing.
As tributes to Jackson’s death begin to pour in from around the world, his brother, Jermaine, told the press the pop star was believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest.
Jackson (pictured) who had a history of health problems, had been due to stage a series of comeback concerts in the UK, beginning on 13 July.
Speaking on behalf of the Jackson family, Jermaine said doctors had tried to resuscitate the star for more than an hour without success.
He added: "The family request that the media please respect our privacy during this tough time. And Allah be with you Michael always. I love you."
Jackson was pronounced dead two hours after an ambulance rushed him to the UCLA medical centre. TV footage showed the star's body flown from UCLA to the LA County Coroner's office where a post-mortem is expected to take place today.
Concerns were raised last month when four of Jackson's planned comeback concerts were postponed, but organisers insisted the dates had been moved due to the complexity of staging the show.
In an interview on the BBC Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini said: "I always doubted that he would have been able to go through that schedule, those concerts. It seemed to be too much of a demand on the unhealthy body of a 50 year old.
"I'm wondering that, as we find out details of his death, if perhaps the stress of preparing for those dates was a factor in his collapse. It was wishful thinking that at this stage of his life he could be Michael Jackson again."
Uri Geller, a close friend of the star, told BBC News it was "very, very sad".
Speaking outside New York's historic Apollo theatre, civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton paid tribute to his friend.
"I knew him 35 years. When he had problems he would call me," he said
Tributes from the world of music and film have already flooded in from celebrities including Madonna, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackson’s ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley.
Large numbers of fans have also gathered outside Jackson's home and at the UCLA medical centre with lit candles to mourn the star while playing his greatest hits.
The singer's albums are occupying the top 15 slots of online music retailer Amazon.com's current best-seller chart, led by his 1982 smash hit Thriller.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 24 Jun ‘Unity govt offers Mugabe dignified exit’ - Tsvangirai
Zimbabwe's Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, (pictured) says that the unity government provides a good opportunity for President Robert Mugabe's dignified political exit.
Addressing diplomats and political experts in London on Wednesday, Tsvangirai said it would be in the Mugabe's interest to grab this opportunity with both hands.
"If there was no inclusive government, there was no way Mugabe would have a dignified exit. This gives him two possibilities, to restore his legacy as the founding father of Zimbabwe, and secondly to allow for the transition to take place without allowing the country to slide back into chaos," Tsvangirai said.
With regard to his current tour of European capitals and the USA Tsvangirai said the trip was about re-engagement with the international community.
"For now the support we have received on this tour has been sufficient to consolidate the government in terms of it's delivering in education and health, water, sanitation and those are the basic services," Tsvangirai said.
Meanwhile, Tsvangirai's MDC party has said it expects Sadc regional leaders to meet next month to discuss problems bedevelling Zimbabwe's power-sharing government.
The South African Development Community (SADC) brokered last September's power-sharing agreement between the MDC and President Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF party that led to formation of a unity government last February.
The regional bloc is guarantor to the agreement and promised to review the pact six months after formation of a unity government between Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, who heads a smaller MDC faction.
The unity government has been in office for about five months.
MDC acting secretary general Tapuwa Mashakada told ZimOnline that the party had referred what it regards as "ZANU PF's insincerity in implementing the power-sharing agreement and a fresh crackdown on MDC members" to the SADC, adding that a regional summit could take place by early next month.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Kenya |
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 24 June Five Kenyans lodge compensation claim against UK
Five veterans of Kenya's independence struggle have lodged a compensation claim against the British government at the High Court in London.
The three men and two women have launched the case over alleged human rights abuses in the 1950s and 1960s when thousands of Kenyans were rounded up and forced into camps by the British during what was known as the Mau Mau uprising.
The five Kenyans - aged in their 70s and 80s - are the lead claimants in the reparations case.
They want the British government to acknowledge responsibility for atrocities committed by local guards in camps administered by the British in the pre-independence era. The UK says the claim is not valid because of the amount of time since the abuses were alleged to have happened.
Martyn Day, (pictured) a British lawyer representing the five claimants told the press that he believed his clients had "a good chance of success". He added that the British government of the time had given "a blank cheque" to camp guards in their attempts to force people to abandon the resistance movement.
Speaking to the press, Day said: "We want the British government to say what we did was so wrong back in the 1950s. What did we do in the period just after the Second World War, how many atrocities were we responsible for in that terrible period?"
The UK government has indicated that the claim is invalid because of the time that has passed and that any liability rested with the Kenyan authorities after independence in 1963.
The Mau Mau movement was instrumental in paving the way for Kenya to achieve independence.
The armed movement began in central Kenya with the aim of getting back land seized by British colonial authorities. Veterans of the war say they suffered barbaric treatment, including torture, as the British suppressed the rebellion.
According to the Kenya Human Rights Commission around 90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the crackdown, and 160,000 were detained in appalling conditions.
Ndiku Mutua, one of the five claimants said: "I live with the physical and mental scars of what happened to me. Not a day goes by when I do not think of these terrible events. At last I can tell my story and at last I can hope for justice from the British courts."
Mutua said that in 1954 he was arrested, severely beaten and castrated with pliers, at Lukenya detention centre. Another claimant, Paulo Nzili, also said he was castrated. Wambugu Wa Nyingi said he was tied upside down by the feet and beaten. Jane Muthoni Mara and Susan Ngondi said they were sexually assaulted.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 04 Jun Tsvangirai more upbeat on relationship with Mugabe
Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) the Zimbabwe Prime Minister in a government of national unity today told the BBC that the "acrimony is over" between him and President Robert Mugabe.
He made the remarks ahead of a tour of Europe and the US where he will attempt to win financial support for Zimbabwe’s four-month-old power-sharing government.
Sources said Tsvangirai is scheduled to meet UK PM Gordon Brown and US President Barack Obama, among others.
Zimbabwe needs $45bn (£28bn) in the next five years to revive an economy trampled by years of political conflict and economic mismanagement.
Earlier this week the European Union authorised $11m (£7m) in humanitarian aid for Zimbabwe.
However, most Western donors have said they will only start supporting Zimbabwe financially when they see evidence of genuine power-sharing, an end to farm seizures and a restoration of the rule of law.
Speaking ahead of his trip this weekend, Tsvangirai said: "The objective is to demonstrate that Zimbabwe's inclusive government is ready to engage the world and secondly to see whether there could be opportunities for transitional support.
"We hope that the incremental gains we have made so far will convince even the most sceptical to ensure that this government is consolidated."
Tsvangirai conceded that challenges remained on the "emotive issue" of farm seizures. But he insisted that the unity government would stabilise the situation, adding: "It's a work in progress."
On his relationship with Mugabe, Tsvangirai said: "It's a workable relationship; if we have differences they are expressed in a respectable way. We do appreciate that the period of acrimony is over."
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 03 Jun Zuma pledges to create 500,000 jobs
South African President Jacob Zuma (pictured) today pledged to create half a million jobs this year.
Speaking in his first state of the nation address since taking over the reins of power last month, Zuma said fighting poverty was his priority.
"We must act now to minimise the impact of this downturn on those most vulnerable," Zuma said. "Between now and December 2009, we plan to create about 500,000 job opportunities."
He added that his government would create a further four million jobs by 2014, but did not explain how.
Analysts say Zuma has had to perform a delicate balancing act to appease his unions allies, currently staging strike action, and avoid scaring off investors.
Furthermore, Zuma also:
• announced a national holiday, Mandela Day, on 18 July each year, prompting cheers from the audience and a wave from the watching anti-apartheid icon himself
• promised to deliver "the best World Cup ever" when South Africa hosts the football tournament in June next year
• promised to provide anti-retroviral HIV drugs for 80% of those in need by 2011, as part of efforts to cut in half the rate of new infections of the virus within that period
• stuck by pledges to cut violent crime by between 7%-10% a year (in a country where 50 people are killed every day)
However, Zuma, whose African National Congress Party (ANC) swept into power in April elections on the back of strong support from unions and the poor, cautioned against expectations of a quick fix to the financial slump.
"The economic downturn will affect the pace at which our country is able to address the social and economic challenges it faces. But it will not alter the direction of our development," he said.
Statistics show that around 40% of South Africans live in poverty - more than half of that number surviving on less than one dollar a day, according to government data.
The country’s economy shrunk by 6.4% during the first quarter of this year and almost one in four South Africans is unemployed.
Zuma said a three-year 787bn rand ($98bn; £60bn) spending programme announced in this year's budget - and including funds for schools, transport, housing and sanitation - must be properly planned.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 02 June Mandela, Mbeki to attend Zuma’s maiden speech
Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki (pictured), both former presidents of South Africa will attend President Jacob Zuma's maiden state of the nation address on Wednesday.
"Former president Mandela has indicated that he will be attending. Former president Mbeki has also confirmed," Parliament's media liaison office said on Tuesday.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation has confirmed that Mandela would be accompanied by his wife, Graca Machel.
Both Mandela, who turns 91 next month, and Mbeki attended Zuma's inauguration in Pretoria earlier this month.
Political analysts say Mandela boosted the ANC's campaign for the April elections by appearing alongside Zuma at two party rallies, despite being in frail health.
Sources said South Africa's last white president, FW de Klerk, was also invited to attend the opening of Parliament but declined, saying he was travelling to Greece.
Meanwhile, a South African national on board the missing Air France plane was identified on Tuesday as Erich Heine. He was born in South Africa and worked for German steel giant Thyssenkrupp.
Company officials confirmed Heine was on board the flight when it went missing on Monday morning.
Ealier reports said rescue teams were battling atrocious weather conditions to try and find any trace of the plane.
Two hundred and twenty eight passengers and crew were aboard the Rio to Paris flight which was believed to have flown into an Atlantic storm.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 18 May Tsvangirai seeks AU, Sadc intervention in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) has urged African leaders to help resolve problems within the unity cabinet his party, MDC, shares with President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-pf.
Appealing on Sunday to the African Union and the SADC, a southern Africa body, to intervene, Tsvangirai said: "The national council has resolved that all outstanding issues be referred to SADC (Southern African Development Community) and the African Union."
Zimbabwe's power-sharing deal was aimed at resolving a range of political issues and reviving the crippled economy, which has left most Zimbabweans in poverty.
However, differences within the unity government remain over key issues such as the posts of central bank governor and attorney general.
The MDC insists that central bank Governor Gideon Gono and attorney general Johannes Tomana were both appointed by Mugabe without consultation with his two principal partners in the unity government, Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara who leads the other faction of the MDC.
Mugabe has refused to rescind the appointments.
18 May Malawi court bans Muluzi from poll
Malawi's constitutional court has dismissed an appeal by former President Bakili Muluzi against a ban on him standing for a third term in office.
The court said allowing Muluzi to run in Tuesday’s election would have meant an end to the limit on how long a president can serve.
Muluzi, who served as president between 1994 and 2004, said the ban breached his political rights. His lawyer, Kalekeni Kaphale, said the issue was an important one and they wanted to "pursue it all the way," as Muluzi was entitled to stand again after a period out of office.
The decision to stop Muluzi from running for a third term was taken by the electoral commission in March.
Malawi’s Attorney-General Jane Ansah said the constitutional court's decision was a good one. "It clarifies the point - it's a maximum of two five-year terms and no more," she said.
Malawi introduced the two-term limit for presidents to prevent a repeat of the rule of veteran leader Kamuzu Banda, who declared himself president-for-life before losing power to Muluzi in the first multi-party poll in 1994.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 14 May Tsvangirai slates lawlessness for stalling foreign aid
Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) has blamed ongoing violations of Zimbabwe's power-sharing deal for stalling efforts to win desperately needed foreign aid for the country.
Speaking to the press in Harare about the performance of the three-month-old unity government, Tsvangirai said despite the signing of the Global Political Agreement between Zanu-pf and the two factions of the MDC, the nation's laws were not enforced uniformly, making foreign donors reluctant to open their wallets.
"The continued violations of the rule of law and the GPA prevent the inflows of development aid, obstructing the legislative agenda and risk keeping Zimbabwe mired in poverty and the fear of persecution," Tsvangirai said.
"What continues to plague Zimbabwe can be best described as reluctance to accept the reality of the changes taking place within the country," he told reporters.
Tsvangirai, Arthur Mutambara and President Robert Mugabe formed a unity government in February aimed at ending nearly a year of political unrest sparked by inconclusive elections last year.
However, Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is disputing Mugabe's unilateral appointment of the central bank governor, the attorney general and provincial governors.
Guarantees of political and media freedoms have also been ignored, with two leading journalists arrested this week for reporting on public court documents that named security officials involved in the abductions of rights activists.
Warning that Zimbabwe will not move forward if the unity deal is not fully implemented while the rule of law continues to be violated Tsvangirai said: "This residual resistance represents an unwillingness to accept the fact that the new political dispensation is not only irreversible, but also offers the country the only viable way forward."
Tsvangirai reiterated he would not pull out of the unity government, calling it "the only viable way forward for this country".
Many Western nations say they want to see more concrete signs of reform before giving financial aid directly to the Zimbabwean government.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Swine flu |
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 12 May Experts fear swine flu could spread globally
Swine flu could infect a third of the world's population within the next six to nine months, according to projections by experts.
Researchers at the Imperial College in London say swine flu has "full pandemic potential", spreading readily between people and is likely to go global in the next six to nine months.
The study is based on Mexico's experience and is published in the Journal Science.
The number of laboratory-confirmed swine flu cases has reached 5,251 in some 30 countries around the world, with 61 having died from the disease, the World Health Organization has confirmed.
Lead researcher Professor Neil Ferguson (pictured)said it was too early to say whether the virus will cause deaths on a massive scale, or prove little more lethal than normal seasonal flu.
His "fast and dirty" analysis of Mexico's swine flu outbreak suggests that the H1N1 virus is about as dangerous as the virus behind a 1957 pandemic that killed 2 million people worldwide.
But it's not nearly as lethal as the bug that caused the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, which caused an estimated 50 million deaths in 1918.
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme Prof Ferguson, who sits on the World Health Organisation's emergency committee for the outbreak, said: "This virus really does have full pandemic potential. It is likely to spread around the world in the next six to nine months and when it does so it will affect about one-third of the world's population.
"To put that into context, normal seasonal flu every year probably affects around 10% of the world's population every year, so we are heading for a flu season which is perhaps three times worse than usual - not allowing for whether this virus is more severe than normal seasonal flu viruses."
His study suggests swine flu could kill four in every 1,000 infected people.
Professor Ferguson said his findings confirmed that decisions must be taken swiftly on vaccine production.
"We really need to be prepared, particularly for the autumn. At the moment, the virus is not spreading fast in the northern hemisphere, because we are outside the normal flu season, but come the autumn it is likely to cause a really major epidemic.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Tanzania |
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 01 May Death toll in Tanzania armoury blast reaches 11
More than 300 people, some critically injured, remain in hospital a day after the massive armoury explosion near Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's biggest city on Wednesday.
Some reports put the number of injured people at more than 1,000 people saying a third of the victims were admitted in various hospitals with multiple injuries.
Authorities said the death toll has risen to 11, including six army officers killed at the ammunition dump.
Investigations are under way into the cause of the blast next to the military base on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam.
President Jakaya Kikwete (pictured) visited the Mbagala ordnance depot on Thursday, a day after the blast which caused mass panic and flashbacks of the deadly 1998 US Embassy bombing in the country's main commercial centre.
Speaking to journalists Dar es Salaam police commander Suleiman Kova said: "The death toll may be higher since we are still compiling reports and search is going on in collapsed and burnt down buildings."
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Namibia |
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 19 Mar Namibia declares state of emergence in flood hit districts
Namibia has declared a state of emergency in six northern districts after floods killed at least 90 people.
A week ago, heavy rain brought flooding to both sides of the Angola-Nambia border, forcing thousands to leave their homes. Around 25,000 people have lost their homes in the southern Angolan province of Cunene.
President Hifikepunye Pohamba (pictured) said the floods could be one of the worst disasters of its kind in recent memory and warned of food shortages.
Field after field of crops have been destroyed, as have houses, schools, health centres and roads.
There are reports of crocodiles and hippos swimming through the flood waters, attacking and killing people.
Even though the rains have subsided, Namibian officials say the damage is so great that it will be some time before the thousands of people displaced by the floods will be able to return home.
President Pohamba has called for emergency assistance from the international community. Aid workers fear the floods could lead to outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and malaria.
The Red Cross has been distributing mosquito nets, water purification tablets and rehydration sachets. The World Health Organization has delivered five tonnes of health care kits and supplies of drinking water.
Officials suggest the situation is worse than last year, when 65,000 people were affected. More rain has fallen since December than during the whole five months of the rainy season of 2007-2008.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Sudan |
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 16 Mar Sudan calls for all NGO’s to quit country
SUDAN’S President Omar al-Bashir (pictured) says he wants all international aid groups out of the country within a year.
Speaking to a rally of security forces in the capital, Khartoum, the president said all foreign relief groups should go.
"Within a year, we don't want to see any foreign aid group dealing with a Sudanese citizen,” Bashir said. "If they want to bring relief, let them drop it at airports or seaports. Let the national organisations deal with our citizens."
Analysts said the move could affect the work of more than 70 organisations operating in Darfur and other strife-torn areas.
Sudan has already expelled 13 large foreign agencies, including Oxfam, Save the Children and two branches of Medecins Sans Frontieres. Bashir accuses them of spying for the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes in Darfur.
The United Nations said the expulsions would leave millions at risk of a humanitarian crisis.
Up to 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million have been driven from their homes. Sudan denies the charges and says the figures are exaggerated.
16 Mar Burundi police arrest body parts peddlers
POLICE in Burundi have arrested at least eight people in connection with a trade in human body parts from people with albinism.
Reports in Burundi said those detained had been found in possession of fresh body parts.
At least 10 albino people have been killed in Burundi in recent months and more than 40 in neighbouring Tanzania.
Burundi Prosecutor Nicodeme Gahimbare told the press that those arrested were simple farmers acting as middlemen. "They had albino bones with them, some of them still fresh," he said.
A bizarre claim by some witchdoctors in east Africa that potions made with albino body parts will bring luck in love, life and business has led to a spate of albino killings.
At least 200 people have been arrested over the trade in Tanzania
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 13 Mar Over 2,500 firearms go missing in SA police armoury
Over 2,500 police firearms went missing in South Africa between April last year and February this year, according to Safety and Security Minister Nathi Mthethwa (pictured).
Responding to a question in Parliament on Thursday, Mthethwa said some of the weapons were either reported lost or stolen, while others hadn't been classified.
Mthethwa said the missing firearms included pistols, revolvers, rifles and shotguns. More than 150 of them were recovered by February this year.
KwaZulu-Natal had the highest number of stolen police firearms. More than 90 were stolen in the province. More than 80 were stolen from police headquarters.
In addition, more than 100 retired police officers had not yet returned their service weapons over the last three years.
South Africa has one of the highest levels of crime in the world and armed robbery accounts for a significant proportion of the crime statistics.
13 Mar ‘Uganda blackouts fuel population rise’
Uganda's Planning Minister Ephraim Kamuntu has said the country’s population explosion is being fuelled by electricity shortages which prompt couples to go to bed early and have sex.
"While the rest of the world is working in shifts, we in Uganda are going to bed early," said Kamuntu. "Then we complain that the population is growing. Why not?"
More than 90% of Ugandans are without reliable access to electricity, according to Kamuntu.
Without light or TV for entertainment, couples are forced to retire early, spending up to 12 hours a day in darkness.
Uganda's annual population growth rate is one of the highest in the world - 3.4% - according to statistics from the country's Population Secretariat.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 12 March Roy Bennett granted bail by Zimbabwe Supreme Court
Roy Bennett (pictured) a top official of Zimbabwe’s MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, was released on bail on Thursday, one month after his arrest on terror charges.
Trust Maanda an MDC lawyer told the press that Bennett was released from custody a day after Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court ordered his release on bail.
Media reports in Zimbabwe said dozens of MDC supporters cheered as Bennett walked out of the jail in the eastern town of Mutare where has been held since his arrest on 13 February.
"He was released at 11:10am," Maanda said. "He is looking fine, ready to go up and about. He has now been taken to the MDC provincial office. That's where they are celebrating his release."
Bennett, a nominee to become deputy agriculture minister in the country's fledgling power-sharing government, was charged with plotting terrorism, possessing arms for the purposes of banditry, terrorism and sabotage.
The case created further tensions in the new unity administration, formed last month, with MDC officials accusing President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF of trying to derail a power-sharing arrangement.
In an interview with the BBC after his release, Bennett said his immediate future in Zimbabwe was uncertain. "I could be re-arrested at any time, there could be attempts of my life," he said. "I have no idea. You are dealing with totally unpredictable people and a nation where the rule of law means nothing."
On Wednesday Zimbabwe Supreme Court Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku ordered Bennett's release. The judge also tightened bail conditions, ordering Bennett to report to a police station three times a week and surrender his passport and title deeds for his house.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 10 March Mugabe pleads “hand of God” in Susan Tsvangirai’s death
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe (pictured) today told hundreds of mourners at a Harare funeral service for Susan Tsvangirai that the car crash which killed her was caused by the "hand of God".
In his first public comments on the crash Mugabe, who was accompanied by his wife, Grace, at the church service said: "I plead with you to accept it, it's the hand of God. We are sincerely saddened by the death of Susan and we hope that Morgan will remain strong."
Mugabe also said political violence should be a thing of the past.
Speculation over Mrs Tsvangirai's death began swirling on Friday afternoon when news of her tragic death was announced. On Monday, Tsvangirai himself said it was unlikely foul play was involved.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's wife died last Friday in a collision with an aid lorry in which he was injured. Paying tribute to his late wife, Tsvangirai, who turned 57 on Tuesday said: "Let's celebrate her existence as God's gift to me and you."
His closest aide, Finance Minister Tendai Biti, said: "We're so traumatised, brutalised, we couldn't feel the pain. Why, why, why?"
Among the mourners were members of the new unity cabinet. Afterwards, some 20,000 gathered for a stadium memorial. Reports in Harare said Susan will be buried on Wednesday at the family’s rural home in Buhera.
Chinoona Mwanda, (35) the driver of the truck that hit Tsvangirai’s car has been charged with culpable homicide. His lawyer said he was bailed on Monday and is to plead not guilty, blaming the collision on the poor state of the road.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 09 March Tsvangirai rules out foul play in tragic car accident
Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) the Zimbabwe Prime Minister today dispelled speculation over the cause of the car crash that killed his wife, insisting that her death was a tragic accident.
Susan Tsvangirai died last Friday when the car in which she was a passenger with her husband was slammed by a truck, sending it flipping off a highway outside Harare.
Speculation over the cause of the accident erupted as soon as the crash was reported last Friday afternoon.
Tsvangirai, who returned to Zimbabwe from Botswana today where he spent the weekend recuperating, told about 100 mourners gathered at his Harare home that he did not believe any foul play was behind the collision.
"When something happens, there is always speculation but I want to say in this case, if there was any foul play, it was one in a thousand," said Tsvangirai, wearing dark sunglasses to cover his eyes.
"It was an accident and unfortunately it took her life," he told the crowd including relatives, party members, and worshippers from his church.
"I want to thank God giving me 31 years with my wife," he added. "Life will go on, and I am certain she would have liked life to go on. I know it would be difficult without her. We must celebrate life. We went through trials and tribulations together. I know it is painful."
Meanwhile, Tsvangirai’s party, MDC, has reported that he will spend the next day (Tuesday) at a public service in a Harare stadium where supporters will pay their respects to Susan.
Her body will lie in state at their Harare home, while the burial will take place Wednesday morning in their hometown Buhera, the MDC said.
09 March Ten die in Uganda plane crash
Three senior Burundi officers are among 10 people feared dead after a plane flying to Somalia crashed in Uganda's Lake Victoria, officials say.
The Soviet-era Ilyushin 76 which was carrying equipment to the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia, crashed shortly after taking off from Uganda's main Entebbe airport.
Two Russian and two Ukrainian crew members were also killed, according to Russian media. It is also reported that at least one Uganda soldier was on board.
Police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba said the aircraft came down in Lake Victoria near Bugunga Island. It is not known what caused the crash and a team of investigators has been sent to the site.
The crash comes two week after 11 Burundian peacekeepers were killed in a suicide attack on their barracks in Mogadishu. The AU mission was sent to Somalia two years ago but has been unable to end attacks by Islamist and nationalist insurgents. Islamists now control much of the south of the country.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 08 March Buthelezi urges voters not to vote for Jacob Zuma
Mangosuthu Buthelezi (pictured) the President of South Africa’s Inkatha Freedom Party, (IFP) has called on the people of Nkandla in northern KwaZulu-Natal not to vote for ANC President Jacob Zuma.
Buthelezi, who was addressing a rally at Nkandla over the weekend said voters should not support Zuma, merely because he is from the area and is of Zulu descent.
Buthelezi says Zuma leads the same ANC that has stripped amakhosi (traditional leaders) of all their powers. He has accused the ANC-led government of continuously undermining and sidelining the institution of traditional leaders.
Earlier this week, the ANC and IFP signed an agreement - each vowing not to disrupt the other's political activities. The agreement came as the ANC went to court for the second time in as many months to bar the IFP from holding its own rally at Msinga.
On Saturday, the ANC held a rally at Msinga while the IFP met at Greytown. Police officers were deployed in the places where the parties canvassed.
ANC and IFP supporters clashed on March 4th at a voting station after a by-election in Ntabamhlophe, in Mbabazane, in the midlands. An IFP supporter was shot in the head, while an ANC supporter sustained a gun shot wound to the neck during a shoot-out. About 10 cars were also damaged.
08 March Tsvangirai flown to Botswana for tests
Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has flown to neighbouring Botswana for medical tests and rest, according to MDC officials.
Tsvangirai, (56) left the Harare clinic on Saturday where he was treated for head and neck injuries sustained in the crash.
An MDC spokesman told the press that Tsvangirai was exhausted and needed time to come to terms with the tragic death of his wife in a car accident on Friday. He added: "I do not know when he will be back, he will undergo a check-up, but he is out of danger now."
Zimbabwe police said a lorry carrying freight crossed into the lane in which Tsvangirai’s car was travelling and side-swiped the vehicle, causing it to roll over three times.
It has since been established that the lorry belongs to a partner organisation of the US government aid agency USAID. The UK Foreign Office confirmed on Saturday that the lorry was operated by a project jointly funded by the US and UK.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 07 March MDC to launch investigation into Tsvangirai's car crash
Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has pledged to carry out its own independent investigation into the cause of Friday's crash in which party leader Morgan Tsvangirai's wife, Susan, (pictured) died.
Paying tribute to Mrs Tsvangirai, MDC general-secretary Tendai Biti called her "a mother to us and to our struggle". He added that police investigations were under way but said the party would also carry out its own independent investigation.
Biti, who broke down several times, said Mrs Tsvangirai was a "pillar of strength" to her husband and the party. Another senior MDC official, Eddie Cross, said Susan’s death would be "a huge blow for Morgan".
The crash came just two days after Tsvangirai delivered his maiden speech to parliament after being sworn in as prime minister in Zimbabwe's power-sharing government. Tsvangirai is said to be in a stable condition in hospital, where he was visited on Friday night by President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace.
Vice-president Joyce Mujuru and several cabinet members in the power-sharing government were also shown on television visiting Tsvangirai in hospital. MDC officials have said nothing to suggest they suspect foul play in the accident.
Meanwhile, US embassy officials said the lorry which collided with Tsvangirai's car belonged to a partner organisation of the US government aid agency USAID. It is thought that the lorry crossed into the lane in which Tsvangirai's car was travelling and side-swiped the vehicle, causing it to roll over three times.
Zimbabwe State TV reported that the 56-year-old prime minister had suffered some injuries to his head and neck and that the accident occurred while the couple were being driven to Tsvangirai’s rural home in Buhera, where he planned to hold a weekend rally.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 05 March Mandela’s grandson to contest SA elections as ANC candidate
Mandla Mandela (pictured) the grandson of Nelson Mandela will be contesting a parliamentary seat as a candidate of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in April’s elections.
Announcing Mandla’s candidacy, ANC spokesman Brian Sokutu said: "Obviously his family has the legacy of Nelson Mandela, the world renowned icon of our struggle, so certainly there will be a lot of expectations of him."
Mandla is a businessman with ties to ANC leader Jacob Zuma, who is the front-runner to become president.
Mandla (34) was installed as the chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council in 2007. He graduated from Rhodes university with a degree in politics in during the same year. Mandla’s father Makgatho Mandela died in 2005, which paved Mandla's way to the head of the tribe.
Most of his duties as a chief involve tribal ceremonies, settling disputes among tribe members, and representing the tribe on political issues.
Analysts say South Africa’s general elections this year are set to be the most interesting since Nelson Mandela became president in 1994, ending apartheid.
A new opposition party - the Congress of the People (Cope) - was formed in December by dissidents unhappy with Jacob Zuma's leadership of the ANC.
Cope is aiming to win enough votes to deny the ANC a two-thirds majority in parliament, needed to change the constitution.
05 March Sudanese president slams ICC
President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan has angrily rejected the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him.
He is accused of two counts of war crimes and five of crimes against humanity in Darfur, in the first ICC warrant for a serving head of state.
Bashir (65) told thousands of cheering supporters in the capital that Sudan would not "kneel" to colonialists. He said he defied outsiders to come to Sudan and talk about human rights.
"We are telling the colonialists we are not succumbing; we are not submitting; we will not kneel; we are targeted because we refuse to submit," President Bashir said.
Sudan reacted to Wednesday's ICC indictment by expelling 10 foreign aid agencies, including Oxfam, Care, Save the Children UK and Medecins Sans Frontieres from Darfur.
Between them they supply food and water to some 1.5 million people who have fled their homes during the six-year conflict.
The UN estimates that 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million displaced in Darfur, since black African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime demanding a greater share of resources and power.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 04 March Zuma’s former financial advisor freed on medical grounds
Schabir Shaik (pictured) the former financial adviser of Jacob Zuma, South Africa's governing African National Congress leader, has been freed from prison on medical grounds.
Shaik was jailed for 15 years in 2005 for making corrupt payments to Zuma, who was subsequently sacked as deputy president. Zuma has since become ANC leader and is the party’s candidate for president in April's elections.
Shaik has spent most of his 28 months' detention in hospital. He was carried into the family home from an ambulance on a stretcher on Tuesday morning.
"Our brother is ill and the family requests that we be allowed the space to take care of him," his family said in a statement.
The Department of Correctional Services did not give reasons for granting the parole, but constitutionally it can only be used when someone is terminally ill.
Meanwhile, the ANC has released a statement saying it had nothing to do with the granting of medical parole for Shaik.
"Neither the ANC president, Jacob Zuma, or organisation knew of the pending release of Schabir Shaik," said spokesperson Brian Sokutu.
"This matter has been handled by the department of correctional services so it's very much a matter for correctional services."
South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance has called for a full disclosure.
"Mr Shaik is a high profile and controversial offender. While his medical condition is confidential, it would be appropriate for the Department of Correctional Services to disclose the grounds on which Mr Shaik qualified for medical parole," the party said in a statement.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Guinea-Bissau |
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 02 Mar Guinea-Bissau president Vieira shot dead
Guinea-Bissau president Joao Bernardo Vieira (pictured) was shot dead this morning, government officials said.
"President Vieira was killed by the army as he tried to flee his house which was being attacked by a group of soldiers close to the chief of staff Tagme Na Waie, early this morning," military spokesman Zamora Induta told the press.
Last November renegade soldiers attacked the presidential palace with automatic weapons in a failed coup attempt.
Analysts said there is speculation that Vieira (69) and Na Waie had fallen out and that the killing of Vieira was a revenge attack, after the army chief of staff died in an explosion a few hours earlier.
However, the army denies there is a coup, and early reports said the capital Bissau is quiet.
In a statement on state radio following Vieira's death, the military insisted no coup was in progress. The armed forces statement said the military would respect the constitutional order - in which the head of the parliament succeeds the president in the event of his death.
Guinea-Bissau is one of the world's poorest states. It has a history of coups and has become a major transit route for smuggling cocaine to Europe.
The African Union, the European Union and former colonial ruler Portugal condemned the killing of 69-year-old Mr Vieira - nicknamed "Nino" - as did Mohamed Ibn Chambas from the regional economic bloc Ecowas.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 27 Feb Boesak to run for Western Cape premiership on Cope ticket
Allan Boesak (pictured) has accepted nomination as a candidate for premier of the Western Cape for the Congress of the People (Cope), his spokesperson Penny Festus, said today.
"This announcement follows after days of intense discussions with his family, members of the community, the party's provincial and national leadership and other stakeholders, and many hours of private reflection," Festus said.
At the beginning of February, Boesak indicated to the party that he was not available to hold any positions on the organisation's national or provincial elections lists.
"It will be clear that this has never been an easy decision to make," said Boesak on Friday.
"There are two fundamental reasons why I changed my mind. First, the intense appeal from ordinary people of the province from all communities to make myself available once again, to recognise the historic moment before us and to help bring about the changes we as a nation desperately need now...
"Second, the fact that I have the continued understanding, encouragement and support of my family," he said in a statement.
Boesak stressed that he was taking up the challenges ahead with the firm resolve to defend and strengthen South Africa's democracy.
He said he would deliver to the people of the Western Cape not only what they needed, but what they deserved and would run a campaign based on the principles of dignity, decency and honour.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Malawi |
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 26 Feb Former Malawi president arrested over 'theft' of $11m
Bakili Muluzi (pictured) the former Malawian President has been arrested, accused of stealing $11m (£7.7m) in donor money, according to the country's Anti-Corruption Bureau.
The ACB said Muluzi had been charged on 87 counts of allegedly siphoning aid cash into his private account. He is due to appear at a court in Blantyre.
Muluzi, a candidate in May polls, denies any wrongdoing and has disputed the legality of the ACB investigation. Muluzi’s lawyer, Jai Banda, told the press his client had "exercised his right to remain silent" when questioned by the ACB.
Muluzi, who ruled Malawi from 1994 to 2004, was first arrested over the allegations in 2006 but the then-director of public prosecutions threw out the charges. His supporters say the case is politically-motivated to stop him standing in the forthcoming presidential election against current head of state, Bingu wa Mutharika.
Mutharika was Muluzi's hand-picked successor but soon after he was elected, the pair fell out and Mutharika formed his own party.
26 Feb Gabon’s president bank account frozen
Omar Bongo, Gabon's President has had his French bank accounts frozen, according to Jean-Philippe Le Bail a French lawyer.
The move comes after a Bordeaux court ordered President Bongo to return a payment made to him to release a jailed French businessman, Rene Cardona.
Cardona was freed after his son paid more than $580,000 (£400,000) into 72-year-old Bongo's account, a court heard.
Bongo is thought to have more than $4m (£2.8m) in French bank accounts.
In September, a court ruled the payment to Bongo had been illegal. That verdict was confirmed at appeal last Monday.
Speaking to the press today Le Bail, who is acting for Rene Cardona’s son, said: "The accounts held by Omar Bongo in two French banks have been seized."
Rene Cardona was imprisoned in 1996 after a business dispute with Bongo, to whom he had sold a shipping and fishing firm.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 24 Feb Bishop picked as presidential candidate for South Africa’s new party
Bishop Mvume Dandala (pictured) has been confirmed as the presidential candidate for South Africa’s recently formed Congress of the People (Cope).
Analysts said Cope's leadership race had been expected to be a tussle between its two high-profile leaders Mosiuoa Lekota and Mbhazima Shilowa, but Dandala, former head of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, emerged victorious after being nominated by the provinces.
“Dandala's selection is seen as a way for the party to contrast the image of ANC president Jacob Zuma, who may answer to corruption charges later this year,” one South African political analyst said.
"South Africa needs an honest, trustworthy and highly-skilled leader, someone who can restore to our people hope and belief in our country," Cope said in a statement.
Dandala holds a Master of Arts in Theology from the Cambridge University, an honorary doctorate of Theology from the Protestant University in Cameroon and an honorary doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Transkei.
He was awarded the Silver Order of the Grand Counsellor of the Baobab by former president Thabo Mbeki in 2002 and the Peace Award from the Methodist Church of Southern Africa in 1994.
Commenting on speculation that Lekota was opposed to his appointment despite publicly endorsing him Dr Dandala who was officially confirmed on Monday as the face of the party said the former South African Defence Minister had assured him of his support.
"Lekota has personally come to me, affirmed me and these were his words. 'I have never stood against your name at any stage.' These were his words, and he said what I wanted was to be sure that the processes of Cope have been followed to the end," said Dandala.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 22 Feb Tsvangirai urges international community to support Zimbabwe
Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) the recently installed Zimbabwe Prime Minister on Sunday urged the international community to support the national unity government.
Adressing more than 7,000 supporters in Gweru town, about 220 kilometres(140 miles) south of the capital Harare, Tsvangirai appealed to the international community to help the crisis-ridden nation and accept its citizens' right to chose their own government.
"The international community should help us but accept that Zimbabweans have a right to choose and they have decided that the inclusive government is the only way out," he said at celebrations for the 10th anniversary of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party.
"Please support us," Tsvangirai said, adding that President Robert Mugabe and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, who heads an MDC splinter faction, were committed to making the transitional power-sharing government work.
Tsvangirai played down the plight of his deputy agriculture minister, Roy Bennett, and 30 other activists who are in jail for alleged plotting against the regime. He said: "We are working slowly to deal with that matter and to make sure it does not become the focus of the attention. The real attention has to be on the plight of Zimbabweans."
Meanwhile, Southern African finance ministers are this week expected to announce a US$1.5bn loan to Zimbabwe, to be underwritten by the African Development Bank, which is part-funded by Europe and the US.
Last Friday Tsvangirai said that it could take up to US$5bn to get the Zimbabwe economy back on track.
A top UN assessment team is currently in Zimbabwe to discuss with Mugabe, Tsvangirai, UN officials, and government and non-governmental organisations, the humanitarian crisis in the southern African country.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Nigeria |
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 18 Feb Chinua Achebe given heroe’s welcome in Nigeria
Hundreds of people, complete with dancers and drummers, gathered at the entrance of Abuja airport in the Nigerian capital at 0530 to welcome Chinua Achebe, Africa's greatest novelist.
Achebe (pictured) was returning home to Nigeria for only the second time in 20 years. He is due to speak at a festival celebrating the culture of his ethnic group, the Igbo.
Reports in Nigeria said the last time Achebe came home, tens of thousands of people packed a football stadium to hear him speak.
He has lived in America since he suffered a terrible car accident in 1990, which left him paralysed from the waist down and in a wheelchair. His medical needs cannot be served in Nigeria at present.
Achebe’s first and most famous novel, Things Fall Apart, was published more than 50 years ago. It has been translated into 50 languages and is taught in schools and universities throughout the world.
Achebe began writing in the 1950s when much of Africa was preparing for independence from British and French imperial rule. He was inspired to write when he realised that Africa's story was being told by outsiders, writers like Joseph Conrad and Joyce Cary whose descriptions of Africans he found offensive.
Achebe, who has written four other novels, poems and plays says he was determined to tell the story of his own people when he started writing Things fall Apart.
The book’s theme examines the clash of African cultural values with the Christian mores and western traditions introduced forcefully by colonial powers.
Chinua says he wanted to understand "why it happened in the first place".
"Why did my parents leave their religion and become Christians... why did those people lose their independence?"
Reports said when Achebe delivered his lecture at Owerri, the regional capital of Igboland, more than 2,000 people turned out to listen to him.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 17 Feb Zimbabwe unity government meets under Mugabe’s chairmanship
Zimbabwe’s government cabinet of national unity met today for the first time under the chairmanship of President Robert Mugabe (pictured).
MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai serves as Prime Minister in the newly installed government
Sources said much of the debate centred on the continued detention of members of the Movement for Democratic Change, and the arrest of Roy Bennett, treasurer of the MDC and Zimbabwe's agriculture deputy minister-designate, five days ago.
Bennett’s lawyers said he faces charges of planning terrorism and insurgency although he was initially charged with treason when arrested last Friday.
"The case of the MDC abductees still in prison and that of Hon. Bennett poses a real threat to the health and life of the inclusive government," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said in a statement on Monday.
Bennett is in custody in the eastern city of Mutare, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the capital, Harare.
"He should have gone to court on Monday, but police said the responsible people had some urgent business in Harare," said his lawyer, Trust Maanda. "Now they have just told me that they have obtained a warrant to extend his detention without trial. That is unlawful, so I am going to challenge Bennett's detention."
Under Zimbabwean law, a suspect must be brought to court within 48 hours after arrest.
On Monday, Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Tendai Biti of the MDC told a South African talk radio station that his party would not pull out of the coalition government despite Bennet's arrest.
The unity government was formed after nearly a year of political unrest and violence that stemmed from a disputed presidential run-off in June, which Mugabe won unopposed. Tsvangirai beat Mugabe in the first round in March and his party won more seats in parliament than Mugabe’s Zanu-PF.
Zimbabwe is facing a humanitarian and economic crisis. Many civil servants -- including teachers, doctors and nurses -- have been on strike since September 2008, demanding higher pay as Zimbabwe's currency has plummeted in value. That has caused many schools to close and exacerbated a cholera crisis that has killed nearly 4,000 people and infected about 65,000 people since August 2008.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Tanzania |
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 16 Feb Tanzanian teachers canned for reporting late for work
A Tanzanian teacher is taking legal action after he was canned along with his fellow teachers, by a District Commissioner who took exception to teachers reporting late for work.
Ativus Leonard, a 33 year-old teacher at Katerero Primary School, 20 miles outside the regional capital Bukoba, said he thought the District Commissioner was joking when he said he was going to punish the teachers by canning them.
“But once they locked the doors of the staff room and made everyone line up to receive their strokes, I knew that they meant business,” Leonard said. “Seven of my female colleagues took strokes of the cane on the palms of their hands. When it was my turn, a police officer ordered me to lie down and receive my punishment. I refused, so he kicked me and I fell down.
“Once I was lying on the ground, he carried on kicking me," Leonard said. "He brought out a big cane and beat me with it. He hit me everywhere; my legs, my chest, my arms, my hands. When it was over, I went to the hospital for treatment.”
Leonard added that the beating has affected him psychologically.
“This has made me feel ashamed to meet my pupils," he said. "They did not see me take the beating but they know about it.I have not been able to teach since this happened. I feel inferior to the children now.
He added that the DC must be punished for what he has done.
"Caning teachers must be against the law. I am seeking financial compensation from the government for what I have suffered,” he said.
The Tanzania Teachers' Union said it is taking legal action after 19 primary school teachers were caned.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 13 Feb MDC official arrested ahead of Zimbabwe cabinet swearing in ceremony
The arrest of Roy Bennett (pictured) a senior official in Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change at Harare airport today has thrown a spanner in the workings of Zimbabwe’s newly formed government of national unity, analysts said.
“The arrest of Mr Bennet ahead of the swearing in of a new unity government cabinet sends a wrong signal to the MDC,” a Zimbabwean political analyst said. “Zimbabweans were hoping for a fresh start in our politics but it looks like Zanu-PF will not stop harassing MDC members. How can that be good for the new government? And what will the donor community think?”
MDC sources said Bennett, who was handed the portfolio of deputy agriculture minister by Tsvangirai two days ago, was seized at a Harare airport by Zimbabwe’s security forces.
According to MDC spokesman Ian Makone Bennett was arrested at the small Charles Prince airport, north-west of the capital, Harare.
On Thursday Bennett told the BBC that he was in hiding as the security services had issued an arrest warrant for him.
Meanwhile, Tsvangirai who was sworn in as Prime Minister this week pledged in his inaugural address that his first objective in the new government was to address the plight of civil servants.
"As Prime Minister," Tsvangirai said, "I make this commitment that as from the end of this month, our professionals in the civil service, every health worker, every teacher, every soldier, and every policeman would receive a pay in foreign currency.”
"In this respect, I ask every schoolteacher, every school in this country to be reopened and that every member of the civil service is behind his and her desk, on Monday, this Monday, no later than Monday," Tsvangirai added
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the country's biggest labour representative group, has urged all striking workers to return to work saying Tsvangirai needed to be given the benefit of doubt he was going to deliver on his pledges.
However, the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA), which boasts of a 45 000-strong membership, said it was "wishful" to suggest that teachers would end their one year long strike by Monday.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 12 Feb EU pledges to assist Zimbabwe recovery
The European Union has welcomed the swearing in of Morgan Tsvangrai as Zimbabwe’s prime minister, in a power-sharing government with Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and pledged its assistance to the country.
"The EU presidency in Harare welcomes the swearing in of Mr Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) as Prime Minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and congratulates him and his deputies," the EU said in a statement.
"This is an important step on the way to democratic rule in the country. The EU hopes the formation of the new government will lead to an immediate end to political violence and intimidation, and to a condition that will contribute to the stabilisation and recovery of Zimbabwe.”
Furthermore, the statement said: "The EU reiterates its commitment to the people of Zimbabwe through its substantial and long humanitarian aid programme.
"It also stands ready to support the economic and social recovery of Zimbabwe once the new government shows tangible signs of respect for human rights, the rule of law and macroeconomic stabilisation."
Since 2002, the EU has tightened its political stance against Mugabe administration, which it accuses of human rights abuse, political intolerance and mismanagement. Mugabe however denies the charge accusing the West of trying to overthrow him.
Tsvangirai, Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara, who leads a smaller faction of the opposition party MDC agreed to form a unity government under a power sharing deal brokered last year by former South African President Thabo Mbeki on behalf of the regional Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).
The formation of the unity government will be completed with the swearing in of ministers on Friday.
The government of national unity has raised hopes that the political situation in Zimbabwe could be eased and allow the country to start recovering from total economic meltdown.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 11 Feb Tsvangirai sworn in as Zimbabwe Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) Zimbabwe's leader of opposition party MDC has been sworn in as prime minister in a unity government with President Robert Mugabe.
Mugabe administered the oath to Tsvangirai in a ceremony in Harare this morning, before an invitation-only crowd at Mugabe's official State House compound.
"I will well and truly serve Zimbabwe in the office of Prime Minister, so help me God," Tsvangirai said as he took his oath of office from Mugabe under a tent in the lawn of the presidential mansion.
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who mediated in the power-sharing talks, attended the ceremony along with Mozambican President Armando Guebuza and Swazi King Mswati III.
The cabinet in the new coalition government will be sworn in on Friday.
On Tuesday, Tsvangirai named Tendai Biti, the secretary general of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), as his choice for finance minister.
Biti had treason charges against him dropped last week by a Zimbabwean judge, over an alleged coup plot. The judge cited lack of progress in the case against him.
Biti's new position will be a key one, given the country's economic collapse.
Tsvangirai returned to Zimbabwe in January after an absence of more than two months for fresh talks with Mugabe on sharing power.
Problems facing the new government include a cholera epidemic, a collapsed economy and a 90% unemployment rate.
More than 3,400 people have died in Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic, and the country has stopped publishing figures, amid hyperinflation, and people use foreign currency wherever possible.
More than half the population rely on emergency food aid.
The International Federation of Red Cross Societies said Tuesday that Zimbabwe's cholera outbreak was past the 'worst-case scenario' as the number of infection cases inched towards the 70,000 mark.
British-based anti-poverty agency Oxfam urged donors that were adopting a wait-and-see approach to the new government to find 'innovative ways to channel emergency resources to people who urgently need help.'
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 09 Feb Tutu casts doubt on success of Zimbabwe unity government
Desmond Tutu the South African Archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner has said he doubts that Zimbabwe's unity government deal can work and insisted the solution to the country's crisis is the departure of its longtime leader, Robert Mugabe.
Tutu (pictured) has called on the international community to use the threat of force if necessary to get Mugabe to step down.
"I haven't changed," he told reporters last Saturday. "He's had an innings. It was a good innings and then he messed up. Let him step down."
Under a unity government expected to be inaugurated next week, Morgan Tsvangirai leader of Zimbabwe's main opposition party MDC, is to be prime minister while Mugabe remains president.
However, Tutu, the retired Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, said the deal should be given a chance, "but many are not particularly hopeful," he added.
09 Feb SA court in favour of expatriate votes
A South African court has ruled that the country’s citizens living abroad should be allowed to vote.
Political analysts said the decision by the Pretoria High Court could mean a delay to elections, due in April or May, to allow time for the law to be changed.
The court found current laws breached the rights of South Africans living abroad and referred the judgment to the Constitutional Court for confirmation. The electoral commission was ordered to change its procedures to let South Africans living abroad to vote.
The legal application was brought to court by the Afrikaner nationalist Freedom Front Plus party on behalf of a South African school teacher living in the UK.
The party said it was filing an application for the proclamation of election day to be postponed to allow the Constitutional Court ample time to consider the matter.
The date for the elections was expected this week.
Under the current South African law, certain groups, including government employees and people on holiday and business trips, are entitled to vote while out of the country.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 06 Feb Zimbabwe court drops treason charge against MDC official
Tendai Biti (pictured) the secretary general of Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had a charge of treason against him dropped by a Harare magistrate today.
Biti had faced a possible death sentence after being accused of plotting a coup against Robert Mugabe. However, Magistrate Olivia Mariga said prosecutors appeared unprepared to proceed against Biti, a key figure in the MDC.
Ms Mariga also ruled that Biti had been improperly arrested when he was detained in June, in part over a document purporting to lay out opposition plans to overthrow the government. The document has since been widely dismissed as fraudulent.
Analysts said the move could be a sign that the ruling Zanu-PF wants a proposed coalition government to work.
On Thursday the Zimbabwe parliament unanimously passed a constitutional amendment, creating the post of prime minister for opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mugabe, who will stay on as president in the power sharing government, is expected to sign the bill into law, shortly.
The MDC also wants all of its jailed supporters and activists to be freed before Tsvangirai takes office.
Biti told the press that he was happy at the court's decision and remained defiant.
"We are going to finish this job that we started of removing the dictatorship of Robert Mugabe," he said.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Morocco |
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 06 Feb Morocco family dies in heavy snowfall
Heavy snowfalls in Morocco have claimed the lives of six brothers and sisters who died when their house fell down, according to reports in state media.
The mother of the four girls and two boys reportedly survived the collapse in Azilal, in the Atlas mountains. Eight people were killed in similar incidents on Tuesday.
Morocco newspaper reports said snow showers are predicted to continue until Saturday, especially in the Atlas Mountains.
06 Feb Mugabe to sign power-sharing bill
Robert Mugabe is due to sign into law a constitutional amendment allowing his rival Morgan Tsvangirai to become prime minister in a power sharing government in Zimbabwe.
The deal between Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was agreed last September - but has been mired by wrangling over the allocation of key government ministries.
Tsvangirai is due to be sworn in next Wednesday, with Mugabe, who was beaten by Tsvangirai in a presidential election ion March 2008, remaining as president.
Last week, southern African leaders, who have been mediating the deal, persuaded Tsvangirai's party to join a joint administration despite their concerns over Zanu-PF's commitment to sharing power.
The unity government is intended to ease Zimbabwe's economic meltdown but analysts say this is largely dependent on the restoration of foreign aid and investment.
Western donors say they will only resume aid when the government is working properly and they see evidence of powers being shared.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 04 Feb US aid to Zimbabwe will depend on evidence of ‘real’ power sharing
US aid to Zimbabwe will depend on evidence of real power-sharing between Robert Mugabe’s (pictured) Zanu-PF and the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai, said a state department spokesman, Robert Wood.
"The success or failure of such a government will depend on credible and inclusive power sharing by Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party," Wood told then press.
"The US will only consider new development assistance and easing of targeted sanctions when we have seen evidence of true power sharing as well as inclusive and effective governance."
He added: "We will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the Zimbabwean people in their time of suffering."
Wood also called on the international community to "continue to scrutinise actions by Mr Mugabe to ensure adherence to the letter and spirit of this agreement, including respect for human rights and the rule of law".
Earlier, UK’s Africa Minister Lord Malloch-Brown said in an interview with the BBC that Mr Mugabe must show he had changed before Britain gave up targeted sanctions against individuals in his government.
Lord Malloch-Brown said that sanctions must be maintained on Zimbabwe to "keep the squeeze" on Mugabe's inner circle.
He told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme: "It is 'all in good time' as far as sanctions goes. We need to see real progress and results from this new government."
Speaking from the AU summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, he added: "There is a misunderstanding of what these sanctions are. They are aimed at the individuals - and the companies supporting these individuals - around Mr Mugabe. "They are not aimed at the country of Zimbabwe or its people. To keep the squeeze on these people, to make sure they do really share power and perform properly in this new government, we need to keep this lever for a while."
Donors have said they would only provide aid once a unity government is in place.
Under the deal signed last week MDC leader Tsvangirai will be sworn in as prime minister on 11 February and Mugabe will stay as president.
A power-sharing deal between the MDC and Zanu-PF was signed last September, but disputes over the allocation of key ministries in government thwarted the implementation of a power sharing government.
Zimbabwe is enduring rampant inflation and an escalating food crisis.
Meanwhile the World Health Organization (WHO) says an outbreak of cholera, fuelled by the collapse of infrastructure, has now infected almost 65,000 people and killed nearly 3,300.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Libya |
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 02 Feb Gaddafi elected chairman of African Union
Muammar Gaddafi (pictured) the Libyan leader has been elected as chairman of the 53-nation African Union at the AU summit in Ethiopia.
Col Gaddafi replaces the Tanzanian president, Jakaya Kikwete. The chairmanship of the African Union is a rotating position held by heads of state for one year.
AU spokeswoman Habiba Mejri-Sheikh said Col Gaddafi was elected "by the heads of state in a closed-door session, for a one-year period".
"He is currently addressing the assembly as president, to outline his programme and his intentions," she said.
In its earlier sessions, AU delegates called for a lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe. The call followed the announcement on Friday that Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change would be joining a unity government.
On Sunday, the summit debated a Libyan-backed proposal to set up a single government - the United States of Africa.
Col Gaddafi has previously outlined his vision for African unity. He wants a single African military force, a single currency and a single passport for Africans to move within the continent.
However, sources said a compromise was reached when the summit agreed to transform the African Union Commission, which oversees the body, into an AU Authority that would have a broader mandate.
"In principle, we said the ultimate is the United States of Africa. How we proceed to that ultimate - there are building blocks," Kikwete said.
Before he arrived at the summit, Gaddafi circulated a letter saying he was coming as the king of the traditional kings of Africa and he wanted to be seated as the king of kings.
Last August, a meeting of more than 200 African kings and traditional rulers bestowed the title "king of kings" on the Libyan leader.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 01 Feb MDC pledges to tackle Zimbabwe crisis
Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has pledged to tackle the crisis in the education and health sectors, as well as ensuring that starving Zimbabweans get food.
The party, which agreed last Friday to join the proposed all-inclusive government with Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF will not enjoy any honeymoon period in the corridors of power as Zimbabwe is facing an unprecedented crisis.
Schools have been closed since last year after teachers went on strike demanding better pay and improved working conditions.
The health sector is equally bleak as there are no drugs and equipment in hospitals, while nurses and doctors have been on strike for several months demanding payment in foreign currency.
The MDC is also optimistic the international community will support the deal.
Last Friday, Tsvangirai (pictured) told the press that the MDC-T had agreed to join the GNU in the interest of the welfare of Zimbabweans, who are battling to survive the economic crisis.
"Therefore, in accordance with the party's constitution, the political agreement we signed on September 15, 2008, and in the best interests of the welfare of all Zimbabweans the MDC has resolved to form an inclusive government with Zanu PF and MDC-M," he said.
Furthermore, Tsvangirai said he wanted Sadc, the regional body that brokered the power-sharing agreement, to address outstanding issues before February 11.
These include the release of all political abductees and the reversal of the appointments of the Attorney-General Johannes Tomana, Reserve Bank Governor, Gideon Gono and provincial governors.
"On the breaches of the GPA and the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding), Sadc resolved that the Joint Monitoring Implementation Committee (Jomic) is established to review and reverse these breaches," he said.
Meanwhile, western diplomats in Harare have pointed out that development aid for Zimbabwe will depend on economic and political reform.
Analysts said the United States and Britain, Zimbabwe's biggest aid donors, are unhappy that the deal leaves Mugabe in charge of security and the military and that he reappointed Gideon Gono as head of the central bank, where Gono has presided over hyperinflation and monetary collapse.
Britain provides £40m of emergency aid each year to Zimbabwe. That could be increased to £200m overnight if it is decided that Tsvangirai's premiership will bring progressive government.
Analysts said the power-sharing arrangement will be fragile, at best. Half the new government ministers will be from Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, which led Zimbabwe to its plight.
Some fear that Tsvangirai's authority will be severely restricted and that Mugabe will use the government to smash the opposition, which has been severely weakened by intimidation and the jailing of activists on trumped up charges.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 29 Jan Zimbabwe formally allows businesses to trade in forex
Zimbabwe today formally acknowledged the uselessness of its currency by allowing businesses to conduct trade in foreign currencies.
The announcement was made by acting Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa (picturted) in an effort to stem the country's runaway inflation.
Zimbabwe, whose dollar has become a laughing stock, recently introduced a Z$100 trillion note was whose value was less than US$2.00
Until now, only licensed businesses could accept foreign currencies, although it was common practice for traders in all sectors to demand payment in forex, especially the US dollar, South African Rand and the Botswana Pula.
Chinamasa made the announcement as he delivered the annual budget to parliament.
"In line with the prevailing practices by the general public, [the] government is therefore allowing the use of multiple foreign currencies for business transactions alongside the Zimbabwean dollar," he said.
Zimbabwe is in the grip of world-record hyperinflation which has left the Zimbabwean dollar virtually worthless - 231m% in July 2008, the most recent figure released.
Teachers, doctors and civil servants have gone on strike complaining that their salaries - which equal trillions of Zimbabwean dollars - are not even enough to catch the bus to work each day.
Before the announcement, shops in Zimbabwe were increasingly demanding payment in US dollars - a reality acknowledged by Chinamasa.
"In the hyper-inflationary environment characterising the economy, our people are now using multiple currencies alongside the Zimbabwean dollar. These include the [South African] rand, US dollar, Botswana pula, euro and British pound among others," Chimanasa said.
Last year, the Central Bank was forced to slash 10 zeros from the local unit in an effort to make the currency more manageable.
Zimbabwe is also facing a deepening humanitarian crisis underlined by a cholera outbreak which has killed over 3,000 people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) has revised the number of people it says are in need of food aid, to seven million up from 5.1 million in June.
WFP regional spokesman Richard Lee told the press that the situation had deteriorated rapidly.
"The economic situation has worsened more dramatically than we had anticipated," he said. "The agency is being forced to halve the cereal rations given to hungry Zimbabweans so that all the people in need can receive aid."
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 27 Jan MDC disappointed by SADC communiqué on Zimbabwe talks
Zimbabwe opposition party MDC has hinted at staying out of the power- sharing deal with Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF after SADC leaders decided at a summit on Tuesday that a government of national unity should be set up in February.
The 15-nation SADC grouping said after the meeting in South Africa that opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai pictured) should be sworn in as
prime minister by February 11 2009.
According to South African President Kgalema Motlanthe all parties agreed control of Zimbabwe's hotly disputed Home Affairs Ministry, which has been a major obstacle to a final agreement, should be divided between President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and the MDC for six months.
"All the parties expressed confidence in the process and committed to implementing the agreement," Motlanthe, current SADC chair, told a news conference.
However, the MDC quickly issued a statement after the SADC communique was read out making clear its disappointment, raising the possibility that deadlock ould drag on as Zimbabweans face growing economic hardship.
The MDC said: "quite clearly the conclusions reached as reflected in the communique fall far short of our expectations".
The MDC said its national council would meet this weekend to define its position on the summit.
The signing of the power-sharing deal in September between Mugane and the two MDC factions was seen as a chance to prevent an economic collapse that would add to the strain on neighbours already hosting millions of Zimbabweans who fled in search of work and, more recently, to escape a cholera epidemic.
"The ministers and deputy ministers shall be sworn in on 13 February 2009, which will conclude the process of the formation of the inclusive
government," said the SADC communique.
Allocation of ministries would be reviewed six months after the inauguration of the government, it added.
Western leaders want Mugabe to step down and pave way for a democratic government to before they can release billions of dollars in aid to Zimbabwe, but Mugabe has refused.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is "very concerned" by Mugabe's refusal to reach a deal and wants South Africa, which has the most regional economic and diplomatic clout, to put more pressure on him, the State Department said on Monday.
In Brussels, the European Union stepped up the pressure by adding 27 individuals and 36 firms to a sanctions list, EU officials said on Monday.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 26 Jan Khama to face Mugabe in crucial Pretoria meeting over Zimbabwe crisis
President Ian Khama of Botswana (pictured) the only SADC leader to publicly reject Mugabe's disputed re-election last year, is expected to play a critical role in a meeting attended by Robert Mugabe and his arch rival, Morgan Tsvangirai in Pretoria today.
Analysts said Sadc leaders face a critical test on whether they can face up to Mugabe’s belligerence to allocate his Zanu-PF party the lion’s share of ministerial posts in the proposed government of national unity with Tsvangirai’s Movemet for Democratic Change.
Diplomats fear the extraordinary summit could be explosive if Khama maintains his position that Mugabe has no mandate to rule Zimbabwe since he was defeated by Tsvangirai in the March 2008 elections.
Sources say Mugabe has been trying to defuse the powder-keg situation by reaching out to Khama before the summit.
Diplomatic sources said that Mugabe sent his close ally and confidant, Emmerson Mnangagwa, to meet Khama's envoys in Chobe, Botswana, last Friday in a bid to ease tension before today's meeting.
Mugabe was said to be afraid that if he did not contain Khama, SADC could end up turning against him or split, forcing it to make concessions.
"Mugabe is concerned that Khama might become the catalyst for an explosive meeting and as a result he has sought to defuse the looming crisis sending a team of envoys led by Emmerson Mnangagwa to Chobe to engage Botswana authorities," a diplomat said.
The agenda for the meeting included the SADC summit, allegations that Botswana is training Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters to overthrow Mugabe, immigration issues and souring relations between the two countries.
SADC leaders, including chairman President Kgalema Motlanthe, Mozambique's
President Armando Guebuza, acting chairman of the SADC organ on politics, defence and security, and mediator Thabo Mbeki, met Mugabe, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and smaller MDC faction leader Arthur Mutambara in Harare last Monday.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s deputy information minister Bright Matonga said Mugabe will form a government after today’s regional meeting, with or without a deal with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
"This summit is the last summit that is going to discuss this issue of an inclusive government. If it does not work today, definitely when the president comes back here, he has to form a new government with or without Morgan Tsvangirai," Matonga said.
"The way forward, soon after this summit whether there is an agreement or there is no agreement, President Mugabe is going to form a cabinet, 15 cabinet ministers, eight deputy ministers of ZANU-PF," he said in an interview on public broadcaster SA FM.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Rwanda |
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 23 Jan General Nkunda arrested in Rwanda
Gen Laurent Nkunda, (pictured) leader of the strongest rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has been arrested in Rwanda.
Reports say Nkunda crossed the border after resisting a joint Rwandan-Congolese operation to arrest him.
Gen Nkunda, a Tutsi, like Rwanda's leaders had been Rwanda's ally in eastern DR Congo - he guarded their Western flank against attacks from the Hutu forces who fled there after the Rwandan genocide of 1994.
But in mid-November Rwanda shifted its position, announcing it would work with the Congolese to destroy the Hutu rebels. Gen Nkunda did not back the new alliance and so became an impediment to Rwandan plans in the region, causing Rwanda to turn on him, analysts say.
Furthermore, the decision earlier this month by a group of Gen Nkunda's top commanders to break away and join forces with government troops weakened his authority over the rebel group.
Around 4,000 Rwandan troops are reported to have entered DR Congo this week to help fight rebel forces in the area. Analysts say Gen Nkunda's arrest removes one obstacle to peace but other rebel groups remain active.
Sources say Gen Nkunda was detained in Rwanda after troops converged on his stronghold in the Congolese town of Bunagana.
"The ex-general Laurent Nkunda was arrested on Thursday 22 January at 2230 hours while he was fleeing on Rwandan territory after he had resisted our troops at Bunagana with three battalions," a Congolese-Rwandan official statement said.
Rebels with him were being urged to disarm, reports said.
In an interview on the BBC, Congo’s Information Minister Lambert Mende Omalanga said he welcomed the arrest.
"I think it is a good achievement for peace and security in this area and this region of Great Lakes," he said.
DR Congo has issued an international warrant for Gen Nkunda's arrest following past accusations that his forces had committed atrocities and Omalanga said he wanted Rwanda to extradite him to face justice in DR Congo.
Rwanda has not yet said whether it will hand over its former ally. Some of Gen Nkunda's forces - perhaps as many as 2,000 - are still said to be loyal to him.
Analysts say the question now is whether they will fight, or whether they will join the new consensus and become integrated into the Congolese army.
Around five million people are estimated to have died as a result of almost 15 years of conflict in DR Congo, following the Rwandan genocide.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 22 Jan Cholera claims more than 2,700 lives in Zimbabwe
More than 2,700 people have now died in Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic - a 20% rise in a week, according to the UN's World Health Organization (WHO).
Nearly 50,000 people have been infected with the preventable disease, WHO says.
Furthermore, aid workers have warned that the current rainy season could lead to even more infections, as water sources become contaminated.
Robert Mugabe who was defeated by Morgan Tsvangirai in the general elections last March has faced increasing criticism for his country's dire economic and humanitarian plight.
Mugabe and his allies have accused Western countries of trying to use the cholera outbreak as an excuse to topple him.
Cholera cases have been reported in all 10 of Zimbabwe's provinces, the WHO says, and aid agency World Vision has reported new outbreaks of the preventable disease in rural areas.
"Rapid deterioration of Zimbabwe's health system, lack of adequate water supply and lack of capacity to dispose of solid waste and repair sewer blockages have all been the main drivers of the current spread of cholera," said World Vision in a statement.
"New outbreaks are cropping up in rural areas as the rainy season progresses and people move from the towns back to their rural home areas."
A week ago, the WHO said 2,200 people had died from cholera in Zimbabwe since August 2008. The disease has also spread to neighbouring South Africa.
The latest WHO figures were released as campaign group Human Rights Watch called on African leaders to put pressure on Mugabe to end Zimbabwe's suffering during an African Union summit in Ethiopia next week.
Human Rights Watch accuses Zimbabwe's government of leaving five million people dependent on food aid and most of the population without access to health care.
Meanwhile, South Africa says it will host a regional summit next week - the latest attempt to broker a power-sharing agreement between Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
The two men met on Monday but failed to make any progress on implementing a deal they agreed in September. They remain divided on the key question of who should control key ministries.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 21 Jan SADC threatens to drop mediation in Zimbabwe crisis
The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) has threatened to drop its mediation effort on Zimbabwe after yet another failure by Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai to reach agreement on terms to form a unity government.
Sources close to the talks in Harare said South Africa's President Kgalema Motlanthe and former president Thabo Mbeki and Mozambican President Armando Guebuza failed to persuade the MDC leader, Tsvangirai, and Mugabe to overcome their differences in another marathon session in Harare yesterday.
The main bone of contention between Mugabe’s Zanu-pf and MDC remains who gets key positions such as the home affairs ministry which controls the police.
Speaking to the press after the meeting, SADC executive secretary Tomaz Salamao (pictured) said: "The meeting was not conclusive."
He said SADC would call another regional summit in either Botswana or South Africa on January 26 to try to secure an agreement.
Salamao also made it clear in that if Tsvangirai and Mugabe cannot come to an agreement by then, SADC would drop its mediation effort on Zimbabwe.
He said there were many other "pressing" problems in the SADC region.
Prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai described the failure as "the darkest day of our lives".
Differences between Mugabe and Tsvangirai have prevented the implementation of a political agreement signed four months ago to form an inclusive government in which Mugabe would remain president and Tsvangirai become prime minister.
Motlanthe convened yesterday's talks as SADC chairman, Mbeki is SADC's mediator on Zimbabwe. Guebuza represented SADC's security arm.
Sources said that after heavy pressure was put on Mugabe by Guebuza and Arthur Mutambara, leader of the smaller MDC faction, he finally agreed to give up some provincial Zanu-PF governors he had already appointed in provinces won by Tsvangirai's MDC in the March 29 elections.
However, sources said Mugabe’s refusal to cede control of the Home Affairs ministry, which controls the police, to the MDC remains the biggest stumbling block in the talks.
Although Mutambara has said both MDCs should enter the unity government as it is the only chance to resolve Zimbabwe's crisis, he said before negotiations began yesterday that he was backing Tsvangirai and called for Mugabe to make "compromises".
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - USA |
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 20 Jan Obama sworn in as US President
Barack Obama (pictured) was today sworn in as America's 44th president - and the country's first African-American leader.
More than one million people gathered in the National Mall in a wintry Washington DC, to see Obama take the oath of office shortly after 1200 (1700 GMT).
In his inaugural address Obama vowed to begin the work of "remaking America". He acknowledged that the US faced a number of challenges but was entering a "new era of responsibility".
President Obama made reference to the scale of his achievement at being the first black American elected to the White House, in a remark that gathered one of the biggest cheers of the speech.
"This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed... why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath," Obama said.
Furthermore, President Obama said: "The challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America - they will be met."
Invoking the memory of the US's Founding Fathers, President Obama said he would strive to rebuild his nation's standing in the world, saying: "We are ready to lead once more."
He spoke candidly of the economic crisis and foreign policy challenges facing the US, saying the US would "responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan".
The new president also addressed the world's poor and the Muslim world, much of which angrily opposed the actions of the previous administration. From now on, Mr Obama said, the US would seek "a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect".
Hundreds of thousands of visitors had arrived in Washington in the days before the inauguration, and vast numbers braved early-morning cold to secure a vantage point for the midday ceremony.
Officials in Washington reported record numbers of passengers on the city's subway network early on Tuesday, and police were forced to close a key entry point hours before event began because of overcrowding.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 18 Jan Mbeki ‘no longer part of Zimbabwe talks’ - Tsvangirai
Thabo Mbeki the former South African president is not welcome to attend the power-sharing talks due to start in Harare tomorrow between Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
In an interview with the Sunday Times of South Africa, Tsvangirai, leader of Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change, said Mbeki was no longer part of the mediation efforts because he was biased and too soft on 84-year-old Mugabe.
"Our relationship with Mbeki has irretrievably broken down and as far as I am concerned SADC chairman and South African president Kgalema Motlanthe and the SADC itself are in charge of dealing with mediation efforts," Tsvangirai said.
The relationship between Mbeki and the MDC became untenable in November last year when Mbeki, in a letter dated November 2, accused the MDC of not respecting decisions made by African leaders.
Tsvangirai took offence at the tone of the letter, and in response wrote to Motlanthe as SADC chairman, accusing Mbeki of being biased against his party.
Another senior member of the MDC said: "I don't know who invited him or what he is going to do. He can go to Harare, but we have nothing to do with him. The talks are between Tsvangirai, Motlanthe and Mugabe. Period."
Mbeki's spokesman, Mukoni Ratshitanga, said Tsvangirai should raise his issues with Mbeki with the SADC, which had appointed him as mediator.
"But if in future SADC comes and says you are no longer mediator, then he will not impose himself," said Ratshitanga.
Tsvangirai returned to Zimbabwe on Saturday for the first time in over two months.
"I'm very glad to be back home," he said as he was mobbed by supporters while being escorted to a waiting vehicle.
The MDC leader left Zimbabwe on November 10 for self-imposed exile in Botswana after the Mugabe regime refused to renew his passport.
Although Mugabe gave him a passport on Christmas Day, Tsvangirai did not return as he was advised that his personal safety could not be guaranteed.
Tsvangirai has now returned home for talks on the deadlock in a power-sharing agreement reached last September but never implemented.
Mbeki was scheduled to attend the talks along with Motlanthe and the president of Mozambique, Armando Guebuza.
The MDC national council was due to meet today to discuss the pending talks.
Tsangirai vowed yesterday that he would not join a coalition government if his party's demands were not fully met.
"I must emphasise that we are not going to be bullied into joining a
government that does not represent the people," he said when he arrived in the country.
He added that he hoped tomorrow's meeting would deliver an "acceptable,
inclusive government".
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 15 Jan ‘Free unlawfully held activists in Zimbabwe’ – Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch today called on the Zimbabwe authorities to immediately release 32
opposition party members and rights activists who are being unlawfully detained, and to disclose the whereabouts of 11 others.
The call by the human rights organisation comes after many detainees revealed they had been tortured in detention.
From October through December 2008, state security forces throughout Zimbabwe arbitrarily arrested 43 members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and human rights activists, including the prominent activist Jestina Mukoko (pictured).
"Zimbabwe authorities are putting lives at risk by secretly detaining MDC members and rights activists," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "Those unlawfully held should be freed immediately."
The police initially denied holding the activists, but on December 22 their lawyers were tipped off that 32 of them were being held in various police stations in the capital, Harare.
The activists had been unlawfully held by security forces for periods ranging from two weeks to eight in secret detention centres. None had been brought before a court within 48 hours, as required by law.
Zimbabwe authorities have accused the activists of various acts of banditry and of trying to recruit individuals for training in banditry and insurgency. However, the authorities have formally charged only seven activists.
15 Jan SA still backing Zimbabwe deal
The South African government says it still believes that Zimbabwe's unity accord can pull the country from crisis, despite a four-month stalemate in implementing the deal.
Ayande Ntsaluba, director general of South Africa’s foreign ministry, told reporters on Wednesday that a unity government was the only way for President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to settle their differences.
"Every possible analysis that we make as the South African government clearly shows us that we cannot see any route that has immediate prospects of success that bypasses the stage of some variant of an inclusive government in Zimbabwe," Ntsaluba said.
"We continue to hold the view that whatever the levels of discomfort among the various parties, every other conceivable option is an option that would lead Zimbabwe down a more dangerous path," he said.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 12 Jan Zuma corruption case still pending – Judge rules
The corruption case against ANC leader Jacob Zuma (pictured) can continue, a South African appeals court ruled this morning.
Charges against Zuma were dismissed on a technicality last September by Supreme Court Judge Chris Nicholson. The 16 charges of corruption concerned money-laundering and racketeering stemming from a controversial $5bn arms deal in 1999.
Today Supreme Court Judge Louis Harms said Judge Nicholson had "overstepped the limits of its (the court’s) authority" by suggesting there may have been political interference in the prosecution of Zuma.
Judge Louis Harms said the claims "were not based on any evidence or allegation. They were instead, part of the judge's own conspiracy theory and not one advanced by Zuma."
State prosecutors said Zuma "remains a charged person".
The ANC says Zuma will still lead the party into elections due in the coming months, meaning he could emerge as South Africa’s next president.
The ANC said that while it respected the Bloemfontein appeals court ruling, "it is important to note that this judgement has nothing to do with the guilt or otherwise of the ANC president.
"Nor does it make any pronouncements on the merits of the charges previously brought by the NPA [National Prosecuting Authority]." It added that it and Zuma reserved the right "to pursue all options available in law".
Law sources said this means an appeal to the highest court in South Africa, the Constitutional Court, and a bid for a permanent stay of proceedings to prevent charges being pursued.
Zuma has consistently said he would only resign from public office if convicted. He could still be prosecuted if he became president.
In his ruling, Judge Harms likened Judge Nicholson to a football referee who "took his eye off the ball" and penalised not only players but also spectators - meaning Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president who was asked to resign from office by the ANC. Mbeki was replaced by Kgalema Motlanthe.
Analysts say Zuma has unwavering support from the ANC leadership, the trade unions and Communist Party despite the shadow of corruption hanging over him.
Zuma was sacked as South Africa's deputy president in 2005when his financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, was found guilty of soliciting a bribe on behalf of Zuma and jailed for 15 years in connection with the arms deal.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Ghana |
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 07 Jan Atta Mills sworn in as Ghana president
John Atta Mills (pictured) has been sworn in as Ghana's new president following a cliff-hanger election victory over his rival Nana Akufo-Addo.
Mills (64) who ran for presidency under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) card took his oath of allegiance in front of thousands of people in Independence Square for the inauguration in the capital, Accra, today.
Local reports said crowds began forming at the stadium before dawn - decked out in the national colours of green, yellow, red and black - amid an air of intense excitement after one of the closest election races in Africa's recent history.
After he was sworn in, Atta Mills who was dressed in a local kente cloth woven in the national colours, raised up the State Sword - representing government authority - to cheers from the crowd. A military unit then fired off a booming 21-gun salute.
On the eve of the inauguration, President Kufuor showed his successor around his new home, the presidential residence officially known as Jubilee House.
Akufo-Addo won the first round but not by enough to avoid a run-off in last month's knife-edge polls.
Atta Mills was finally declared the winner on Saturday after a re-run of voting in the rural constituency of Tain.
Despite allegations of multiple voting and intimidation from both sides, electoral officials found no evidence of foul play and monitors praised Ghana's poll as a democratic example to others.
Turnout was high for Ghana's fifth set of polls since it embraced multi-party democracy in 1992. Ghana became the first African state to be granted independence by Britain on 6th March 1957 under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 04 Jan Tsvangirai snubs Mugabe’s invitation to be sworn in as Zimbabwe PM
Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) the leader of opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Zimbabwe has snubbed an invitation by Robert Mugabe to be sworn into office.
Sources said Mugabe sent an invitation to Tsvangirai on Christmas Day asking the
opposition leader to avail himself for swearing in as Zimbabwe's Prime Minister-designate as agreed in a power-sharing agreement signed in September 2008.
However, according to the MDC Tsvangirai had refused to join Mugabe's coalition government, insisting that the power-sharing deal could only be
consummated once all outstanding issues were resolved.
"As we have said before, we will not be pushed into a marriage of convenience in which we are not treated as equals," the MDC spokesman told the press.
In a letter to Mugabe, Tsvangirai demanded a meeting between the two Zimbabwean leaders and South African President Kgalema Motlanthe who chairs the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
He insisted that the Zimbabwean parties would not proceed to form the unity government on the basis of the resolutions of a SADC emergency summit held in South Africa in November 2008.
The SADC summit recommended the co-chairing by Mugabe's ZANU PF and the MDC of the disputed ministry of home affairs.
The MDC national council rejected the SADC resolution and insisted on sole control of the ministry, which runs the police force and immigration department.
"I have written in the same vein to President Motlanthe suggesting he convenes a confidential meeting in South Africa between you and me, under
his chairmanship, so that we can iron out these matters to the satisfaction of all parties," Tsvangirai said.
Under the power-sharing agreement, ZANU PF will have 15 cabinet seats in the new government, Tsvangirai's MDC 13 and three for a breakaway MDC group led by Arthur Mutambara.
Meanwhile, Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba was quoted in the state controlled newspaper The Herald as saying that Mugabe is preparing to form unity government and that he has fired some ministers in his previous administration to pave the way for appointees from the two factions of the MDC.
"What I can tell you is that President Mugabe has already started preparing an administration," Charamba told The Herald newspaper. He would not reveal further details about the makeup of the power-sharing government and the exact date of its possible formation.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Ghana |
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 03 Jan Atta Mills clinches presidency in Ghana
John Atta Mills (pictured) will be the next president of Ghana after winning a tight presidential run-off.
The electoral commission said the results of the run-off showed Atta Mills had won narrowly with 50.23% of the votes, against 49.77% for Akufo-Addo, the candidate for the ruling party.
Announcing the results in Accra the commission's head, Kwado Afari-Gyan said: "On the basis of the official results given, it is my duty to declare Professor John Evans Atta Mills the president-elect of the Republic of Ghana."
Furthermore, Afari-Gyan said the commission had considered allegations of vote-rigging by both sides but "did not find the evidence provided sufficient to invalidate the result".
Outgoing President John Kufuor had earlier urged both candidates to respect the final result.
Electoral officials announced the result after the last constituency to vote showed Atta Mills extending his lead over Akufo-Addo whose party boycotted Friday's vote, in the Tain constituency.
Addressing jubilant supporters on the streets of Accra around the NDC headquarters, Atta Mills, who had failed twice before to become president, said: "The time has come to work together to build a better Ghana. I assure Ghanaians that I will be president for all."
Atta Mills (64) is a former vice-president. He lost two previous elections to the current President Kufuor. Akufo-Addo, also 64, from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) won the first round of the presidential election but not by enough to avoid the run-off.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Ghana |
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 30 Dec Claims of voter fraud in Ghana delay results
The announcement of results from Ghana’s run-off presidential election last Sunday is being delayed amid claims of voter fraud, reports said.
Election officials have been stuck in behind-closed-doors wrangling with representatives from both parties.
It is understood five results in the Ashanti region are disputed by the opposition amid multiple voting claims.
Opposition leader John Atta Mills (pictured), the candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has claimed victory, but the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) party said it was too close to call.
Earlier today Atta Mills earlier told his supporters: "The figures show clearly that I have won the election. I am only waiting for the electoral commissioner to declare me winner."
Earlier this month, NPP candidate Nana Akufo-Addo gained the most votes in the first round but did not pass the 50% threshold needed for outright victory.
Local reports said the Ghana electoral commission headquarters has been besieged by thousands of NDC supporters demanding their candidate be declared the winner.
Shops closed early on Tuesday, with businessmen fearing that there could be looting once the result is announced.
Ahead of a news conference originally scheduled for 1200GMT to release the official results, armed police and soldiers backed by water cannon trucks and an armoured personnel carrier kept the protesters behind barricades.
Reports in Accra say the opposition has been disputing results awarded to the governing party from five constituencies in the Ashanti region.
It is understood turnout in one of the disputed constituencies was recorded at 99%, said by election experts to be unheard of. There were also complaints that dead people, children and foreign nationals had been listed among voters.
Earlier, NPP chairman Peter Mac Manu said there was widespread intimidation of its election agents in the Volta region and results from these areas would be challenged.
International observers have given the poll a preliminary clean bill of health and urged both candidates to accept the results.
On Monday the Electoral Commission declared results from 200 of the 230 constituencies, which showed Atta Mills leading with 52% of the vote, against 48% for Mr Akufo-Addo.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Somalia |
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 29 Dec Somalia president resigns from office
President Abdullahi Yusuf (pictured) of Somalia has resigned following a power struggle with Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein.
Addressing MPs in Baidoa Yusuf said: "As I promised when you elected me on October 14, 2004, I would stand down if I failed to fulfil my duty, I have decided to return the responsibility you gave me."
Analysts say Yusuf’s resignation adds to the unrest in Somalia as Ethiopian troops are due to pull out this week, raising fears of a power vacuum.
Yusuf clashed recently with Hussein, over attempts to negotiate a peace deal with the Islamist-led armed opposition. Hussein was backed by Parliament when Yusuf tried to sack him.
Some analysts suggest that Yusuf's resignation might enhance the prospects of a deal with moderate Islamists.
Meanwhile, Yusuf is reported to have flown out of Baidoa, where parliament is based, to his home region - the semi-autonomous area of Puntland in the north.
Speaker of parliament Aden Mohamed Nur becomes acting president until a new leader is named.
Mohamed Nur said he had accepted the president's resignation. "I congratulate the president for the bold step he has taken in respect of the transitional federal charter," he told the press.
Fighting between the Ethiopia-backed government and the insurgents has left around one million people homeless and much of Mogadishu deserted. Some three million people - a third of the population - need food aid.
29 Dec Zimbabwe cholera deaths rising
Two-thirds of the victims of the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe have died this month, according to the latest figures from the UN and Zimbabwe's health ministry.
According to the UN, the death toll at the end of last week stood at 1,564, with 29,131 suspected cases since August.
Figures from the health ministry on 1 December put cholera deaths at 484.
The UN has warned it could take six months to control the outbreak that has been fuelled by the collapse of the health, sanitation and water services.
According to the World Health Organization, cases have been reported in all 10 of Zimbabwe's provinces.
"The overall Case Fatality Rate (CFR) has risen to 5.7% - far above the 1% which is normal in large outbreaks - and in some rural areas it has reached as high as 50%," the WHO said in a statement.
Last Tuesday, Unicef put the number of cholera deaths at 1,174.
Aid agencies say so many clinics and hospitals have closed that large sections of the population have no access to medical care.
The suburb of Budiriro outside Harare, has been worst hit by the outbreak, followed by Beitbridge on the border with South Africa.
South Africa has recorded 1,279 cases and 12 deaths - the bulk of these in the border region, the WHO says. Over the weekend, Save the Children said some five million people in Zimbabwe - or about 50% of the country's population - were now in need of food aid.
Robert Mugabe has been facing intensified criticism over the dire economic and humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe. He signed a power-sharing deal with his rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, in September, intended to rescue the collapsing economy but progress has since stalled over who should control key ministries.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 23 Dec Mugabe remains defiant against calls for his resignation
Robert Mugabe (pictured) has rejected calls from the US and UK for him to stand down, branding them "stupid and foolish".
Speaking in Harare after the US said a power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe was not possible with him in power, Mugabe said criticism from President George Bush was irrelevant and the "last kicks of a dying horse".
Mugabe, who recently said cholera which has claimed over 1,200 lives has been arrested, is facing intensified criticism over the dire economic and humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe.
On Sunday, US Assistant Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Jendayi Frazer said Mugabe had lost touch with reality. She said the US had lost confidence in the proposed power-sharing government between Mugabe’s Zanu-pf and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
A defiant Mugabe responded by telling his supporters that the inclusive government did not include Bush and his administration.
"Let him keep his comments to himself. They are undeserved, irrelevant, quite stupid and foolish," he said.
The US position was backed by the British government on Monday, with UK Africa minister Mark Malloch-Brown saying Mr Mugabe had become "an absolute impossible obstacle" to power-sharing.
However, Mugabe said Zimbabwe was not going to listen to such criticism. "We do realise that these are the last kicks of a dying horse," he said.
"We obviously are not going to pay attention to a sunset administration. Zimbabwe's fate lies in the hands of Zimbabweans."
Several African leaders have also recently urged Mugabe to resign but South Africa and the African Union say they still believe power-sharing is the answer to Zimbabwe's crisis.
Meanwhile, a Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation bulletin said state agents arrested four Britons and an American in Harare on Monday, claiming they were spies who entered the country more than a week ago, allegedly to finance activities aimed at overthrowing Mugabe's government.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Somalia |
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 22 Dec Genocide taking place in Somalia – UN envoy
"Hidden genocide" is taking place in Somalia, according to the UN envoy to Mogadishu, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah (pictured).
Warning that Somalia is a problem to the horn of Africa region Abdallah said: "There is a hidden genocide in Somalia which has sacrificed entire generations."
Somalia has not had a functioning national government since 1991.
Ethiopian troops intervened two years ago to oust Islamists from the capital and install the internationally recognised government led by President Abdullahi Yusuf.
But that government is now in disarray and different Islamist groups now control much of southern Somalia. On Sunday, the East African regional group, Igad, decided to impose sanctions on President Yusuf, after he tried to sack Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia says its 3,000 troops will withdraw by the end of the year, which some fear will lead to a power vacuum. The AU force already in Mogadishu is too small to resist resurgent Islamist and nationalist fighters.
Last week UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon rejected calls for UN peacekeepers to be sent to Somalia, saying the situation was too dangerous and there was no peace to keep.
22 Dec Fears grow for abducted Zimbabweans
Fears are mounting in Zimbabwe for the lives of more than 40 opposition officials and human rights activists who have been abducted as part of a renewed crackdown by Robert Mugabe’s regime in Harare.
Reports said at least two more members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change have disappeared in the past week, along with a freelance investigative reporter.
"The abductions are increasing and it now seems to be happening nationwide," Nelson Chamisa, an MDC spokesman,said yesterday.
Analysts say the kidnappings follow a pattern familiar from the past two years of political intimidation, where key middle- and lower-ranking officials are "disappeared" in an attempt to terrorise or destabilise opponents of the ruling party.
Among those taken in the past month are Chris Dlamini, the head of security for the MDC, and Jestina Mukoko, the director of Zimbabwe Peace Project. Mugabe’s ruling party, Zanu-pf and security services have denied any part in the abductions.
There have been unconfirmed reports that some of those abducted are being held at a military base in Kariba, near the border with Zambia.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 19 Dec ‘Zimbabwe is mine’ – defiant Mugabe tells Zanu-PF delegates
Robert Mugabe (pictured) has rejected calls from some African leaders who have urged him to step down, saying: "Zimbabwe is mine."
Addressing Zanu-PF delegates at the party’s annual conference in Bindura, north-east of Harare, Mugabe said "the only persons with the power to remove Robert Gabriel Mugabe are the people of Zimbabwe".
"I will never, never, never surrender. Zimbabwe is mine, I am a Zimbabwean. Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans," he said.
He slated international criticism of his government's handling of the cholera outbreak as "a pack of lies".
Furthermore, Mugabe said: "I won't be intimidated. Even if I am threatened with beheading, I believe this and nothing will ever move me from it: Zimbabwe belongs to us, not the British."
He also questioned whether any of his country's neighbours would "have the courage to order a military intervention".
"What would they come and do militarily here? All that they would come and really pose is a threat to our stability," he said. "There would be an unnecessary war started in a foolish manner because of foolish persuasion coming from foolish sources."
Turning to the impasse between Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Mugabe said he had sent a letter to MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, inviting him to be sworn in as prime minister.
Earlier, Tsvangirai said he would pull out of power-sharing talks unless abductions of his supporters stopped.
Furthermore, Tsvangirai said that if the 42 missing members of the Movement for Democratic Change were not released or charged by 1 January, he would ask for the suspension of all contact and negotiations.
Meanwhile, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade has became the latest in an increasing number of senior African politicians calling for Mugabe to quit.
In an interview with the French newspaper, La Croix, Wade said he had supported Mugabe in the past but was forming the view that he was now the cause of Zimbabwe’s problems.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Rwanda |
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 18 Dec Rwandese official given life sentence for instigating genocide
Theoneste Bagosora (pictured) Rwanda's former senior defence official has been convicted of instigating the country’s 1994 genocide and sentenced to life in prison.
Bagosora and two co-defendants were found by a UN tribunal to have led a committee that plotted the massacre of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. More than 800,000 people were.
It is the first time the Rwanda tribunal has convicted anyone of organising the killings.
Along with Bagosora, former military commanders Anatole Nsegiyumva and Alloys Ntabakuze were also found guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and given life sentences.
Bagosora, 67, and the two senior military officers were found to have organised, trained and armed the Interahamwe militia, which was responsible for most of the killing.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), based in Tanzania, rejected the defence's argument that the killing was not organised, and therefore not genocide. Bagosora's lawyer, Raphael Constant, said his client would appeal against the verdict.
18 Dec Zimbabwe cholera is spreading
Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic continues to spread and has now claimed 1,111 lives among 20,581 cases since August.
Thursday's updated cholera figures from the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs were up from nearly 1,000 deaths and 18,000 cases earlier this week.
Latest data includes a new outbreak of hundreds of cases in Chegutu, near the capital Harare, which has been worst hit by the disease.
UK-based agency, Oxfam, has launched a £4m ($6.2m) appeal to tackle the epidemic and acute food shortage in Zimbabwe.
Harare remains badly hit with almost three-quarters of cases there sprouting in the last fortnight, underlining the "intense" cholera transmission rate in the city, added the UN.
The easily preventable disease has spread because of the collapse of health services and water sanitation in Zimbabwe. The UN World Health Organization has said the total number of cases could reach 60,000 unless the epidemic is stopped.
A week ago Robert Mugabe said the outbreak had been "arrested". He also claimed that Western powers wanted to use an epidemic as an excuse to invade Zimbabwe and topple him.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 16 Dec Lekota named president of new South African party
Mosiuoa Lekota (pictured) the former South African Defence Minister today said the political party he helped to form, Congress of the People, (COPE), was the "party of the future".
Lekota was speaking in Bloemfontein, where he was named as Cope's president.
"The history of South Africa will never be the same again," he said. "Ours shall be a truly non-racial party that will provide a true home to all South Africans irrespective of race, class or gender."
Political analysts say COPE could present real opposition to the African National Congress in the general elections next year.
Lekota and a large number of COPE members defected from the ANC after the party compelled former president Thabo Mbeki to resign from office. Many supporters of the new party were unhappy at the way in which Mr Mbeki was forced to step down.
The ANC has ruled South Africa since the end of white minority rule 14 years ago.
South Africa's main opposition party until now, the Democratic Alliance, draws most of its support from white and mixed-race voters.
COPE also named the former premier of Gauteng province, Mbhazima Shilowa, as its first deputy president and unveiled its latest high profile supporter, the anti-apartheid activist and cleric Allan Boesak.
Boesak was given a rapturous welcome by COPE supporters, before telling them that the tide had turned against the ANC.
Lekota, who has ruled out any reconciliation with the ANC, said that expanding the economy would be the linchpin of the new party’s electoral campaign.
"We need to fight joblessness and grow our economy," he said. "Our approach is stability, hard work and growth."
ANC leader Jacob Zuma who was also in Bloemfontein on Tuesday for a party rally, widely seen as an attempt to divert attention from the launch of COPE said: "Only the ANC can deliver true unity and prosperity in this country."
In its first electoral test earlier this month, the COPE won 10 of 27 wards in the Western Cape - the province where the ANC has always been least popular.
Analysts say the challenge for COPE, which claims to have more than 400,000 members, is to distance itself from Mbeki, and not appear like a group of embittered losers from last year's ANC national conference in Polokwane, where Zuma defeated Mbeki in a leadership contest.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 15 Dec Mugabe ‘planning state of emergency’ - MDC
Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change on Monday accused Robert Mugabe of planning to institute a state of emergency as an excuse to disregard the rule of law.
Tendai Biti (pictured) the MDC secretary general said the ruling Zanu-PF was recording forced confessions from 15 MDC supporters it had abducted since October to use as fodder for implementing a state of emergency.
"We have no doubt as a party that they are going to declare a state of emergency. We are aware of a document which runs into tens of pages," Biti told a news conference in the capital Harare. "If they declare a state of emergency, let them do it, they should do it but don't create fiction against the MDC."
Mugabe has threatened to call fresh elections if rival parties fail to reach agreement on a unity government accord signed three months ago.
Biti said the MDCs would welcome fresh elections, on condition they were conducted under international supervision.
"Zanu-PF cannot threaten us with an election. Bring on an election but not under Zanu-PF terms. It would have to be under international terms. Elections must be held under international supervision," said Biti.
Meanwhile, reports say the death toll from cholera in Zimbabwe has soared to 978 with another
18,413 suspected cases.
The capital Harare is the worst-hit district, with 208 deaths and 8,454 suspected cases, according to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian. Beitbridge, which borders South Africa, was also badly affected. Some 91 people in the border town have been killed by the disease, while 3,546 are suspected to be suffering from it.
The latest toll came even as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was scheduled to brief the UN
Security Council on the deterioration of living conditions in Zimbabwe.
The 15-nation council was to hear Ban behind closed doors as is the normal practice for sensitive issues. Last week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on the council to take 'meaningful action' against Mugabe for his leadership in the worsening situation.
British Ambassador John Sawers also called on the council to seek a solution to the plight of Zimbabwean people.
“We want to try to find a common way forward and a solution to this absolutely desperate plight of the Zimbabwean people and a way to put together a government that reflects the genuine will of the Zimbabwean people ahead of the elections in March,” Sawers said.
Zimbabwe Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu who recently blamed the UK for the cholera epidemic told the state-owned Herald newspaper it was "improper" for western countries to try to put Zimbabwe on the agenda.
"You do not convene a UN Security Council meeting for a sovereign state without consulting that country," he was quoted as saying. "We are not a threat. If they insist, we will work hard to block it with the assistance of our friends."
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's authorities on Monday also claimed that Botswana, a vocal regional critic, was supporting an opposition plot to overthrow Mugabe, labelling its neighbour a "surrogate" of western powers.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 13 Dec Zimbabwe Minister claims Britain "planted" cholera in the country
Sikhanyiso Ndlovu (pictured) Zimbabwe’s Information Minister has accused Britain of 'planting' the cholera in Zimbabwe's soil to achieve 'genocide.'
Ndlovu also alleged that Western media were using 'gun-boat' outlets by passing off photos of victims of conflict in other parts of Africa as Zimbabwean cholera victims.
”They take photos of people dying in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Darfur (Sudan) and say these are cholera victims from Zimbabwe. CNN please stop those pictures,” Ndlovu said.
Furthermore, Ndlovu who was addressing a government press conferences on the causes of the devastating outbreak that has claimed 793 lives and infected over 16,000 people since August, said the current cholera and anthrax were planted during the colonial era in various parts of Zimbabwe.
“It is a genocidal attack on the people of Zimbabwe by the British still trying to fight for the
recolonization of Zimbabwe,'” Ndlovu added.
Health experts blame the cholera outbreak on the breakdown of water and sewerage systems.
”Cholera and anthrax stay in the soil and gestate over many years. Long after the war, the undeclared biological warfare still rages on,” Ndlovu told journalists, several of whom laughed openly at his theory.
Ndlovu’s remarks about anthrax come after a British charity sounded the alarm a few days ago over a spate of anthrax infections in humans who had eaten meat from infected cattle carcasses.
Ndlovu alleged that 'covert chemical war operatives' from Britain were currently in Zimbabwe to spread cholera and anthrax with a view to paving the way for a military invasion that would oust Mugabe and install the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in power.
President Robert Mugabe's regime has becoming jittery following calls by a string of world leaders for him to step down, or, in the case of some leaders, for him to be forced from office.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said earlier this week that the United Nations Security Council would meet next week to discuss further action against Mugabe's regime.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 11 Dec Mugabe claims cholera now under control in Zimbabwe
Robert Mugabe (pictured) told his supporters in Harare on Thursday that Zimbabwe has contained cholera which has killed over 800 people since August.
As the UN and NGO’s warned that the deadly outbreak was getting worse, Mugabe told mourners attending the funeral of one of his henchmen that the epidemic was under control.
In a nationally televised speech, he said: "I am happy to say our doctors are being assisted by others and the WHO [World Health Organization] have now arrested cholera."
Furthermore, Mugabe, who has been masquerading as Zimbabwean president after losing the election to his rival, Morgan Tsvangirai in March 2008, denounced former colonial power Britain, as well as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US President George W Bush, who both called earlier this week for his resignation.
"Because of cholera, Mr Brown, Mr Sarkozy and Mr Bush want military intervention," Mugabe said. He added: "Let's tell them that the cholera cause doesn't exist any more. Now that there is no cholera there is no cause for war."
Shortly after Mugabe spoke, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the toll from the cholera outbreak had risen slightly overnight to 783 and that 16,403 were believed to have been infected.
The UK-based charity Save the Children said in Harare that these figures were an underestimate and the epidemic was almost certainly worsening. A spokesperson for Save the Children said: "If anything is certain in the chaos of Zimbabwe today it is that the cholera outbreak is not under control."
The World Health Organisation has warned that the total number of cases could reach 60,000 unless the epidemic was stopped.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Zimbabweans have crossed into South Africa to seek medical treatment because Zimbabwe's health service and water supply infrastructure have virtually collapsed.
Reports said at least eight people have died in Limpopo Province, prompting the authorities to declared the Vhembe district which includes the border town of Musina a disaster area.
There has been growing international pressure recently for Mugabe to step down. African countries such as Botswana and Kenya have also said he should step down, but South Africa has refused to call on Mugabe to quit.
On Tuesday the 53-member African Union said the only solution to Zimbabwe's crisis was a power-sharing government which Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai agreed upon in a deal signed in September.
However, talks on forming a unity government have stalled with Mugabe insisting on retaining control of all the key ministries.
The MDC seized a majority in parliament in the March elections, when Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in a first round presidential vote.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 09 Dec Akufo-Addo looks set to win Ghana presidential election
Nana Akufo-Addo (pictured) looks set to be Ghana’s next president, according to provisional results published by the Electoral Commission of Ghana on Monday evening.
With votes for about 60 percent of constituencies counted Akufo-Addo had 49.6 percent of the vote, while his main rival, John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had 47 percent.
Akufo-Addo represents the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of President John Kufuor, who has served the maximum two terms as president. The NDC is the party of former President Jerry Rawlings, Kufuor's predecessor.
Local media reports said an unprecedented number of Ghanaians registered for the election - more than 12.8 million - and the commission reported a voter turnout of 70 percent.
Six other presidential candidates fared poorly at the polls. Papa Kwesi Nduom, the candidate of the Convention People's Party of Kwame Nkrumah, did best but with only 1.3 percent of the results announced on Monday.
09 Dec ‘UK and US plotting invasion’ - Mugabe
Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe has accused the UK and US of plotting an invasion in the wake of the cholera outbreak.
Mugabe’s spokesman, George Charamba told state media he would not be surprised if the British and Americans tried to "spring a 'mission'" involving the UN.
"The British and the Americans are dead set on bringing Zimbabwe back to the UN Security Council," Charamba was quoted as saying. "They are also dead set on ensuring that there is an invasion of Zimbabwe but without themselves carrying it out. In those circumstances, they will stop at nothing. We would not be surprised if they spring a 'mission' involving the UN."
Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the number of cholera cases in Zimbabwe stood at 13,960 with 589 deaths.
However, health experts say the death toll could be much higher, while the UN children's agency Unicef has warned 60,000 cholera cases could emerge in the coming weeks.
South African Health Minister Barbara Hogan led a team of health experts on Tuesday to assess the cholera outbreak in Limpopo province bordering Zimbabwe, where at least eight people have died from the disease. Scores of sick Zimbabweans are crossing the border every day looking for treatment.
On Monday, European Union nations ramped up the diplomatic pressure on Zimbabwe's government, broadening sanctions on Robert Mugabe and his inner circle, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy added his voice to the growing calls for the end of the 84-year-old's rule.
But the 53-member African Union said on Tuesday the only solution to the Zimbabwe crisis was the power-sharing talks.
"Only dialogue between the Zimbabwean parties, supported by the AU and other regional actors, can restore peace and stability to that country," said Salva Rweyemamu, a spokesman for AU chairman and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 07 Dec Archbishop Sentamu calls for Mugabe to face trial in Hague
John Sentamu (pictured) Archbishop of York in the UK has called for “Robert Mugabe and his henchmen” to face trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
"The time to remove them from power has come," Archbishop Sentamu proclaimed in an article published in the Observer newspaper.
A growing number of prominent politicians around the world are calling for Mugabe to be forcibly removed and the outbreak of cholera in the country, which has claimed around 600 lives has increased a chorus of outrage against Mugabe’s hold onto power amidst a collapsing economy and increased hunger and joblessness within Zimbabwe.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has branded Mugabe's government a "blood-stained regime" and said it was responsible for the cholera epidemic. The world must tell Mugabe "enough is enough", he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said last Friday that Mugabe’s departure from office was long overdue.
"We must not fail the dying people of Zimbabwe in this hour of their greatest need ... we must assist them to end this vile dictatorship, we must beg them not to despair," Odinga told a news conference in Nairobi.
Botswana Foreign Minister Phandu Skelemani and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel laureate, have also called for Mugabe's removal.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Sunday repeated a previous call for Mugabe to step down and urged the African Union to hold an emergency summit to formulate a resolution to send troops into Zimbabwe to deal with the crisis.
Writing in the state-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba said: "I don't know what this mad prime minister (Brown) is talking about. He is asking for an invasion of Zimbabwe ... but he will come unstuck."
Zimbabwe is on the verge of collapse. Food stocks are running out, unemployment is above 80 percent and prices double every 24 hours. The health system is in tatters, unable to treat many of those infected with cholera.
The epidemic has forced Zimbabwe to declare a national emergency and appeal for foreign help. Britain is among European nations that have promised aid.
South Africa, Zimbabwe's richest neighbour, has also pledged aid and officials will assess the scale of the crisis on Monday.
Mugabe often blames Britain and other Western nations for Zimbabwe's meltdown, saying sanctions against him and his inner circle have sabotaged the economy.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 05 Dec ‘Mugabe must resign or face persecution in the Hague’ - Tutu
Archbishop Desmond Tutu (pictured) has added his voice to calls for Robert Mugabe to resign as President of Zimbabwe.
Speaking on Dutch television, Archbishop Tutu said that Mugabe should be removed by force if he refuses to go or be sent to The Hague for the "gross violations" he has committed.
Archbishop Tutu’s remarks echoed the Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga who berated Mugabe on Thursday and said African governments should oust him as Zimbabwe's leader.
Archbishop Tutu said Mugabe had ruined "a wonderful country", turning a "bread-basket" into a "basket case".
"I think now that the world must say: 'You have been responsible, with your cohorts... for gross violations, and you are going to face indictment in The Hague unless you step down,'" Archbishop Tutu said.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said it is "well past time" for Mugabe to go, saying a "sham election" has been followed by a "sham process of power-sharing talks".
Referring to the cholera deaths sweeping through Harare and other twons in Zimbabwe, Rice said: "If this is not evidence to the international community to stand up for what is right, I don't know what would be. And frankly the nations of the region have to do it."
Zimbabwe has declared a national emergency over the cholera outbreak, which has killed at least 600 people - the most deadly in the country's history. Health workers say the collapse of the health systems and the water supply in the capital, Harare, are major reasons why the epidemic has killed so many people.
Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai agreed to share power in September to tackle the country's economic meltdown but they have been unable to agree on the allocation of cabinet posts.
Meanwhile, Mugabe has blamed Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change for the power-sharing impasse.
"The MDC should say no if they do not want to be part of the inclusive government," he was quoted as saying by the state-owned Herald newspaper.
Zimbabwe has the world's highest annual rate of inflation - 231,000,000% - and just one in ten adults are believed to have regular jobs. As well as the cholera outbreak, up to half of the population - five million people - will need food aid in the coming months, donors say.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 04 Dec Kenya PM calls for removal of Zimbabwe “dictator” Mugabe
Raila Odinga (pictured) the Kenyan Prime Minister has said it is time for African governments to oust Robert Mugabe.
Speaking to the BBC in Nairobi after his meeting with Morgan Tsvangirai the opposition Zimbabwe leader who is visiting Kenya, Odinga said: "It's time for African governments... to push him out of power. Power-sharing is dead in Zimbabwe and will not work with a dictator who does not really believe in power-sharing."
Odinga also held talks with Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa's governing African National Congress party. Analysts said Zuma has declared a new alliance between his party and the Kenyan leader, designed to elevate the Zimbabwe issue.
Furthermore, Odinga said that if Mugabe were isolated, he would have no choice but to quit.
"I do believe strongly that if the leadership in South Africa took a firm stand and told Mugabe to quit he will have no choice but to do so," the Kenyan PM said.
Analysts said Odinga’s comments could signal a ramping up of pressure in the region against Mugabe who was beaten by Tsvangirai in the March elections.
Tsvangirai has been on a whirlwind tour of several African countries appealing for help.
His Movement for Democratic Change party and Mugabe's Zanu-PF agreed to share power in September, following disputed elections, but have been wrangling over how to share cabinet posts ever since.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 04 Dec Zimbabwe declares state of emergence over cholera outbreak
Zimbabwe has declared a national emergency over the outbreak of cholera that has killed more than 600 people.
Zimbabwe Health Minister David Parirenyatwa (pictured) said hospitals were in urgent need of medicine, food and equipment and were suffering a critical staff shortage.
The authorities who have blamed the worsening crisis in the country to “sanctions” are now appealing for international help urgently to tackle the outbreak of cholera, which they had earlier claimed was under control.
According to the UN, at least 565 people have died from the cholera outbreak, which began in August, though other reports say the real death toll could be much higher.
At least 12,545 cases of cholera have been recorded over the same period. The outbreak comes as Zimbabwe is crippled by economic meltdown and political stalemate.
In an interview on the BBC's World Today programme Zimbabwe's deputy health minister Edwin Muguti said patients would die if urgent medical aid was not availed.
Furthermore, Dr Muguti said the country's health sector was having tremendous difficulties. "Our central hospitals are literally not functioning," he said.
The World Health Organisation has said it is keen to help Zimbabwe after Dr Parirenyatwa appealed for medical supplies and funds to pay hospital staff.
On Wednesday, the European Commission said it would provide more than $12m (£8m) for drugs and clean water in Zimbabwe. Most of Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, has been without water since last Sunday. Local media reports said the water was cut because of a lack of purification tablets.
On Wednesday riot police in Harare broke up a protest march by doctors and nurses angered at the worsening outbreak. The authorities also prevented trade union members staging a protest over the country's banking meltdown.
Meanwhile 16 soldiers have been held over disorder in Harare, say reports. The Zimbabwean police told the state-owned Herald newspaper that 10 of the soldiers were detained over a looting spree on Monday which broke out after the central bank said it did not have the money to pay defence force members queuing for wages.
Zimbabwe's defence minister has blamed the disturbances on an unruly minority in the army, and promised to punish the culprits.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 01 Dec ‘Zimbabwe may turn into another Somalia’ – UN warns
Zimbabwe could become a failed state in the mould of anarchic Somalia if current efforts to create a power-sharing government between Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-pf and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change fail.
The bleak assessment was given by Agostinho Zacharias the United Nations representative in Zimbabwe during his meeting with the Elders, a delegation of prominent figures led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (pictured).
Zacharias noted that the power-sharing talks between ZANU PF and the MDC had not fully addressed the issue of what would happen to Mugabe and his lieutenants should they agree to give up power, hinting this was one issue also blocking quick resolution of Zimbabwe's political crisis.
"When asked by Mr Annan what would be the future of Zimbabwe were no political agreement reached, Mr Zacharias replied that it would become a "Somalia", a failed state," Annan's delegation said in a report made available to the press.
Annan, former US President Jimmy Carter and Nelson Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, who are part of a group of prominent figures and former statesmen called The Elders, had planned to visit Zimbabwe from November 21 to 22 but were refused entry.
The Elders however proceeded to make an assessment of Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis from Johannesburg, using information gathered during several meetings with representatives of regional governments, political leaders, aid agencies, business and civil society representatives from Zimbabwe.
The report said Machel inquired whether there was more at stake than simply trying to ensure Mugabe's immunity from prosecution for human rights abuses and other wrongs committed during his nearly three decades in power.
"Mr Zacharias concurred that President Mugabe is a brand name, but that there are many others behind him who must also be protected," the report said.
Furthermore, the report notes that it was generally agreed that many ZANU PF leaders fear being prosecuted for past wrongdoings and that this "issue has not yet been fully addressed in power sharing talks".
Annan's group said that while it was desirable that Mugabe – whose controversial policies are blamed for ruining once prosperous Zimbabwe - steps down from power, his exit would have to be managed carefully or it could create a "power vacuum that would cause worse violence".
Meanwhile, much of the Zimbabwe capital, Harare, is without water, at a time of a cholera outbreak, according to reports in state-controlled media.
Water was cut because of a shortage of purification chemicals, The Herald newspaper quotes water authority officials as saying. More than 600 people have died in recent months from cholera - a disease spread by contaminated water.
Zimbabwe is struggling with an economic crisis - the latest annual inflation rate was 231,000,000% and just one adult in five is estimated to have a regular job.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 27 Nov Zimbabwe playwright clinches top international award
Cont Mhlanga (pictured) the Zimbabwean playwright has been honoured with an international award, Artventure Freedom, worth $50,000 (£33,000).
Mhlanga picked the top inaugural prize, which honours artists who defend their freedom of expression at great personal sacrifice, for his politically-charged satirical play, The Good President.
Mhlanga, who was not in London to receive the award was one of several people and groups honoured at the ceremony on Wednesday. He was described by the philanthropic organisation as a "fierce opponent" of the Mugabe regime.
The Good President depicts an African dictator who has ruled Zimbabwe for 27 years since the country gained independence in 1980. The play is presented as a fictional account, but closely mirrors recent and current events in Zimbabwe.
Speaking from Zimbabwe, Mhlanga said: "I am extremely humbled by the recognition of my work. This award is not just for me, it is for those artists who are victimised for working with me, and it is an award for theatre in this country. Theatre is the only tool that amplifies the people's voice in Zimbabwe."
A statement from Artventure said Mhlanga had been "challenging and questioning state ideologies, policies, corruption, nepotism and leadership" for more than 25 years.
Mhlanga will dedicate £16,000 of his prize towards making his work available to a wider audience and to the southern Africa region.
27 Nov Zimbabwe school attendance drops 80%
The number of children going to school regularly in Zimbabwe has fallen dramatically from 90% to 20%, a senior UN relief official says.
Catherine Bragg said many teachers were not being paid and could not afford to travel to work. She warned Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis would worsen.
At a news conference in New York, Ms Bragg called for "massive" international assistance for Zimbabwe.
In addition to the cholera outbreak, which has killed more than 360 people since August, she said there has also been a breakdown in both the health and education sectors.
“For a country that used to have over 90% school attendance, now we're seeing less than 20%,” she said.
As well as teachers not being able to afford to work, students were required to make payments in kind, including food, which they did not have, she said.
Zimbabwe used to have one of the best education systems in Africa.
Meanwhile, it is reported that power-sharing talks between Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-pf and opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change have stalled because of insults traded between the opposition and mediator Thabo Mbeki.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 26 Nov Mugabe muzzles reports on Zimbabwe cholera epidemic
Robert Mugabe (pictured) is trying to hide the real extent of the cholera epidemic sweeping across Zimbabwe by silencing health workers and restricting access to the huge number of death certificates that give the same cause of death.
A report in the UK Independent newspaper cited a senior official in the health ministry saying that more than 3,000 people have died from the water-borne disease in the past two weeks, 10 times the widely-reported death toll of just over 300.
"But even this higher figure is still an understatement because very few bother to register the deaths of their relatives these days," said the official, who requested anonymity.
Furthermore, the report said the health ministry, which once presided over a medical system that was the envy of Africa, had been banned from issuing accurate statistics about the deaths, and that certificates for the fraction of deaths that had been registered were being closely guarded by the home affairs ministry.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe has rejected calls for it to declare a state of emergency over the cholera outbreak.
Zimbabwe’s deputy health minister Edwin Muguti said the outbreak was under control and blamed the situation on Western sanctions against Robert Mugabe.
"The situation is under control, there is no need to declare it [an emergency]," Muguti said on Wednesday. "These are results of punitive illegal sanctions imposed on us by the West... I am sure they like what they are seeing from this outbreak."
Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights believes many people are dying at home where they are not being treated.
The organisation's Dr Douglas Gwadziro said the disease might also start to spread more rapidly now that the rainy season had begun. There was, he added, a need to deal with the sanitation problems in the urban areas such as the capital, Harare.
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said Zimbabwe could not afford to fail in negotiating a power-sharing deal if the country was to improve its humanitarian situation.
Ban said Mugabe's Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change needed a workable agreement soon, so they could tackle "formidable challenges" ahead.
According to the UN the number of people being infected with cholera is rising and nearly 9,000 cases have now been confirmed.
* Cholera is caused when a toxin-producing bacterium, Vibrio Cholerae, infects the gut. It is carried in water containing human faeces.
* In its most severe form, and without treatment of antibiotics and rehydration, it causes acute diarrhoea and dehydration, and can kill within hours of symptoms showing.
* John Snow, a doctor in 19th-century London, was the first to link it with contaminated water when he studied an outbreak in Soho in 1854, which had killed more than 600 in a few weeks.
* Preventing cholera relies on proper sewage treatment, sanitation and water purification.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 24 Nov Carter shocked by extent of Zimbabwe crisis
Former US President Jimmy Carter (pictured) has described the crisis in Zimbabwe as being "far worse" than he had imagined.
Carter is one of a group of world leaders, known as the Elders, who were refused entry visas for Zimbabwe to assess the humanitarian situation.
Speaking to the press today in Johannesburg, after talks with South Africa's leaders Carter said: "The crisis in Zimbabwe is much greater, much worse than anything we had ever imagined."
He described the government in Harare as unwilling to communicate and said Robert Mugabe did not want to admit that there was a crisis, preferring to blame problems on what Carter called "non-existent sanctions".
"There are no economic sanctions against Zimbabwe and [Mr Mugabe] does not want to admit that there is a need for assistance," he said.
Furthermore, Carter noted that Zimbabwe’s basic structure was "broken down", with provision of food, healthcare and education all serious problems.
Human-rights activist Graca Machel said the Elders had planned to meet Zimbabwean people and hear first-hand about the scale of the humanitarian crisis. The Elders will now stay in South Africa to brief themselves about the situation in Zimbabwe and neighbouring countries.
Meanwhile, Jacob Zuma the leader of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress, said the situation in Zimbabwe was beyond "wait and see". "We have got to act and act now," he said.
Mugabe’s Zanu-PF is due to meet the leaders of the two factions of the MDC, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambrara on Tuesday in South Africa, in yet another attempt to salvage a power-sharing deal.
Mugabe's Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement of Democratic Change (MDC) are in a power-sharing stand-off following disputed presidential elections earlier this year. They have agreed to form a government of national unity but been unable to agree on who should fill key ministries.
Aid groups say Zimbabwe is facing a major humanitarian crisis, with nearly half the population needing food aid by early next year.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 23 Nov Zimbabwe denies Kofi Annan entry visa
Kofi Annan (pictured) the former UN Secretary General has been denied an entry visa in Zimbabwe, along with former US President Jimmy Carter and Nelson Mandela's wife, Graca Machel.
The three international figures are part of a group called the Elders, set up to tackle world conflicts.
"We had to cancel our visit because the government made it very clear that it will not co-operate," Annan told a press conference in Johannesburg.
He added that the sole aim of the trip had been to help people in Zimbabwe, and that the Elders had no intention of becoming involved in any political negotiations.
Carter said the group had been led to believe their visas would be issued on arrival in Harare, but on Friday night the former South African leader, Thabo Mbeki, relayed a message to them that this would not be permissible.
Zimbabwe's state-controlled Herald newspaper had previously reported a government official as saying the planned mission was biased.
President Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) are in a power-sharing stand-off following disputed presidential elections earlier this year.
Human-rights activist Graca Machel said the Elders had planned to meet people and hear first-hand about the scale of the humanitarian crisis. The Elders will now stay in South Africa to brief themselves about the situation in Zimbabwe and neighbouring countries.
Aid groups say Zimbabwe is facing a major humanitarian crisis, with nearly half the population needing food aid by early next year.
Meanwhile, the South African government says it will withhold $28m of agricultural aid to Zimbabwe until a representative government is in place.
The South African cabinet said it had taken the decision because the impasse between Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was creating a humanitarian crisis.
The current outbreak of cholera was a clear indication that Zimbabweans were becoming "victims of their leaders' lack of political will", it said. The US ambassador to Zimbabwe has said that 294 people have died from the cholera outbreak.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Somali |
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 18 Nov Somali pirates negotiate release of Saudi Arabian tanker
Somali pirates who hijacked an oil tanker (pictured) with 25 crew, including two Britons, on board have opened negotiations with the vessel's operators, according to the latest reports.
Vela International Marine Ltd, the Dubai-based marine company that operates the Saudi-owned Sirius Star, said it was working to secure the release of the super tanker and her crew.
A spokesman for the company said all 25 crew are believed to be safe.
The oil tanker which is 1,080ft (330m) long can carry about two million barrels of oil. It is owned by Saudi oil company Aramco but was sailing under a Liberian flag. It was fully laden when it was seized by a group of armed men on Sunday, around 420 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia.
There is speculation that the pirates are taking the tanker to Eyl, a port in the northern Puntland region of Somalia, which has become notorious for pirate activity over the past months. Dozens of ships are thought to be being held captive there while ransom negotiations are being conducted.
A spokesman for Vela International said: "All 25 crew members are reported to be safe and the vessel is fully laden. A Vela response team has been established and is working to ensure the safe release of the crew members and the vessel."
18 Nov Nigerian militants seize oil vessel
Gunmen in Nigeria's Delta region have seized an oil vessel and kidnapped its crew, according to an army spokesman has said.
Lt Col Rabe Abubakar said the vessel was from Singapore and was carrying equipment for the oil company, Chevron. He said the ship appeared to have been taken by militants.
Militants operating in Nigeria's oil-rich Delta region have caused severe disruption by attacking gas plants, oil installations and pipelines.
They claim to be fighting for greater control over oil wealth in the impoverished region. But opponents say the militants make money from criminal rackets and trade in stolen oil.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 17 Nov DRC ceasefire broken as army clashes with rebels
Democratic Republic of Congo government forces clashed in heavy fighting on Sunday with rebels loyal to self-styled General Laurent Nkunda (pictured) in the eastern part of the country.
Reports said the clashes around the town of Rwindi, about 125km (75 miles) north of Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, happened despite Gen Nkunda pledge to a ceasefire if the government followed suit.
Gen Nkunda made the offer during talks with UN envoy Olusegun Obasanjo.
Talking to the press about the fighting, UN peacekeeping spokesman Colonel Jean-Paul Dietrich said: "Everybody is trying to push the other side back. It's very regrettable that they could not respect the ceasefire".
Rebel spokesman Bertrand Bisimwa said their forces had taken control of Rwindi but there has been no independent confirmation of this. "The government forces are stuck at Vitshumbi, they have no choice but to run away across the lake or through the forest,” Bisimwa said. "We are going to... silence the government forces. We are going to impose a ceasefire on them."
In his talks with Obasanjo, Gen Nkunda said he would support a peace process with the government. He also agreed to cease-fire monitors as long as they did not include UN peacekeepers, whom he accuses of bias.
Obasanjo, Nigeria's former president, told reporters the discussions had gone "extremely well". However, he suggested concerted efforts would be needed: "It's like dancing the tango: you can't do it alone."
An estimated 250,000 people have been made homeless by weeks of fighting between rebels and government troops.
17 Nov Cholera hits Harare -250 deaths reported
Zimbabwe's capital could be in the throes of a full-blown cholera epidemic within days, according to medical authorities.
Reports said Harare's townships resemble war zones as scores perish from cholera, with as many as 250 people reported to have died from the disease so far.
The spread of the disease has been hastened by Zimbabwe’s economic implosion. Township dwellers have not had running tap water in more than two years. There are no chemicals to purify water. Sewer lines are in a state of disrepair, and raw sewage flows across Harare township streets.
Sources said Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF politburo was stunned by a report this week on the spread of the disease. Details of the report are a closely guarded secret, but it's believed at least 10 people are dying of cholera every day.
A doctor at a Harare hospital described the pandemic as "a disaster of unimaginable proportions".
"People are dying like rats, yet propagandists in the government are claiming that only 25 people have died. Patients come here every day, and some of them die without receiving treatment because we don't have even basic supplies like gloves,” the doctor said.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 16 Nov MDC toughens stance on joining Zimbabwe unity government
Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai has declared it will not join a proposed national unity government unless the constitutional framework is put in place and ministerial portfolios are equitably distributed.
MDC vice-president Thokozani Khupe (pictured) told journalists in Harare that the party had resolved not to join the unity government until all "unresolved issues" regarding control of powerful ministerial posts, distribution of gubernatorial posts, ambassadorships and other top government posts have been concluded.
"Neither Robert Mugabe nor ZANU PF has the legitimacy to form a government.The SADC resolution does not bestow Mugabe with the right to form a government," said Khupe.
"In the event that any illegitimate government is formed the MDC will not be part to it. It will peacefully and constitutionally and democratically mobilise and campaign against the illegitimate government," she said.
Analysts noted that the statement on Friday, by the national council of Tsvangirai's MDC faction did not lay emphasis on the key Home Affairs Ministry which has become a major bone of contention in power-sharing talks between the MDC and Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF.
The ministry was the focus of a summit last Sunday of the Southern African Development Community which recommended that the MDC and ZANU-PF share control of the police ministry.
Another issue on the table concerns the distribution of the governorships of Zimbabwe's 10 provinces, two of which include metropolitan Harare, the capital, and Bulawayo, the second city.
The MDC national council declared itself "desirous of achieving finality to the current dispute given the economic meltdown and the massive suffering of the people of Zimbabwe reflected in entrenched poverty, the collapse of public health, education, transport, water and (the) energy crisis, monetary
policy dislocation and supersonic inflation."
But it reaffirmed statements by Tsvangirai and Secretary General Tendai Biti rejecting SADC resolutions in recent days, in particular the resolution issued by the Nov. 9 summit saying the government should be formed immediately even in the absence of a constitutional foundation, and
recommending that MDC and ZANU-PF ministers share control of Home Affairs.
ZANU-PF Chief Parliamentary Whip Joram Gumbo called Tsvangirai's position regrettable.
Last Wednesday ZANU PF asked Mugabe to form an inclusive government and to invite the opposition MDC to join in line with the SADC resolution.
Meanwhile, Botswana has said it will not recognise President Mugabe's Zimbabwe government if the power-sharing crisis is not resolved within six months.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Tanzania |
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 13 Nov Tanzanian man arrested for trying to sell albino wife
A Tanzanian man accused of trying to sell his albino wife has been arrested following a tip off to the police.
The man, described as a fisherman, was allegedly planning to sell his wife to two Congolese businessmen for around $3,000.
Rukwa regional police commander Isunto Damian Mantage said the man was arrested following a tip-off from an informer. His wife was not aware that he was planning to sell her off, police say.
Albinos have been living in fear in Tanzania after a series of killings due to a belief their body parts can make magic potions more effective. At least 27 people with albinism have been killed since March, including a seven-month old baby.
President Jakaya Kikwete (pictured) has ordered a police crackdown on those involved in the killings, and 170 witchdoctors have since been arrested. .
Recent attacks on Tanzanian albinos have been linked to witchdoctors who are peddling the belief that potions made from an albino's legs, hair, hands, and blood can make a person rich. Albinism affects one in 20,000 people worldwide, but in Tanzania the prevalence appears to be much higher.
The Albino Association of Tanzania says that although just 4,000 albinos are officially registered in the country, they believe the actual number could be as high as 173,000. A census is now underway to verify the figures.
13 Nov Foreign forces cited in DRC conflict
Foreign forces are being drawn into the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to reports.
A report in the BBC says eyewitnesses reported seeing Angolan and Zimbabwean troops were on the ground. This has renewed fears that the fighting will see a re-run of the five-year Congolese war, which involved nine nations, before it ended in 2003.
A resident of Goma, who asked to remain anonymous for his own safety, told the press that there are soldiers supporting the Congolese government in the town who are Angolans.
"We are seeing soldiers wearing Congolese army uniform here in town but they are not speaking the same language like us. They are unable to speak French, Swahili or Lingala - that is bizarre," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
Angola denies sending troops into DR Congo, although says it would support the government if called upon to do so by the regional grouping, the Southern African Development Community.
During the last war, Congolese government forces supported by troops from Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia, who were fighting rebels backed by Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 12 Nov Mbeki appeal to scrap ruling in Zuma case quashed
Thabo Mbeki (pictured) the former South African President has lost an attempt to quash a ruling saying he meddled in the prosecution of governing ANC party leader, Jacob Zuma.
The Constitutional Court rejected his urgent appeal to scrap the judgement, which Mbeki had called "vexatious, scandalous and prejudicial".
Zuma's corruption trial was dismissed by Judge Chris Nicholson in September on a technicality. He said it appeared that Mbeki had colluded with prosecutors against Zuma as part of the "titanic power struggle" within the African National Congress.
Last month, prosecutors were given leave to appeal the trial's dismissal. Zuma, who is almost certain to become president after general elections next year, has denied charges of graft, money-laundering and racketeering.
The ANC controversially forced Mbeki from his position as president shortly after the ruling. Mbeki lost the ANC leadership to Zuma last year.
12 Nov Egypt told to stop shooting migrants
Human Rights Watch an international lobby group has called on Egypt to stop shooting African migrants as they cross the country's border into Israel.
Egyptian border guards have shot dead at least 32 African refugees and migrants since June 2007, according to Human Rights Watch’s 90-page report.
Around 13,000 people, mainly Sudanese and Eritreans, have crossed since 2006. Israel has also violated refugees' rights, HRW says, including forcibly returning dozens of them to Egypt.
"They are not safe in Egypt. Assurances are worthless," said HRW's Joe Stork in remarks to AFP news agency.
Egypt has said its tactics on the border are part of its strategy to counter terrorism and smuggling, but the report says there is no suggestion the migrants who had been shot posed any threat to border guards.
"There is no evidence, and Egyptian officials have not claimed, that in any of the known cases where Egyptian border guards killed or wounded migrants and refugees, they fired in self-defence," the report said.
Furthermore, the HRW report says many migrants say they are leaving Egypt because of racism against black Africans there and "frequent" violent treatment including from the authorities, the report says.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 10 Nov Miriam Makeba dies in Italy
Miriam Makeba (pictured) the South African singing legend has died after being taken ill in Italy. Sources said she died of a heart attack.
Makeba (76) had just taken part in a concert near the southern town of Caserta, when she was taken ill.
The concert was on behalf of Roberto Saviano, the author of an expose of the Camorra mafia whose life has subsequently been threatened.
Makeba, who was born in Johannesburg on 4 March 1932 was a leading symbol in the struggle against apartheid. Her music career started in the 1950s as she mixed jazz with traditional South African songs.
She came to international stardom in 1959 during a tour of the United States with the South African group, the Manhattan Brothers. She was forced into exile soon after when her passport was revoked after starring in an anti-apartheid documentary and did not return to her native country until Nelson Mandela was released from prison.
Makeba appeared on Paul Simon's Graceland tour in 1987 and in 1992 had a leading role in the film Sarafina! Makeba was the first black African woman to win a Grammy Award, which she shared with Harry Belafonte in 1965.
After her divorce from fellow South African musician, Hugh Masekela, she married American civil rights activist, Stokely Carmichael.
10 Nov MDC rejects Sadc compromise plan
Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of Zimbabwe’s opposition party, MDC, has rejected a compromise plan endorsed by Sadc aimed at breaking the country's political deadlock.
A summit of southern African leaders had told Zimbabwe's rival parties they should share control of the disputed home affairs ministry which has been the main bone of contention between Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-pf and MDC.
The Sadc recommendation came at the end of a day of talks on Sunday in Johannesburg. The summit also said it could send peacekeeping forces into the DR Congo.
Addressing the press, Tsvangirai said: "This issue of co-sharing does not work. We have said so ourselves, we have rejected it, and that's the position. There is no agreement to co-sharing, to rotation, to swapping of ministries."
Furthermore, Tsvangirai said his dispute with Robert Mugabe was about more than who controls the home affairs ministry, which has the police force under its command.
"It is about giving the responsibility to the party that won an election and has compromised its position to share a government with a party that lost," he said.
Tsvangirai argued that since Mugabe's Zanu-PF party had control of the ministries of defence and state security, his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) should control the police.
South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, who chaired the summit, said an agreement on power-sharing "remains the only vehicle to help extricate Zimbabwe from her socio-economic challenges".
Zimbabwe is suffering from severe food shortages and rampant inflation.
Tsvangirai has warned that a million Zimbabweans could starve to death in a year if the political deadlock continues.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 07 Nov MDC accuses Mugabe’s party of ‘orgy of brutality’
Renewed violence in Zimbabwe has paralysed hopes of negotiations to end the country’s political crisis, says the main opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change.
The party has accused Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF for an "orgy of brutality" across Zimbabwe.
A statement released by the MDC ahead of regional talks in South Africa this weekend said Mugabe's party had "unleashed a new orgy of brutality and assaults across the whole country".
"In short, Zanu-PF killed the dialogue despite the hopes, patience and expectations of the people of Zimbabwe," the statement said.
An earlier MDC statement said a Zanu-PF militia group had attacked at least 25 MDC supporters in the capital, Harare, last week. Three days later, state security forces had raided homes belonging to MDC supporters and arrested nine people, including a two-year-old child, it added.
There has been no immediate comment from the Zimbabwean authorities on the allegations.
Meanwhile, South Africa's government has said it will take a tough stance at the Sunday summit which is expected to be attended by both Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured).
The two men signed a deal to share power in September, following disputed elections and widespread violence earlier this year. However, the two sides have not been able to agree on how to share cabinet posts.
The key sticking point at the latest round of talks was control of the home affairs ministry, which is responsible for the police. A spokesman for the South African government, Themba Maseko, said the host country wanted to ensure a deal was reached.
"The failure of the parties to agree is something that is becoming a major political hindrance to the stability that we desire," he said. "It's government's view that the heads of state must now take urgent steps to make sure political solutions are found," Maseko said.
Zimbabwe is facing severe food shortages and rampant inflation. Water, fuel and medicine are also in short supply. An outbreak of cholera around Harare and closure of operating theatres in major hospitals has taken its toll on the health of Zimbabweans who once enjoyed one of the highest standards in Africa.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - USA |
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 05 Nov Obama: first black US president
Barack Obama (pictured) has been elected the first black president of the United States, in an election that registered the highest turn out in America’s election history.
Obama captured the key battleground states of Pennsylvania and Ohio, before breaking through the winning threshold of 270 electoral college votes at 0400 GMT, when projections showed he had also taken California and a clutch of other states.
Analysts say the result will have a profound impact on the US political culture.
Obama, whose father was born in Kenya, appeared with his family, and his running mate Joe Biden, before a crowd of tens of thousands in Grant Park, Chicago to acknowledge his victory and thank millions of voters who voted for a Democratic government.
Many people in the vast crowd, which stretched back far into the Chicago night, wept as Mr Obama spoke.
"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer," Obama said. "It's been a long time coming, but tonight... change has come to America."
Obama’s rival, John McCain, accepted defeat, and called on his supporters to lend the next president their goodwill.
Obama had warm words for his family, announcing to his daughters: "Sasha and Malia, I love you both more than you can imagine, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House."
But he added: "Even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.
"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. But America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there."
Hours after Obama's victory was announced, crowds were still celebrating on the streets of Washington DC and Obama's hometown of Chicago.
Then came the news that he had also seized Florida, Virginia and Colorado - all of which voted Republican in 2004 - turning swathes of the map from red to blue.
At 1100 GMT, Obama's share of the popular vote stood at 52.3%, compared with Mr McCain's 46.4%.
Exit polls suggest the economy was the major deciding factor for six out of 10 voters. Nine out of 10 said the candidates' race was not important to their vote, according to media reports.
Several states reported very high turnout. It was predicted 130 million Americans, or more, would vote - more than for any election since 1960.
Many people said they felt they had voted in a historic election - and for many African-Americans the moment was especially poignant.
*Kenya has declared Thursday (6 November 2008) a public holiday to celebrate Obama's victory.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - DRC Congo |
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 03 Nov UN relief for displaced DRC people trickles in
Relief for around 250,000 people displaced by fighting in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo is at hand, according to UN reports.
The 12-vehicle convoy, escorted by UN troops, has arrived in the town of Rutshuru, carrying medical supplies and water purification tablets, but not desperately needed food.
The UN said it hoped food convoys could follow.
"We are sending a team to see if it is possible to bring things to Rutshuru in the coming days," said World Food Programme national programme officer Theo Kapuku.
Last week, Gen Nkunda's forces routed the Congolese military in areas around Goma, the capital of the restive North Kivu province.
A fragile ceasefire is now in place following an undertaking by Gen Nkunda that he will guarantee "humanitarian corridors" for the convoy through rebel lines.
However, other reports said Gen Nkunda also said on Sunday he would drive the government from power unless it agreed to direct talks.
The DRC government led by Joseph Kabila has always rejected any moves towards talks with Gen Nkunda, insisting that he has no claim to any legitimacy as he is the pawn of the Rwandese government.
Reports say while as many as 50,000 displaced people reached Goma, many others have tried to return to their homes on foot through rebel-held territory.
In a weekend of shuttle diplomacy, the UK and French foreign ministers David Miliband and Bernard Kouchner met both Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Kigali and Congolese President Kabila in Kinshasa.
The envoys also held talks with African Union officials in the Tanzanian capital Dar-es-Salaam, aimed at drawing up a blueprint for regional peace talks.
03 Nov ANC breakaway party becomes official
The South African Democratic Congress (SADC), a breakaway faction of South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) is due to register as a party with the Independent Electoral Commission, today.
Led by Mosiuoa Lekota, the former defence minister and ANC chairman, SADC is formed from ex-ANC members who left the party after former President Thabo Mbeki stepped down in September.
At a national convention at the weekend the new party accused the ANC of undermining South Africa's democracy.
Lekota, accused the ANC of abusing its power for personal gain and said his group was "ready to fight as messengers and representatives of hope for the people".
ANC leader Jacob Zuma has questioned the motives of the ANC dissidents forming the new party and called them "bigamists" for seeking to join up with opposition parties so soon after leaving the ANC.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - DR Congo |
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 30 Oct UN concern over plight of DRC refugees
Tens of thousands of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are caught up in chaotic scenes in the city of Goma which has been overrun by rebel forces.
The UN says it is deeply concerned about the plight of people fleeing a rebel advance led by the Tutsi rebel CNDP leader, Laurent Nkunda (pictured) in the eastern part of the country.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned of a catastrophe in eastern Congo if the conflict there is not halted.
UK charity, Oxfam, and other aid agencies said they had decided to evacuate international staff from Goma, even though the renegade General, Laurent Nkunda, has declared a ceasefire on Wednesday night and urged others to do the same.
Oxfam said national staff had been advised to stay at home, but it was hoping to resume humanitarian work for more than 65,000 people in Goma's camps soon.
Another aid group, Merlin, said it had been unable to reach an estimated 150,000 people who had fled the chaos on Wednesday.
Retreating DRC soldiers have been blamed for causing chaotic scenes in the city of Goma, which was calm but tense early on Thursday.
While much of the criticism over the sharp escalation of violence in North Kivu has been levelled at troops loyal to General Nkunda, on the night of 29 October, government troops reportedly went on the rampage in Goma.
"Last night I was in my home with my family," said Stuart, a resident who fled to Gisenyi in Rwanda. "Government troops were shooting outside, in the street, all over the neighbourhood. They were shooting heavy guns and breaking into people's houses, and killing people, and looting; I saw them. It felt like anarchy, there was no law."
The UN children's agency Unicef said the latest bout of fighting had resulted in a "very bad" humanitarian situation.
"We're talking tens of thousands of people who have fled towards Goma and thousands more who are fleeing north to a town called Kane Byunga," Unicef's Jaya Murthy told the BBC's World Today programme. "Many of the population that have fled are staying in vacant schools, in churches and outside."
Ibrahima Coly, head of the UN Refugee Agency's Goma office said around 30,000 displaced people (IDPs) had arrived the previous day at an established IDP camp in Goma but quickly fled again as panic spread across the town. "This [30 October] morning the town was deserted, shops are closed," Coly said.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 28 Oct Sadc leaders fail to break Zimbabwe crisis deadlock
A summit of African leaders failed to end Zimbabwe’s political deadlock after 13 hours of talks with Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in Harare, on Monday.
South Africa's Motlanthe as well as Mozambican President Armando Emilio Guebuza, Swaziland Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini and Angolan Foreign Minister Assuncao dos Anjos, who attended the talks have recommended that a larger, regional summit should be held soon to try to reach a deal.
After 13 hours of talks, the group issued a statement calling for a summit of all 15 of Sadc's leaders "as a matter of urgency".
Asked what would happen if a full regional summit failed, Sadc's executive secretary, Tomaz Salamao (pictured) said: "I can assure you that we will reach an agreement so that option is not relevant."
However, Lovemore Madhuku, chairman of the National Constitutional Assembly lobby group, told the press that talks were proving very inconclusive.
"I think [I] don't see them coming to an agreement now," Madhuku said. "It's now beginning to show what we have always suspected - that the two sides are irreconcilable."
Tsvangirai has threatened to pull out of the deal, under which he would be named prime minister.
Arthur Mutambara, leader of a breakaway faction of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said he expected the regional bloc to find a way to resolve the differences over the cabinet posts.
"The options are limited. We must make sure the September 15 agreement works," Mutambara said. "There is no way Mugabe will go it alone, and Mutambara and Tsvangirai can't walk away."
Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in a first-round presidential vote in March, when the MDC also forced the ZANU-PF into the minority in parliament for the first time since it took power on independence in 1980.
Analysts said the key sticking point in Monday's talks, mediated by former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, was control of the home affairs ministry, which controls the police.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe police arrested more than 50 people outside the conference hall in which talks were being held. The protesters were demanding an immediate resolution to the current political impasse facing the country
Zimbabwe is facing severe food shortages, both in the countryside and in the urban areas, and the country has the world's highest inflation rate. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday said that it was "urgent to resolve the ongoing political impasse so that recovery can begin".
In a statement issued in New York, Ban Ki-moon said he was concerned that "the humanitarian situation in the country may worsen in the course of 2008 and 2009".
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 27 Oct Zimbabwe power sharing talks underway in Harare
Zimbabwe’s power-sharing talks between Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-pf and the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) are underway in Harare, the capital.
Kgalema Motlanthe (pictured) the new South African President is attending the talks in his capacity as the Sadc chairman, along with Thabo Mbeki who has been mediating the Zimbabwe crisis talks.
A full complement of a committee of presidents that make up the Sadc troika on Politics, Defence and Security, including chair of the organ, King Mswati III of Swaziland, are also at the talks.
The power-sharing deal became deadlocked over the allocation of key cabinet posts, six weeks after Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara who leads the other faction of the MDC shook hands in Harare and signed what appeared to be an historic power-sharing agreement.
The deal specifies that Zanu-PF should have 15 ministries, Tsvangirai's MDC 13 and a breakaway MDC faction three. The deadlock is centred on the question of which party gets responsibility for the home affairs ministry, which controls the police.
Tsvangirai's MDC says President Mugabe and his party, Zanu-PF, seem intent on controlling all the important ministries and sidelining the MDC.
Zanu-PF’s chief negotiator Patrick Chinamasa told the state-owned Herald newspaper that today’s summit would "end the saga over the allocation of ministries to bring finality one way or another".
Addressing a rally of more than 5 000 MDC supporters in Marondera, 70 km east of Harare, over the week end, Tsvangirai, who is the Prime Minister-designate, promised he would not settle for crumbs in the power-sharing talks.
"Our commitment is to an equitable power-sharing arrangement, otherwise we are not going to be party to it and we may as well look for alternative political options," Tsvangirai said on Saturday. "When it comes to negotiations, no-one is to bully us."
Although Mbeki remains the facilitator of the talks, some observers believe he may have lost some of his clout since being forced to resign as South African president just days after brokering the deal.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Djibouti |
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 24 Oct Djibouti threatens war on Eritrea over border dispute
Djibouti's President Omah Guelleh (pictured) has threatened to go to war with Eritrea unless the UN acts to resolve growing tension over a border dispute.
Djibouti has accused Eritrea of invading its territory and its ambassador to the UN told the press that Eritrea had been avoiding mediation.
Appealing to the UN Security Council on Thursday, to help resolve the dispute, President Guelleh said: "Continued inaction in whatever form not only will encourage but will benefit Eritrea's attitude. This would only give my country one option, the option of war."
However, the Eritrean ambassador to the UN, Araya Desta, said his country wanted the cultivation of good neighbourly relations with Djibouti. "Contrary to the claims made, Eritrea has not taken any land that belongs to Djibouti and it does not have any territorial ambitions," Desta said.
Furthermore, Desta accused Ethiopia of moving troops to high ground on the border of the three countries. "Ethiopia has built from the Djiboutian side a network of winding roads up the mount and deployed offensive long-range artillery and heavy equipment directed at Eritrea," he said.
Clashes between Eritrea and Djibouti earlier this year left nine Djiboutian troops dead and 60 injured. In June the UN Security Council called on Eritrea and Djibouti to agree to a ceasefire, stressing that Eritrea should pull its forces back.
Both France and the US have troops in Djibouti. Its border with Eritrea is at a key strategic point on the Red Sea.
Analysts said France, the former colonial power in Djibouti, is working on presenting a plan to the Security Council reiterating demands for Eritrea to withdraw its forces.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 22 Oct Zuma urges resolution of Zimbabwe crisis ‘for the sake of country’
Jacob Zuma (pictured) the leader of South Africa's ruling party African National Congress (ANC) has called for Zimbabwe's rival leaders to implement a power-sharing package for the sake of the country.
In a speech in Washington, on Tuesday, Zuma criticised Robert Mugabe’s government for hindering the talks by denying MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai a passport to travel to Swaziland.
"Now you cannot have this kind of a situation when you are dealing with such an important matter,” Zuma said. “One of the very key figures cannot attend because he does not have a passport. I think that sounds weird."
Tsvangirai has not been granted a full passport for nearly a year and is only allowed to travel on emergency travel documents valid for a single trip.
MDC spokesman, Nelson Chamisa, on Tuesday said his party might boycott another regional summit geared toward saving the power-sharing agreement, set for next Monday in Harare.
Zuma, who is expected to be elected South African president next year, said the accord can be implemented if the two sides want to do so. "If we have a package that has been agreed upon, hailed by the world, why should we have difficulty implementing it? After all, this is not a permanent arrangement. We are talking about an interim arrangement. Why should it be so difficult?" he said.
Mugabe’s Zanu-pf and the two factions of the MDC reached an accord on a coalition government last month. But talks on implementing the agreement have broken down over which party will control major government ministries.
Meanwhile, Zuma downplayed plans by former South African defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota to break away from the ANC and start a new party. Zuma called it the "essence of democracy," and said "Everything is fine in South Africa."
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 21 Oct MDC calls for fresh elections if power-sharing talks stall
Zimbabwe's main opposition party Movement for Democratic Change has called for new elections, if power-sharing talks remain deadlocked.
In an interview with the BBC today, MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa (pictured) said polls are the "only way forward."
Chamisa said the talks were in a very precarious position. "People are suffering. The humanitarian situation... is dire. We need to respond to these challenges but we can't if we are locked up in endless negotiations," he told the BBC.
A summit scheduled for Monday in Swaziland to discuss the deadlocked power-sharing agreement was postponed for a week after the MDC insisted that its leader Morgan Tsvangirai be granted a passport.
Zanu-PF negotiator Patrick Chinamasa blamed Tsvangirai for the delay. In an interview with Zimbabwe’s state-owned Herald newspaper, he said: "Tsvangirai's failure to come to Swaziland seems to us to reflect his own reluctance or hesitancy to finalise and conclude discussions on the formation of an inclusive government."
However, neighbouring Botswana which criticised Mugabe’s government for issuing Tsvangirai with a travel document, instead of a passport, has also called for new elections.
Tsvangirai has not been granted a normal passport for months, and requires emergency travel documents every time he leaves the country, in what the opposition leader says is an attempt to curtail his efforts to mobilise international pressure against the government.
The power-sharing deal, brokered by former South African President Thabo Mbeki on behalf of SADC, retains Mugabe as president while Tsvangirai will become prime minister and Arthur Mutambara, who heads a breakaway faction of the MDC, deputy prime minister.
Mutambara says he fully supports Tsvangirai's quest to control the finance and home affairs portfolios and has vowed never to join any government in which his rival is excluded.
In an interview yesterday, Mutambara dispelled rumours that if the negotiations to give effect
to a unity government pact signed on September 15 failed, he would join Mugabe in a government without Tsvangirai.
"If Mugabe has any illusion that he can set up a government unilaterally, then we have news for him. We won't be part of that government and we will call for its total condemnation and complete isolation of any such criminal government," Mutambara said.
"I am fighting in Morgan's corner. I am asking for finance and home affairs to go to Morgan," added Mutambara.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 18 Oct Zimbabwe asks Sadc to intervene in stalled power-sharing talks
Zimbabwe’s political crisis is being referred to regional grouping, Sadc, after four days of negotiations between Robert Mugabe and opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai ended in deadlock.
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader, Tsvangirai (pictured) told the press that the parties had "failed to agree on the allocation of ministerial positions" in a new government of national unity.
"We believe that for an inclusive government to work, the principles of equitable sharing of power... should be embraced. It appears we are far apart on this principle," Tsvangirai said.
Furthermore, he said both parties had agreed to call upon the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) and the African Union "to use their collective wisdom to help unlock the deadlock".
"We are not walking away from this. We hope that with the spirit of co-operation, there will be finality," Tsvangirai added.
Mugabe said the talks had gone "very well in the wrong direction", adding that a full statement would be made on Saturday. The leader of a smaller MDC faction, Arthur Mutambara, who was also present at the talks, said he "saw partisanship and bankrupt ambition disrupting the discourse".
However, Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president who is mediating the talks said he was optimistic. He said the outstanding issues were "capable of solving themselves quite easily", adding that Sadc officials would discuss Zimbabwe at a meeting in Swaziland on Monday.
President Mugabe had reportedly told the MDC he had allocated the main ministries, including defence, home, foreign affairs, and justice, to Zanu-PF.
Tsvangirai later told Mbeki that 10 cabinet positions needed to be revisited at the negotiations, officials said.
As well as finance, the MDC also insisted it should have home affairs - and control of the police - if Zanu-PF had defence.
According to the original power-sharing deal agreed last month, 15 ministries are to be allocated to Zanu-PF, 13 to the MDC, and three to a smaller MDC faction led by Mutambara.
Meanwhile, the US has said it would consider further sanctions against Mugabe and his government if the deal collapsed.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 17 Oct Zimbabwe power-sharing deal still unresolved
Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-pf and Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC failed to resolve their differences over the allocation of key ministries in the Zimbabwe power-sharing deal gazetted last month.
Reports said a fierce wrangle on Thursday over which party will control key ministries in the new government, derailed hopes raised on Wednesday when the leaders of all parties told the press that a deal was imminent.
Although the parties are meeting today, analysts see little hope of a breakthrough in the protracted negotiations.
Mugabe (84) and his younger rivals in the splintered MDC last month signed a landmark unity agreement to end nearly eight years of political hostility and unmitigated economic recession.
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki, appointed by SADC as mediator in the talks is now under pressure to come up with a new plan to end a complex political wrangle.
Mugabe told the press on Thursday night that Zanu-pf was still keen on breaking the deadlock.
"We had quite some good discussion but we are not through yet and we do hope we will conclude tomorrow (Friday)," he said as he left the Rainbow Towers hotel, venue for the talks.
"They have their position, we have our own position," He said, "the other MDC has its own position and we will also be comparing these positions. They maintain their position just as we do ours. The need is therefore compromise on both sides."
However, MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said there were still sharp differences over 10 key ministries, contrary to last week's claims by Zanu-PF that the dispute has been narrowed to a single ministry - Finance.
"We have reached a deadlock on the key outstanding issues, the issue of the allocation of ministries," Chamisa said. "What we seek to achieve is equitable distribution of the key ministries and responsibilities not just for the sake of power but for the sake of making sure that we give the power sharing deal a chance."
Arthur Mutambara (pictured) the leader of the smaller faction of the MDC accused both Zanu-PF and Tsvangirai’s MDC of putting too much emphasis over ministries at the expense of the suffering masses.
"It doesn't really matter whether a minister is coming from Tsvangirai, Mutambara or Mugabe," he said. "In this government we seek to establish, there would be no such thing as MDC minister, Zanu PF minister. There would only be one minister for the people of Zimbabwe."
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 16 Oct Zimbabwe power-sharing deal back on track
Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on Wednesday said it was close to clinching a deal with Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF party on how to share key Cabinet posts in a power-sharing government.
MDC chief negotiator Tendai Biti (pictured) told reporters at the close of a second round of talks on Wednesday that with "hard prayers" overnight,
agreement could be reached when the talks mediated by ex-South African President Thabo Mbeki resume today.
Asked when talks could be concluded Biti said: "History is being made, mountains are being moved and things are happening. If we pray hard tonight something will happen tomorrow."
Tsvangirai, who appeared confident as he left Harare Rainbow Towers hotel, venue of the talks said: "The proceedings have been going . . . we are continuing tomorrow, because there are some matters still outstanding."
Arthur Mutambara, who heads a breakaway faction of the MDC, said the three parties had had a "long and productive day", adding: "We are very close (to
a deal)."
Mugabe also told reporters as he left the hotel, that negotiating parties had made progress in resolving their differences and would finish talks on Thursday. "We made some progress. We finish tomorrow (Thursday)," he said.
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki returned to Harare on Monday to attempt a salvage operation of the Zimbabwe power-sharing deal that he brokered nearly a month ago between Zanu-pf and the two factions of the MDC.
The deal had looked in danger of failing after Mugabe last weekend unilaterally allocated the key ministries of defence, home and foreign
affairs, information, local government and provisionally finance to his party.
Tsvangirai reacted by threatening to quit the deal if Mugabe stuck to his decision to take all the key ministries.
Under the September 15 power-sharing agreement Mugabe will remain president while Tsvangirai becomes prime minister and Mutambara deputy prime minister.
The agreement gives 15 Cabinet posts to ZANU PF, 13 to the Tsvangirai-led MDC and three to Mutambara's faction.
Zimbabwe’s civic groups, church leaders and analysts have criticised political leaders for bickering over Cabinet positions, while the country was plunging deeper into economic crisis.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 15 Oct ANC split widens as ex-premier quits to join new party
Mbhazima Shilowa (pictured) the ex-premier of South Africa's Gauteng province has resigned from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to join those calling for a new party.
Shilowa, who resigned as premier in protest at the ousting last month of Thabo Mbeki as president, said the rebels, led by ex-Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, would hold a convention on 2 November.
Shilowa broke the news of his defection at a press conference in Pretoria.
"I have decided to resign my membership from the ANC with immediate effect and to lend my support to the initiative by making myself available on a full-time basis as a convener and volunteer-in-chief together with comrade Mosiuoa. I have taken this decision knowing fully well that I will be vilified," he said.
The ANC suspended Lekota this week, saying it would take similar action against anyone else from the party who threatened to establish an opposition movement. Lekota had accused the ANC's new leadership of arrogance, saying a split within the movement was "inevitable".
Analysts said the rift within the ANC is mainly, driven by splits between Mbeki's supporters and those of ANC leader, Jacob Zuma who won a bitter contest to replace Mbeki last December.
Kgalema Motlanthe was sworn as interim president, following Mbeki’s resignation. However, Zuma is favourite to take over after elections next year.
Observers said a new party in South Africa is unlikely to become a major power in unless it attracts disenchanted political heavyweights. The new party would discuss constitutional reform and in particular whether, in the light of what happened to Mr Mbeki, South Africa's president should now be directly elected.
On Tuesday, Zuma described party dissidents as charlatans, and said the ANC would act "very decisively" to rid the movement of what he described as factionalism. "History has been extremely unkind to those who break away from the ANC," he said.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 14 Oct Mbeki meets Mugabe, Tsvangirai over stalled Zimbabwe deal
Thabo Mbeki (pictured) South Africa's ex-President, is holding talks in Harare with Zimbabwe's political leaders, in an attempt to salvage last month's power-sharing deal.
Reports say Mbeki is meeting Robert Mugabe and the two leaders of the MDC factions, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara in a Harare hotel.
Negotiations stalled after Mugabe allocated key ministries to his Zanu-PF party at the weekend, prompting Tsvangirai to say his party would pull out of the proposed power-sharing government.
Before the talks began, Mbeki's spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga said he was confident the former South African president would be able to rescue the deal, which he brokered just before stepping down from office in last month.
"We are convinced that we should be able in the end, no matter how long it takes, to reach a conclusion," said Ratshitanga.
This is Mbeki's first direct intervention since he resigned. Analysts say it is not clear if he will still wield the same clout in the negotiations.
Tsvangirai has publicly stated that he wants all cabinet positions to be revisited in discussions with Mbeki after Mugabe gave the main ministries, including defence, home, foreign affairs, and justice, to Zanu-PF.
On the other hand Zanu-PF says only one ministry - finance - is up for discussion.
"As far as we are concerned, the only contention is the Ministry of Finance," Zanu-PF negotiator Patrick Chinamasa told the state-run Herald newspaper.
According to the deal - which allocates 14 ministries to Zanu-PF, 13 to Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and three to a smaller MDC faction - only Zanu-PF has a ministerial seat vacant.
Last Sunday, Tsvangirai said that if Zanu-PF wanted the defence ministry, the MDC must have home affairs, which controls the police.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 12 Oct Zimbabwe power-sharing deal collapses as Mugabe forms unilateral cabinet
Robert Mugabe (pictured) has broken the spirit of the Government of National Unity in Zimbabwe with the opposition party MDC, by forming a new cabinet unilaterally.
The MDC has denounced Mugabe's move, said to have been urged by his cronies in ZANU-PF and hardline war veterans, as a "giant act of madness."
Mugabe gave ZANU-PF 14 ministries, including the influential defence, home, foreign affairs, justice, local government and media portfolios.
ZANU-PF has also retained control of the army, police and other state security apparatus.
Tsvangirai's MDC has been given 13 portfolios, including constitutional and parliamentary affairs, economic planning and investment promotion, labour and social welfare, sport, arts and culture and science and technology development.
A splinter opposition grouping led by Arthur Mutambara will be in charge of education, regional integration and international co-operation and industry and commerce, according to the report.
The shock announcement came just hours after negotiators for Mugabe, main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC party and the head of a splinter MDC group urged former South African president Thabo Mbeki to once again resolve the latest deadlock.
MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa urged fresh regional mediation to end the ruinous political crisis, which has added to the plight of citizens grappling with acute shortages of food and basic goods and a freefalling currency.
"There is a deadlock and it can only be broken through SADC (the Southern African Development Community) and its appointed mediator, Mbeki," he said.
The Mbeki-brokered power-sharing pact was signed on September 15. It came after the ruling party lost control of parliament in March elections for the first time and Mugabe's re-election in a controversial second round boycotted by Tsvangirai.
Mbeki will head for Zimbabwe Monday on a new mediation bid, his spokesman said.
"He's continuing with the mediation process," Mukoni Ratshitanga said. "We're going to Zimbabwe on Monday to discuss those very matters that are holding up the operationalisation of the power-sharing deal."
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 10 Oct Zimbabwe power-sharing talks suspended
Zimbabwe’s power-sharing talks have been suspended amid calls by one of the principal negotiators, that former South African president Thabo Mbeki, should intervene.
Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) leader of the main faction of the Movement for Democratic Change yesterday suspended the talks with Zanu PF and called for Mbeki, Sadc and the African Union (AU) to come in and resolve the impasse, as guarantors of the deal signed on September 15.
The stumbling block between Zanu-pf and the two factions of the MDC is the the allocation of cabinet posts.
Tsvangirai, prime minister-designate in the inclusive government, told the press at his Strathaven home in Harare that after engaging with Zanu PF at both the negotiators' and principals' level, there was a deadlock on the allocation of ministries.
"There has been no progress made on this entire section as ministries can only be negotiated comprehensively and not individually," Tsvangirai
said. "It is not true to say that we are left with two ministries (Finance and Home Affairs) to negotiate as any agreement reached on those two particular ministries would have an effect on the allocation of the rest of the ministries."
He added: "In this regard we have declared a deadlock and therefore the process cannot move forward except in the presence of the facilitator (Mbeki)."
Robert Mugabe's spokesperson George Charamba claimed on Saturday that there were only two outstanding ministries to be allocated after the 84-year-old leader met with Tsvangirai and the leader of the other formation of the MDC, Arthur Mutambara.
Furthermore, Tsvangirai said Zanu PF lacked sincerity and commitment to work with the MDC as demonstrated by the government's failure to issue him with a new passport.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 08 Oct ANC split looms amid deep divisions within party
Mosiuoa Lekota (pictured) the former South African Defence Minister has warned that some members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) may leave the party.
Lekota is one of the ministers who handed in their resignations after President Thabo Mbeki who was forced to step down last month.
"Today we are serving divorce papers," he said today, announcing a conference in the next few weeks where a decision may be taken to split from the ANC.
General elections are due in South Africa in the first half of next year.
Analysts say Lekota’s move underlines the expanding division within the party, between supporters of Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, who won a bitter party contest to become ANC leader last year.
Lekota, known as "Terror" because of his prowess on the football field, is a former ANC chairman.
Speaking to the press Lekota said: "We intend within a short period of time... to call a national convention of comrades or something of that nature to determine how to proceed to defend democracy in this country. If the leadership of the ANC continues in their arrogance... we will proceed with the next step."
He did not refer to Zuma by name but condemned tribalism and ANC leaders who "stand on public platforms singing songs that advocate violence." Zuma's trademark song is the apartheid-era anthem "Bring Me My Machine -Gun".
Last week, Lekota wrote an open letter, in which he accused the new ANC leadership of damaging democracy. Supporters of Zuma have been accused of intimidating the judiciary during his recent legal problems.
Transport Minister Jeff Radebe responded by saying Lekota and those who supported him were free to leave the party.
Mbeki stood down after a judge suggested he may have interfered in the prosecution of Zuma on corruption charges.
Responding on Tuesday evening to rumours of a split, Zuma said he thought it would be short-lived. "I don't think it would have a very long life span, I would be surprised," he said. "You can't believe in the ANC and its policies so deeply, and then form an organisation that repeats the same policies, that would be funny."
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Kenya |
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 07 Oct Obama author detained in Kenya
Jerome Corsi (pictured) the American author of a highly critical book about US presidential candidate Barack Obama, has been detained in Kenya.
Kenyan authorities said Corsi, the author of The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality, was being held in the capital, Nairobi, because of a problem with his papers.
In a recent press release, Corsi who has been accused of a smear campaign against Obama, said he would "expose deep secret ties between between US Democratic presidential candidate Sen Barack Obama and a section of the Kenyan government leaders."
A senior Kenyan immigration official, told the press that authorities had picked Corsi up from his hotel on Tuesday because he did not have the necessary work permit.
The Obama campaign says Corsi has listed a number of false claims in relation to Kenya in his book - including that Sen Obama contributed $1m to Kenyan Prime Minister Rail Odinga during Odinga's presidential campaign.
07 Oct Shelling kills 17 people in Somali
At least 17 people were killed after shells were fired at the main market in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
Authorities say Islamist insurgents fired mortars at the presidential palace from positions in the Bakara market. Government troops and their Ethiopian allies responded and a shell landed in a busy part of the market.
Meanwhile, a landmine has killed a UN driver in the southern port of Merca. The attack comes as the UN has started to pull out its foreign staff from the town of Baidoa.
Baidoa, a strategic town on the main road from Mogadishu to Ethiopia, is one of the few parts of Somalia under government control. Human Right Watch said Somalia was the most ignored tragedy in the world.
07 Oct Angola arms trial opens in France
Forty-two people have gone on trial in Paris accused of involvement in illegal arms sales to Angola in the 1990s.
The two key suspects - French and Israeli-Russian businessmen - deny organising the sale of $790m worth of weapons to war-torn Angola.
One of the two, Arkady Gaydamak, is a candidate for mayor of Jerusalem. Other suspects, including the son of late French President Francois Mitterrand, are accused of "complicity in illegal trade" and taking bribes. The "Angola-gate" case has strained ties between France and Angola.
Angola had sent its lawyers to try to stop the trial, citing reasons of Angolan national security. Around 300,000 people died during a 27-year civil war between Angola's socialist government of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and the US-backed Unita rebels.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 05 Oct Mugabe and Tsvangirai fail to resolve impasse in talks
Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) the new Prime Minister under a Zimbabwe power-sharing agreement, have failed to reach agreement on a unity cabinet.
The two signed a power-sharing deal nearly three weeks ago after disputed presidential elections in June. However, the allocation of ministerial posts between Mugabe’s Zanu-pf and Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change has been the bone of contention.
Both sides said they would meet early next week to resume negotiations.
A spokesman for Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said the discussions had been "frank and realistic" but that negotiations remained deadlocked.
Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, said differences remained over who should hold the finance and home affairs portfolios. But the MDC said the disagreement was over the entire cabinet.
MDC spokesman, Nelson Chamisa, said the delay in forming a government was a threat to people's lives. "People are dying," he said. "The humanitarian response has to be activated and you need a functional government to do that."
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has confirmed he will continue his efforts to mediate the deadlock in Zimbabwe.
05 Oct Kidnapped Nigerian workers set free
Nineteen Nigerian oil workers who were kidnapped two weeks ago by the militant group, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) in the oil-producing Niger Delta have been set free.
Mend released a statement saying it was still keeping two British workers and a Ukrainian who were seized along with the Nigerian workers.
Unrest in the Niger Delta has led to a 20% cut in Nigeria's oil production. On Saturday, President Umaru Yar'Adua said the situation in the Niger Delta was a "nightmare", which was scaring away potential investors in the country.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 02 Oct MDC mull pulling out of deal with Zanu-pf
Robert Mugabe’s (pictured) insistence that his party, Zanu-pf, retain control of the key ministries of Finance, Home Affairs, Local Government and Justice in a power sharing government with the MDC has frustrated the opposition who are now mulling a withdrawal from the negotiations, sources said.
Following the collapse of the latest round of talks between Mugabe and Tsvangirai on Tuesday, reports said MDC elements are urging the party leadership to walk away from the unity deal if there are no concessions from ZANU PF.
“Talks will only resume once Zanu-PF agrees to conditions that ensure a fair sharing of cabinet posts in terms of the political agreement signed on September 15,” a source close to the negotiations said.
“There is intense debate among the party leadership on what to do next after yesterday's (Tuesday) failure by the two leaders to agree on the sharing of ministries. There are those who want out and we have those who want to give the deal a chance, so they're equally split on the next course of action,” the source said.
An analyst said given that the majority of MDC MPs are from urban constituencies that have borne the brunt of the country's economic crisis, the party was unlikely to concede to Zanu-pf’s attempts to hang on to the Local Government ministry.
The MDC controls almost all urban constituencies where supply of electricity is now down to four hours a day. Water shortages and sewage flowing through the streets of most towns and cities have become part of daily life. The living conditions for most Zimbabweans are becoming more and more intolerable.
Meanwhile, speculation is rife that Mugabe’s hand in the negotiations is being controlled by the top brass in Zimbabwe's security forces, who have threatened to resign en masse if any of their ministries are handed over to the MDC.
Sources said commanders met Mugabe at his State House in Harare early this week and told him in no uncertain terms that they cannot directly work under the opposition leaders, especially Tsvangirai, saying that such an arrangement would render the country ungovernable.
The security commanders, who included Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) Commander, General Constantine Chiwenga, Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) Commander, Lieutenant General Philip Valerio Sibanda, his Airforce counterpart Air Marshal Perence Shiri, Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri and Prisons Services Commissioner, Paradzayi Zimondi, are said to have accused the MDC leader of having a clear vendetta against most of them.
"They told Mugabe that they will all leave their jobs if he handed over their ministries. They complained that, after what happened in the past eight years, it would be best for them to quit their jobs. They said that Tsvangirai is itching to try them for the alleged brutalisation of him and other members of his party during the past few years," said a source within Zanu-pf.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 01 Oct Mugabe, Tsvangirai fail to agree on share out of ministries
Robert Mugabe and opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) failed to agree on a share-out of ministries in a government of national unity, during their meeting on Tuesday.
MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told the press that the deadlock had been referred back to former South African president Thabo Mbeki who mediated the agreement signed in September.
"As MDC, we refuse to be junior partners in the inclusive government," Chamisa said. "Any power-sharing is supposed to be a partnership of equals. As a result of this there has been a deadlock. The matter has been referred to the mediator."
Arthur Mutambara, the leader of a faction of the MDC and a signatory to the power sharing agreement did not attend the meeting after he was caught up in floods and his flight was cancelled in China, a party official said.
Mutambara was in China for the World Young Leaders Forum and should have flown to Zimbabwe on Sunday.
The impasse in the power-sharing agreement follows Mugabe's claim on Monday that a new government would be formed by the end of the week.
"Unfortunately, there has not been any movement on the part of Zanu PF who are insisting on taking all the powerful ministries against the spirit of a
power-sharing agreement," said Chamisa.
A source close to the negotiations said the standoff was over the local government, home affairs, foreign affairs and finance ministries.
"We are hoping that SADC (Southern African Development Community) who are the guarantors of this deal and the AU (African Union) will help us resolve this matter," said Chamisa.
On Monday, Mugabe said four ministries remained to be allocated and denied there was a deadlock. "We will be setting up government by the end of the week," Mugabe said on his return from the United Nations general assembly meeting in New York. We never said there was a deadlock."
Under the agreement signed by Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara on September 15, Mugabe will remain as head of state after nearly three decades in power, while Tsvangirai is to take up a new post of prime minister.
The deal brokered by Mbeki was heralded as a historic initiative to resolve Zimbabwe's political deadlock and economic melt-down. Zimbabwe has the world's highest rate of inflation, last estimated at 11.2 million percent, leaving 80 percent of the population living in poverty.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 29 Sept Zimbabwe women demand immediate formation of unity government
OVER 600 members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (MOZA) took to the streets of Bulawayo today demanding the immediate formation of a new government as outlined in the 15 September power-sharing deal.
WOZA is renowned for protest meetings led by women. Leading campaigners such as Jenni Williams (pictured) have been beaten up numerous times and jailed.
The demonstrators converged around the Mhlahlandlela Government Complex which is situated opposite the Zimbabwe Republic Police Drill Hall. However, there were no members of any demonstrators being arrested, according to a WOZA press statement.
The protest began at the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) where participants delivered a protest note, complaining about poor electricity supply and high tariffs.
WOZA is enraged that 15 days since the government of national unity deal was signed, no progress has been made in forming a new government.
“Food prices are soaring, electricity and water cuts are increasing but no one seems interested or able to deal decisively with these issues and the ordinary citizens continues to carry the ever-increasing burden,” the statement said. “WOZA members, along with the rest of the nation, are starving but unable to access food aid despite recognition in the deal that the situation is urgent.”
“WOZA is therefore demanding immediate action regarding the formation of a new government that will begin to work on solving urgent social issues, like food, electricity and water. We also requested that the mothers of the nation arise and demand a liveable peace.”
Robert Mugabe has said he expects a unity government involving his party, Zanu-pf and two factions of the MDC, to be formed by the end of this week.
Speaking to reporters in Zimbabwe on his return from a United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, Mugabe said the outstanding issue of allocating ministries to each party, had been discussed before he had left for the UN.
visit www.wozazimbabwe.org
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 29 Sept Zimbabwe unity government in the offing - Mugabe
Robert Mugabe (pictured) has said he expects a unity government involving his party, Zanu-pf and two factions of the MDC, to be formed by the end of this week.
Speaking to reporters in Zimbabwe on his return from a United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, Mugabe said the outstanding issue of allocating ministries to each party, had been discussed before he had left for the UN.
"Only four [ministries] remain, but there is no deadlock. We will be setting up government this week, towards the end of the week," Mugabe said.
He did not reveal the ministries where no agreement has been reached but Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC has made no secret of its intention to control the finance, home affairs and information ministries.
Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara who leads the other faction of the MDC signed an outline agreement on a new government earlier this month, with the proviso that Mugabe will remain president, while Tsvangirai will become prime minister in a government tasked with ending the economic crisis.
Under the power-sharing deal Mugabe's Zanu-PF party will get 15 cabinet seats, Tsvangirai's MDC will get 13 cabinet posts, while the Mutamabara faction will be handed three positions.
Mugabe will chair the cabinet, which decides on government policy while Tsvangirai, will chair a council of ministers, which implements policy.
Mugabe also keeps the reins over the military, while the MDC aims to be in charge of the police.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Somali ship ransome |
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 27 Sept Somali pirates demand $20m for seized ship carrying tanks
Somali pirates who seized a ship carrying tanks and weapons last week say they are surrounded by at least three foreign warships.
According to the pirates who spoke to the press through a satellite phone, one of the ships is the American US destroyer, USS Howard, another is from Russia, but the nationality of the third is not clear.
A man who identified himself as one of the pirates, Sugule Ali, told the press that his group wanted a ransom of $20m (£11m) and were not interested in the weapons. Earlier, the pirates had demanded $35m.
"It is true we are surrounded by three foreign military vessels and there are some others we can see in the distance," Ali said. "We are not afraid of their presence, that will not make us abandon the ship or to refrain from asking for money. There is no shortage of food supply and all the crew members are healthy and well, including ours."
However, Ali admitted that one of the kidnapped sailors had died, but said this was from natural causes.
Meanwhile, Kenya has insisted that the shipment of 33 72-T tanks on board the Faina, which was seized last Saturday, were destined for its military.
Various sources have suggested that the tanks and spare parts were really bound for the autonomous government of South Sudan, in possible contravention of a UN arms embargo.
A spokesman for the US Navy's 5th Fleet, Lt Nathan Christensen, said the USS Howard was within 8km (5 miles) of the Ukrainian vessel, but refused to say whether they were preparing to attack the pirates.
He said the ship's cargo of battle tanks made it a particularly worrying situation.
"We're concerned that this might end up in the wrong hands, such as terrorists or violent extremists," he said.
A maritime expert said the ship was carrying "dangerous chemicals" and warned against using force.
Somalia has been without a functioning central government for 17 years and has suffered continual civil strife, with rival armed groups fighting for control.
The waters off the coast of Somalia are considered some of the world's most dangerous.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Somali |
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 26 Sept Somali pirates seize ship carrying army tanks
Somalian pirates have seized a Ukrainian ship carrying about 30 T-72 tanks, off the coast of the country, an official has said.
Ukraine's foreign ministry said the ship had a crew of 21 and was sailing under a Belize flag to the Kenyan port of Mombasa.
According to the Ukrainian foreign ministry, the captain of the Faina cargo ship had reported being surrounded by three boats of armed men on Thursday afternoon.
Sources in Somali said the ship was also carrying spare parts for armoured vehicles. The tanks were due to be transported by road from Kenya to South Sudan.
Somali, which has not had an effective national government for 17 years, has seen a recent surge in piracy off the coast of the country. Political observers say Somali pirates are currently holding more than a dozen hijacked ships in the base in Eyl, a town in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland.
26 Sept Nigeria police arrest 200 militants
Nigerian police have arrested more than 200 suspected militants in raids in the oil-rich Niger Delta, authorities say.
Reports in the Nigeria press cited the military commander in Rivers State as saying his men had found almost all militant camps there, and he would mount a campaign to destroy them.
Militant attacks in the Niger Delta have cut Nigeria's oil production by about 20% in recent years. The main militant group in the Niger Delta, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) declared a ceasefire at the weekend.
One week earlier, Mend declared a "war" on Nigeria's oil industry, after a fierce military raid on one of their bases. Mend claims that it is fighting for more control over oil wealth in the impoverished Niger Delta. However, critics say Mend is making money from criminal rackets and trade in stolen oil.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 25 Sept SA Parliament endorses Motlanthe as interim president
ANC deputy leader Kgalema Motlanthe (pictured) has been officially endorsed by South Africa's parliament as interim president to replace Thabo Mbeki, who is stepping down today.
MPs voted in the secret ballot at the parliament buildings in Cape Town and Mr Motlanthe will be sworn in later.
The veteran politician is seen as a figure who could heal tensions between supporters of Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.
Analysts say Motlanthe's low public profile and lack of a personal support base mean he is regarded as a safe interim president - there is no way he could possibly hold on to the presidency once Zuma decides his time has come.
Motlanthe will serve until polls next year, when Zuma, as ANC leader, is widely expected to become president.
During the apartheid years, Motlanthe was imprisoned on Robben Island along with Nelson Mandela. After his release in 1987, he became a top official of the National Union of Mineworkers and then the ANC.
Mbeki announced his resignation last Sunday amid claims of political interference in a corruption case against Zuma. Mbeki denies the allegations but said he was stepping down in the interests of party unity, as the ANC leadership said it was recalling him.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has said that Mbeki's resignation was "devastating". Mbeki was the key mediator during months of negotiations that recently led to a power-sharing agreement in Zimbabwe.
"It's devastating news that President Mbeki is no longer president... but that is the action of the South African people," Mugabe was quoted by Zimbabwe's state-run Herald newspaper as saying. "Who are we to judge them? But it is very disturbing."
Mbeki's departure has led to a flurry of resignations from the cabinet and caused uncertainty on the markets. The widely respected Finance Minister Trevor Manuel was among the 11 cabinet ministers who resigned but he has said he would be happy to serve a new president.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 23 Sept ‘No financial aid for Zimbabwe before impasse on GNU is resolved’ - USA
US Ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee (pictured) said in Johannesburg yesterday that the new government in Zimbabwe would not receive financial aid until all parties demonstrated they were serious about implementing the spirit of the power-sharing agreement.
Addressing a meeting hosted by the European Union (EU) in Johannesburg on Monday, McGee noted that the EU would not put a penny into the beleaguered country until the new government showed that it was serious about the deal.
A government of national unity was formed after a power-sharing deal was signed by Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai last week.
However, McGee said the international community had decided to move immediately on humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe, as well as what he called
technical assistance to the government.
"So far we have not seen anything from this government - in fact the agreement has not even been finalised", McGee said. "When Mugabe went to the United Nations last week, the cabinet had not been sworn in. It had not even been concluded as to which party will have who or what ministries."
McGee applauded Tsvangirai's decision not to travel to New York for the general assembly, which started on Monday. He chose instead to travel around Zimbabwe to see what humanitarian aid was needed and to look at the food insecurity problems .
"He (Tsvangirai) is busy talking with the nongovernmental organisations and the donor community about what steps needed to be taken in providing food for the people of Zimbabwe. He says that this is his first priority," McGee said.
Furthermore, McGee said President Thabo Mbeki's decision to step down as leader of SA at the behest of the African National Congress could be a boon for Zimbabwe. He said Zuma "has such close ties to the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party, both of which say they support Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC".
"I hope this sends a message to Mugabe that things at last are going to change,” McGee said. “I really hope that the light that is shining on them from the international community will stop this regime's excesses .. However, it is worrying that Zanu (PF) has said is not going to change the status quo."
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 22 Sept ANC picks new president to replace Mbeki
Kgalema Motlanthe (pictured) will replace Thabo Mbeki as president of South Africa, following Mbeki’s dramatic resignation on Sunday.
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) said it had named Motlanthe to take the position of caretaker president until elections are held in early 2009. Parliament is expected to confirm Motlanthe's appointment to the post.
Mbeki resigned on Sunday over claims of political interference in a corruption case against his political rival, ANC leader Jacob Zuma. Addressing the nation, Mbeki denied the accusations but said he was stepping down, at the request of the ANC, in the interests of party unity.
"Motlanthe will be the president, not interim, he will be the president of the republic until the election," ANC spokesman KK Khumalo told the press.
Analysts say Motlanthe's appointment is almost certain to get the stamp of approval from the ANC-dominated parliament - a vote which could happen on Monday.
ANC General Secretary Gwede Mantashe said the decision to ask for Mr Mbeki's resignation was taken to avoid divisions in the party. "A united ANC is good for the country and it ensures that there is certainty and predictability, that is important for the markets," Mantashe told the press. Furthermore, he said Zuma would not take over immediately but would wait for general elections when, if voted in, he would be "a people's president".
Mantashe has said the resignation call was not a punishment for Mbeki and that the president would be given the chance to continue his role as mediator in Zimbabwe.
However, the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has said Zuma had "got what he wanted" from Mbeki's resignation. Party leader Helen Zille told the BBC's Network Africa programme that Zuma wanted "a political solution to his legal problems".
"I can tell you that that is what this is about and nothing else," she said.
Zille praised Mbeki as a strategic thinker and a "man of great intellect" who had been at the forefront of peacemaking in Africa. In comparison, she said Zuma was "the leader of a rabble out to grab the spoils of state for their own interests".
Mbeki formally resigned following a meeting of the ANC's National Executive Committee. The move came days after a high court judge suggested that Mbeki might have interfered in a corruption case against Zuma.
But during his television address, Mbeki made an impassioned defence of his position. Neither he nor his cabinet had made any attempt to meddle with the judicial process, he said, and he dismissed any suggestion he had been trying to shape the judgement for his own political ends.
"Again I would like to state this categorically: that we have never done this and therefore never compromised the right of the National Prosecuting Authority to decide whom it wished to prosecute or not to prosecute," he said.
Mbeki became leader of South Africa in 1999 and won a second term in 2004. Analysts say his biggest policy success has been South Africa's rapid economic growth since the end of apartheid and the rise of a black middle class.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 19 Sept Mbeki rebuffs ANC critics seeking to oust him
Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's President, has condemned critics within his own African National Congress (ANC) party who are calling for his resignation.
Mbeki (pictured) has denied suggestions that he intervened in the corruption case against the ANC leader, Jacob Zuma. He also issued a statement attacking the tendency to "hurl insults" at him.
Mbeki’s statement was made public as senior ANC members prepared to begin a three-day meeting to discuss his future. Mbeki is coming under pressure to step down following a court ruling that said there had been political interference in Zuma's trial.
"We would like to state, for the record, that the NDPP [National Directorate of Public Prosecutions] neither met nor communicated with the president or any official in the presidency before making its determination," a statement from the president's office said.
Analysts said the ANC's National Executive Committee, which is to debate the issue and is made up of mainly Zuma's supporters, cannot force Mbeki to resign as president. However, one observer said that if the ANC leadership cannot persuade Mbeli to go they may opt to take their battle to parliament.
Mbeki lost the leadership of the ANC to Zuma, who will be the party's presidential candidate in elections, expected in the first half of next year. Zuma has tried to cool passions, saying that there is no need to "beat a dead snake".
Mbeki has said he will accept the party's decision and resign.
Under the South African constitution, removal of the president from office would require a two-thirds majority and could only be done on specific grounds. It would have to be shown that the president had committed a serious violation of the constitution or the law, been responsible for serious misconduct, or was unable to perform the functions of office.
Parliament could also pass a motion of no-confidence. This would require the support of a simple majority of MPs. The president and the other members of the cabinet and any deputy ministers must then resign, triggering early elections.
The ANC controls 297 out of the 400 seats. However, many MPs owe their positions to President Mbeki and know that they are unlikely to return to parliament after next year's elections.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 18 Sept Mugabe says power sharing deal with MDC is a humiliation
Robert Mugabe (pictured) has told his Zanu-pf party leaders that the power-sharing deal with the opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change is a "humiliation".
Addressing a Zanu-pf politiburo meeting in Harare on Wednesday, Mugabe said: “If only we hadn’t blundered in the harmonised elections, we wouldn’t be facing all this humiliation. That is what we have been saying. If only we hadn’t chosen to be divided. If only, if only, if only! Yes, we made it the hard way.”
Mugabe, who will cede some of his state power to prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai, said Zanu-pf had no alternative after losing the March parliamentary elections. He is expected to meet prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai today to discuss allocating ministerial posts under the deal.
Nevertheless, Mugabe said Zanu-PF remained in the driving seat. "We are still in a dominant position which will enable us to gather more strength as we move into the future," he said.
Under the deal, Mugabe's party has 15 posts in cabinet, Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) 13 and a smaller MDC faction three. However, the allocation of portfolios among the parties and the naming of the ministers has still to be decided.
Mugabe will chair the cabinet, while Tsvangirai will chair a "council of ministers" attended by all cabinet ministers. The cabinet under Mugabe will decide on government policy, while the council of ministers will implement it.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 15 Sept Mugabe and Tsvangirai sign power-sharing deal
Zimbabwe has embarked on a government of national unity after President Robert Mugabe signed a historic power-sharing deal with his long-time rival, opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mugabe, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara - leader of a breakaway MDC faction - signed the agreement in front of around 3,000 invited guests, including several African heads of states, in Zimbabwe's International Conference Centre.
The deal opens the way for international donors to help to revive Zimbabwe's collapsing economy, where inflation is pegged at around 11,000,000%.
Tsvangirai said the agreement provided the best hope for Zimbabwe and was a "product of painful compromises" and that it did not provide "an instant cure" to the fortunes of Zimbabwe.
"I've signed this agreement because I believe it represents the best opportunity for us to build a peaceful and prosperous democratic Zimbabwe," Tsvangirai said.
Furthermore, Tsvangirai who takes the reins of power as Prime Minister, called for the support of the international community and African neighbours in helping to rebuild Zimbabwe’s key sectors - healthcare, education and the economy.
The new deputy prime minister, Arthur Mutambara, said the compromise agreement was a victory for Zimbabwe. "This is a victory of Zimbabweans saying to each other there is more that brings us together than that which divides us," he said.
As prime minister, Tsvangirai is expected to chair a council of ministers which is responsible for the day-to-day managing of the country's affairs. According to the leaks, the MDC and another MDC faction will together have 16 ministers, while President Mugabe's Zanu-PF will have 15 ministers.
Mugabe said that if the unity was going to last all the way, all parties had to observe the salient principle that Zimbabwe is a sovereign state. “Zimbabwe is a sovereign state,” he said. “Only the people of Zimbabwe have a right to govern it. They alone will set up governments and they alone will change those governments. That principle must remain.”
Details are still emerging on how exactly power will be shared.
Reacting to the news of the agreement, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said a decision on lifting sanctions on Zimbabwean officials had been postponed until October. He also said the EU will wait for concrete measures before it resumes economic aid to Zimbabwe.
UK foreign secretary David Milliband said: “We are all on tenterhooks. It is too early to say anything definitive. From our point of view, the priority is the welfare of Zimbabwean people.”
Negotiations started at the end of July, but stalled over the allocation of executive power between Mugabe and Tsvangirai. The breakthrough came late on Thursday after months of difficult negotiations mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 14 Sept Mugabe and Tsvangirai pact creates 31 cabinet posts
Robert Mugabe (pictured) and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, on Saturday finally agreed on a list of 31 cabinet portfolios under their power-sharing deal, according to informed sources.
A government official said Mugabe and Tsvangirai agreed to form a government of national unity comprising 31 ministries, including 13 new ones. ZANU-PF would have 15 cabinet seats, Tsvangirai's MDC 13 and a splinter MDC faction three seats.
The powerful ministry of state security was abolished, while the justice ministry was split into two, with a new prisons department, according to the list availed by sources close to the talks.
Details of the ministries allocated to each party and individuals to head the ministries would be announced on Monday.
“The most significant part of this deal is that the pact abolishes the ministry of state security which controls the notorious Central Intelligence Organisation,” an analyst said.
However, it remains unclear how the secret police -- a key instrument in maintaining Mugabe's 28-year grip on power -- would be integrated into the new government structure, and under whose authority.
"At the moment it is unclear what will happen to state security but I am sure this is something that is being worked by Mugabe and Tsvangirai. I am sure it will have a home, it is a matter of time before we know," a senior government official said.
An opposition official said Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was pushing to head the home affairs, justice and finance ministries but was willing to leave Mugabe's ZANU-PF in charge of security and defence.
Such an arrangement would give the MDC control over the police and responsibility for rescuing an economy reeling from the world's highest rate of hyper-inflation, more than 11 million percent.
ZANU-PF's top decision-making body, the politburo, endorsed the power-sharing deal at a meeting chaired by Mugabe in Harare on Saturday, according to informed sources.
Analysts are cautious over how quickly the power-sharing deal can end the crisis or persuade Western powers -- deeply opposed to Mugabe -- to step in with much needed financial support to aid recovery.
Zimbabweans are desperate for an end to a crisis that has ravaged the economy and pushed millions of refugees into neighbouring countries.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - South Africa |
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 12 Sept Zuma cleared in SA corruption case
Jacob Zuma, (pictured) leader of South Africa’s ruling party, African National Congress has been cleared of corruption charges which threatened his succession of President Thabo Mbeki.
Judge Chris Nicholson said the decision to prosecute without consulting Zuma, (66) had been invalid and ordered the charges relating to corruption, fraud and money laundering relating to a multi-billion dollar 1999 arms deal, to be dropped.
The judge sitting in a Pietermaritzburg court, also said there was reason to believe the decision to charge Zuma was politically motivated. His words were drowned out by cheers of Zuma’s supporters outside the court.
"I must repeat that this application has nothing to do with the guilt or otherwise of the applicant. It deals only with the procedural point relating to his [Zuma] right to making representations before the respondent [the prosecution] makes a decision on whether to charge him," Judge Chris Nicholson said in his ruling.
The decision effectively clears the path for Zuma to become president.
Eyewitnesses said a jubilant Zuma embraced his lawyer after the ruling. His lawyers are also applying for a permanent stay of prosecution in a separate case.
The charges against Zuma related to South Africa's largest post-apartheid arms deal, involving contracts totalling 30bn rand ($3.7bn; £2bn) to modernise its national defence force. The deal involved companies from Germany, Italy, Sweden, Britain, France and South Africa.
Zuma was sacked as South Africa's deputy president in 2005, when his financial adviser was found guilty of soliciting a bribe on behalf of Zuma and jailed for 15 years in connection with the deal.
Zuma was subsequently tried, but the case collapsed in 2006 when the prosecution said it was not ready to proceed. In April 2006, Zuma was acquitted of rape in a separate case.
He was charged again last December shortly after winning a bitter campaign against President Thabo Mbeki to become ANC leader in what his allies say was a political conspiracy to prevent him becoming president. Elections are due to be held in April or May 2009.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 12 Sept Zimbabwe: government of national unity pact sealed
Zimbabwe will announce a government of national unity next Monday following an agreement to share power between Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-pf and opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change.
The breakthrough was announced by South African President Thabo Mbeki (pictured) who has been mediating the talks in Harare. He said the agreement would be signed and made public on Monday.
He said: "I am absolutely certain that the leadership of Zimbabwe is committed to implementing these agreements."
Tsvangirai was first to announce the breakthrough, telling reporters simply: "We've got a deal." Mugabe has yet to comment.
Although the concrete details of the agreement have not yet been publicised, analysts believe that Tsvangirai will chair a new council of ministers and control the day-to-day running of the country, while Mugabe will head the cabinet as president.
Negotiations between Zanu-pf and the two factions of the MDC started at the end of July, but quickly ran into an impasse over the allocation of executive power between Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
The UN special representative on Zimbabwe, Haile Menkerios, said the announcement marked a way forward that all sides could live with. Britain's Foreign Office said it was following the situation closely, adding that "our concern is the welfare of the Zimbabwean people".
Earlier on Thursday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said any power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe would be judged by how much it reflected legitimate election results.
The agreement opens the way for international donors to help to revive Zimbabwe whose annual inflation is now pegged at around 11 million percent.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 10 Sept Zimbabwe talks: Zanu-pf and MDC close to agreement
Ongoing talks in Zimbabwe between Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) have taken a positive spin towards a government of national unity.
Sources close to the talks said the postponement of special summit meeting on Zimbabwe, which was due to be held in Swaziland today, indicates that the two sides are close to an agreement.
“The fact that South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki is still in Harare to conduct the negotiations, may be a sign that the talks are not too far to an agreement,” one observer said.
After two days of discussions in a hotel, both Mugabe and Tsvangirai told the press on Tuesday that they hoped to address the outstanding issues between them on Wednesday. "I must say that there is a positive development," Tsvangirai said. Mugabe noted there had been "progress - and lack of it - in some areas".
Zimbabwe's state-owned Herald newspaper reports that Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara who heads of a splinter faction of the MDC, held individual talks with Mbeki on Tuesday before meeting without the South African president.
Source in Tsvangirai's MDC say they are now proposing that their leader be named prime minister, with full authority over all the ministers, while President Mugabe chairs a new National Security Council. This would mean he keep some authority over the security forces.
Mugabe has threatened to form a government alone if a deal is not reached this week. However, analysts say such a move would deter western donors who are prepared to rescue Zimbabwe’s collapsing economy if the MDC is given real power in government.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Angola |
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 08 Sept Angola ‘vote rigging’ allegations mar MPLA landslide victory
An EU observer, Richard Howitt, has told the press that there was vote-rigging in Angola, where the ruling MPLA is expected to win a landslide election victory.
Speaking from Brussels after his return from Angola, Howitt said the governing party had offered bribes in one province, while soldiers and MPLA officials appeared to have intimidated voters.
Howitt said there had been "massive hand-outs" of money, televisions, radios, alcohol, and even cars. "I personally saw representatives of the ruling party standing not just in the polling station, but in front of the booths where people were voting," Howitt said.
However, Isaias Samakuva (pictured) the leader of Angola’s main opposition party Unita said although he is challenging the conduct of the poll, democracy had prevailed.
Addressing the press, Samakuva said: "Our country has completed an important step for the consolidation of our fragile democracy. From now on, each government is only going to last four years, not more than 33 years."
In the lead-up to the election, Unita accused the MPLA of intimidating its supporters and dominating state media. Around eight million voters are registered in the country - more than a quarter of whom live in the capital.
Other election observers have said the vote was transparent.
With more than two-thirds of the votes counted, the MPLA had 82% and the opposition Unita party 10.5%. Final provisional results of the parliamentary poll are due later today.
The elections are the first in Angola for 16 years, and are seen as a crucial step in the country's recovery from decades of civil war. Analysts said voting passed off peacefully on Friday, but organisation in parts of the capital, Luanda, was chaotic.
The MPLA has ruled Angola since the country gained independence from Portugal in 1975 but it fought a civil war against Unita until 2002.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 04 Sep 2008 Mugabe issues deadline on Zimbabwe power-sharing pact
Robert Mugabe (pictured) has said the opposition MDC has until Thursday (4th September) to agree a power-sharing deal, or he will form his own government.
Mugabe, who lost the presidential election to MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai last March, was quoted in the state controlled daily newspaper The Herald saying: "We feel frozen at the moment [without a government]. If after tomorrow [Thursday], Tsvangirai does not want to sign, we will certainly put together a cabinet."
Furthermore, Mugabe who returned on Wednesday from Zambia where he attended the funeral of the late president Levy Mwanawasa said: "We are a government and we are government that is empowered by elections. We should form a cabinet. We would not allow a situation where we will not have a cabinet forever."
Responding to Mugabe’s ultimatum, MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said the opposition would not be "stampeded" into signing a bad agreement. "It's actually better not to have a deal than to have a very bad deal, as the [MDC] president Mr Tsvangirai says,” Chamisa said. "We will not be succumbing to ultimatums, arm-twisting tactics, intimidation and bullying that Zanu-PF has been adopting."
Analysts say if Mugabe forms a cabinet excluding the MDC the move is would almost certainly mean the end of the talks process.
Zanu-PF hardliners have publicly said they won't endorse any deal which gives more power to Tsvangirai than the watered down version of Premiership which Mugabe has offered the MDC leader. Isaiah Muzenda, a representative of the so-called war veterans, a band of young men who often enforce Mugabe's rule, told a local newspaper that the group wrote to Mugabe warning him not to agree to such a deal.
Chamisa said that the talks were stalling because Mugabe is no longer in charge. "He is circled by vultures," Chamisa said. "The military and greedy cronies of his are dictating the pace and direction of the talks from behind the scenes. The tragedy is that they want to continue with a free reign of
looting and plundering the country's resources, and this can only be ensured if Mugabe remains in charge."
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe talks |
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 03 Sep Zimbabwe unity talks remain deadlocked - Tsvangirai
Zimbabwe’s power-sharing talks remain deadlocked and are unlikely to resume soon, according to opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
In an interview on South Africa's Talk Radio 702, Tsvangirai who leads the main faction of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said he "was not aware of plans" for post-election negotiations to resume soon.
The talks have been deadlocked over executive powers.
Explaining why he refused to sign a power-sharing deal with Mugabe (pictured) in talks over recent weeks, Tsvangirai said: "There was an attempt to fragment the cabinet. With some ministries reporting to the president and some ministries reporting to the prime minister."
He added: "In this case the economic and social ministries will go to the prime minister. The security ministries will go to the president."
Tsvangirai beat Mugabe in a March 29 election but fell short of enough votes to avoid a run-off vote, which was won by Mugabe, unopposed, after Tsvangirai pulled out citing violence and intimidation against his supporters.
Meanwhile, analysts say Mugabe threat to name a new cabinet, which the opposition says would scuttle any further talks, is being driven by a group of his long-time loyalists and ruling-party insiders who are opposed to the ceding of any executive power to Tsvangirai.
A close ruling-party associate said that the group never intended to cede any "real or meaningful power." It hoped instead to bring Tsvangirai into the government as a junior or ceremonial partner. HOwever, Tsvangirai has insisted on some form of executive power, according to opposition members who are not authorized to speak publicly about the talks.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - DRC plane carsh |
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 02 Sept DR Congo humanitarian plane crash – 17 feared dead
A humanitarian plane carrying 17 people -- most of them relief workers -- has crashed during a storm in a mountainous region in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations said Tuesday.
Christope Illemassene, spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the capital city of Kinshasa told the press that search and rescue crews were not immediately able to land their helicopter in the area and determine whether anyone survived the crash in the east of the country.
However, Air Serv International, the relief group that operated the plane, said an aerial survey has indicated that all the occupants on the Beechcraft 1900 plane (pictured) had died.
Air Serv provides air transport for international aid agencies. Rescuers spotted the 19-seat Beechcraft plane about 15km (nine miles) north-west of Bukavu early on Tuesday. The plane was on a routine flight from Kinsasha to the eastern city of Goma on Monday, with three stops, according to the UN.
Air-traffic controllers lost contact with the plane when it approached Bukavu, the last of its three intermediate stops. The weather in the area was stormy at the time. Search and rescue crews spotted the plane's debris Tuesday, about 9.4 miles (15 km) northwest of the Bukavu airport, Illemassene said.
"We're anxiously waiting for results from the search and rescue operation," he said. "We're really hoping the peacekeepers are able to land near the site and confirm whether there are any survivors."
Air Serv International, based in the U.S. state of Virginia, is one of several groups that provides transport services to relief organizations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Many agencies arrange their own air travel for staff in DR Congo because of the country's poor air safety record. In April this year at least 40 people died when a DC-9 jet ploughed into the town of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Airline officials said most people on board survived. More than 100 people were treated for injuries.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 01 Sep 2008 Tsvangirai to resist pressure to sign pact with Mugabe
Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) the leader of Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change has vowed to resist any pressure to sign an agreement with Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF that does not reflect the aspirations of Zimbabweans.
In an interview with The Standard newspaper in Zimbabwe, Tsvangirai as he revealed intricate details of what transpired during the collapsed
power-sharing talks brokered by South African president Thabo Mbeki.
Tsvangirai said he had a hard time during negotiations as he was pressured to sign a deal with President Robert Mugabe. He also revealed how tempers flared as they haggled over the roles they could assume in a new inclusive transitional government.
Tsvangirai also made startling revelations that South African President Thabo Mbeki prepared the controversial draft that would have made him a lame duck Prime Minister and entrenched Mugabe's grip on the country.
Tsvangirai said it was left to Mbeki to come up with the final draft during the Heroes' Holiday after he and Mugabe had failed to agree on some sticking points involving the terms of the transitional government, its duration, the constitution and the need for amendments, the roles and functions of the Prime Minister and the President.
Under Mbeki's draft, Tsvangirai said he realised that he would become an overburdened Prime Minister without any authority: he would not chair the Cabinet and would not have any power to appoint, censure or dismiss ministers. On the other hand he would have been expected to revive the economy of country, destroyed by Mugabe's policies.
In that ceremonial role, it would be Tsvangirai’s responsibility to ensure the state "has sufficient resources and appropriate operational capacity to
carry out its functions effectively". Tsvangirai said he came under serious pressure from Mugabe, Mbeki and Arthur Mutambara, the leader of the breakaway faction of the MDC, to sign the agreement.
Harsh words were exchanged as he was told that was the "best agreement" he could get under the circumstances. Tsvangirai said at one point he suggested that he and Mugabe swap roles in an effort to test the sincerity and fairness of the arrangement.
"Mugabe fumed. He said no ways, he could not become the Prime Minister," Tsvangirai said.
"Fully aware that we won the March 29 election, we could have demanded nothing but outright victory," he said. "But we reached a position, where we said it was important for cohabitation with Zanu PF for the sake of the country."
"We hoped this would show we were genuine in the quest to find an agreement to establish a transitional government that rebuilds confidence in
Zimbabwe and ensure there is food, jobs and justice for Zimbabweans."
But Tsvangirai said his overtures were fruitless because Mugabe, whom he said had not had a "paradigm shift and still thought he was the winner", refused to make some compromises on the functions of the PM.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zambia |
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 28 Aug Late Zambian president to be given state funeral
Zambia’s late President Levy Mwanawasa (pictured) who died in France last week, having suffered a stroke in June from which he never recovered, will be given a state funeral on 3 September.
Vice-President Rupiah Banda has taken over interim leadership of the country, but elections must be held within 90 days to decide who will succeed Mr Mwanawasa.
Opposition leader, Michael Sata who revealed in an interview with the BBC that he was chased away from a mourning gathering for the late president by his widow, Maureen Mwanawasa, said he would be standing in the forthcoming elections.
Sata also said that despite being chased away from viewing the body in Chipata, 580 km (360 miles) east of the capital, Lusaka, no-one could stop him from attending the funeral.
28 Aug Ethiopia prepared to pull out of Somalia
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said he is prepared to withdraw his troops from Somalia even if the interim government is not stable.
Ethiopian forces invaded Somalia in 2006 to oust an Islamist militia and re-install the transitional government.
Zenawi told the UK's Financial Times paper that financial pressures had to be taken into account and that the commitment in Somalia was not open ended.
"The operation has been extremely expensive so we will have to balance the domestic pressures on the one hand and pressures in Somalia on the other and try to come up with a balanced solution," Meles told the Financial Times.
So far only about 2,200 of a planned 8,000-strong AU peacekeeping force have been sent to Somalia.
The withdrawal of Ethiopians is a key demand of the Islamist insurgents.
Al-Shabab, the radical wing of the Islamists which controlled much of Somalia in 2006, has demanded that Ethiopian troops leave Somalia before any ceasefire is considered.
Somalia has experienced almost constant civil conflict since the collapse of Mohamed Siad Barre's regime in January 1991.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 27 Aug Mugabe hints at forming government without MDC
Robert Mugabe (pictured) has hinted that he will form a new government alone, despite stalled power-sharing negotiations with the opposition.
Reports in Zimbabwe’s state media quoted Mugabe as saying: "The MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) does not want to come in apparently."
"We shall soon be setting up a government," the Herald newspaper quotes Mugabe as saying.
Observers in Harare said Mugabe, who was beaten by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the March presidential elections, was speaking in bullish mood on state media about forming a government alone, after being booed and jeered by opposition MPs at the formal opening of parliament on Tuesday.
At the start of his speech in Parliament on Tuesday, Mugabe said there was "every expectation" that a power-sharing deal would soon be agreed.
The MDC says it still wants the talks to continue. "We remain committed to a dialogue process that is going to produce an acceptable outcome for all the players, an inclusive government," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told the press.
Analysts say if Mugabe forms a government excluding MDC elements, the move would render the South African-brokered talks, null and void, and leave Zimbabwe in a worse crisis than before the signing of a Memorundum of Understanding (MoU) between Mugabe and the two MDC factions.
Last week, Tsvangirai said the balance of power between the president and the prime minister - a new post Mr Tsvangirai would take - was still a stumbling block at the negotiations.
Meanwhile, three MDC MPs were arrested on Tuesday when parliament was opened. Two other opposition MPs had been arrested the day before, although one was later released.
Reacting to the arrests the MDC issued a statement saying: "MDC views this continued harassment and arrest of MDC legislators by the state security agents as a direct affront to the will of the people of Zimbabwe."
The police have said the arrests were in connection with rape, attempted murder and political violence. Following the March elections, Mugabe's Zanu-PF lost its majority in the House of Assembly for the first time since independence in 1980.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 26 Aug Mugabe heckled and jeered as he opens Zimbabwe parliament
Robert Mugabe was heckled and jeered by MPs from Zimbabwe's main opposition party as he opened parliament today, five months after he lost the March elections to MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.
"You killed people, we won't forget that," the MPs shouted, while Mugabe (pictured) listed government achievements.
At the start of his speech, Mugabe said there was "every expectation" that a power-sharing deal would be agreed. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had earlier said it would boycott Mugabe's speech, saying it does not recognise his legitimacy.
The opposition argues that parliament should not have been opened until the deadlocked talks were concluded. Following the March elections, Mugabe's Zanu-PF lost its majority in the House of Assembly for the first time since independence in 1980.
In his speech, Mugabe said he regretted the "isolated cases of political violence" earlier this year and blamed all parties.
The MDC accuses Zanu-PF of organising a campaign of violence to ensure victory in the presidential run-off in June. It says some 200 people were killed and 200,000 forced from their homes. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew from the presidential run-off, citing the violence.
On Monday, MDC chairman Lovemore Moyo was elected speaker of the lower house. After his victory, Moyo told the press that parliament would no longer just "rubber-stamp" Mugabe's policies.
Moyo’s victory was all the more dramatic because earlier in the day police arrested two MDC lawmakers as they turned up at parliament to be sworn in. One was later released and took the oath of office, along with his colleagues, five months after the elections.
Moyo said he would remain neutral as a speaker but that his decision-making would be influenced by MDC policies. His position means that he will be able to take charge of controversial debates if no power-sharing deal is reached.
MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told the press that it was wrong for Mugabe to address parliament before a power-sharing deal was reached. "The dialogue has not been completed. It is arrogant and reckless for anybody to come and address parliament," he said.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Swaziland |
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 22 Aug Swazi women protest Europe shopping trip for King’s wives
Hundreds of Swazi women have marched through the streets of Mbabane, the capital, to protest about a shopping trip taken by nine of 13 wives of King Mswati III (pictured).
King Mswati (40) has been criticised in the past for requesting public money to pay for new palaces, a personal jet and luxury cars.
The royal wives apparently chartered a plane last week to go to Europe and the Middle East, prompting the protesters to hand in a petition to the finance ministry, saying the money could have been better spent.
"We can't afford a shopping trip when a quarter of the nation lives on food aid," chanted the protesters representing a cross-section of professional and rural women. "We need to keep that money for ARVs [anti-retrovirals]."
The march was organised by Positive Living, a non-governmental organisation for women with Aids. Swaziland is one of the poorest countries in the world and more than 40% of the population is believed to be infected with HIV.
Sources said earlier this week, senior princes warned the women not to march, saying it was against Swazi tradition.
22 Aug Scores die in Somali clashes
At least 55 people are reported to have died and 150 wounded during clashes in the southern Somali port of Kismayo.
Reports in Somali said more than 3,000 people have fled the town, where sporadic gunfire could be heard on the third day of fighting in some of the worst violence in months.
Analysts say Islamists have been trying to seize control of the port from a local clan. There has also been fierce fighting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and pirate hijackings off the north coast.
On Thursday, Mogadishu was hit by mortars, some of which landed near the compound of President Abdullahi Yusuf, who was out of the country.
Kismayo, Somalia's third city, is strategically important because it serves as a port for the south of the country and for neighbouring Kenya. A human rights official in Kismayo told the press that all business activity in the city had stopped and many people had no access to food.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 20 Aug Zambia president dies in Paris hospital
Zambia’s president Levy Mwanawasa (pictured) has died in a Paris hospital after suffering a stroke in June. He was 59.
Vice-President Rupiah Banda, who is expected to take over as acting leader, made the announcement on state TV.
President Mwanawasa suffered the stroke at an African Union summit in Egypt and was then flown to France, where he had remained in hospital. He came to prominence recently for being one of the African leaders most critical of the violence in Zimbabwe.
Mwanawasa was chairman of the South African Development Community (Sadc) when he was taken ill in June. In that role he had been critical of the controversial election in Zimbabwe and had said he sympathised with Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai when he withdrew from the run-off because of attacks on his supporters.
Mwanawasa won a second term in 2006, having campaigned on his economic record which Zambia’s economy grow from strength to strength and won him acclaim from Western donors. When he was vice-president in the 1990s he was involved in a near-fatal road accident which left him with slurred speech.
Mwanawasa was married and had six children. He had been a practising lawyer since 1973. Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda said he had lost a personal friend. "He was a great leader. People loved him. We all loved him. He did great things," Kaunda said in a BBC interview.
20 Aug Zimbabwe parliament to open
Zimbabwe's parliament will open next week, officials say, despite no deal being reached on power-sharing.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change, which won 109 seats, against 97 for the ruling party, Zanu-PF in March's parliamentary election, says it is not opposed to the opening of parliament.
However, the party said it would oppose any move by Robert Mugabe, leader of the Zanu-PF party, to appoint a cabinet. The MDC and Zanu-PF have been trying to thrash out a deal to share power, but have so far failed to agree terms.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 18 Aug ‘Executive power’ is main stumbling block in Zimbabwe crisis talks
Robert Mugabe (pictured) and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have failed to reach a power-sharing agreement at a summit of Southern African leaders in Johannesburg.
However, Tendai Biti the secretary-general of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Tsvangirai said he believed a deal with Mugabe’s Zanu-PF would be reached "very soon".
South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating in the crisis, told the press that talks would continue despite the exasperating stumbling blocks.
Sources close to the talks said the MDC is insisting that Mugabe surrender his executive powers, and that Tsvangirai is said to have agreed in principle to take on a powerful prime ministerial role in a new national unity government, although the exact balance of power is undecided.
Zimbabwe's Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa on Monday said he remained confident that an agreement could still be reached.
"It is our expectation as Zanu-PF that a deal will be concluded in the fullness of time so that we can put behind us the divisions, conflict, the polarisation, that in fact has divided our country," he told the press.
Analysts said both sides in the negotiations have agreed on many things - that there should be a power-sharing government, that Mugabe should be president and Tsvangirai prime minister.
However, the sticking point appears to be the MDC’s insistence that Mugabe should cede real executive power to Tsvangirai and stay in office only as a ceremonial head of state.
Sources also said Tsvangirai is prepared to share cabinet posts with members of Zanu-PF, but he wants ministers to be answerable to him rather than to Mugabe – an arrangement which Mugabe has so far refused to contemplate.
Significantly, Mbeki, said negotiations would continue, but added that it might "be necessary to convene parliament" during that time. However, he warned that a solution to the crisis was doomed unless all parties agreed to it. "It won't last unless it's a common product that is owned by this entire collective of the leadership of Zimbabwe," Mbeki said.
Sadc's committee on security and politics reviewed a report on the mediation effort and concluded that the agreements so far achieved on less contentious issues, were "a good basis for a global agreement".
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 18 Aug ‘Executive power’ is main stumbling block in Zimbabwe crisis talks
Robert Mugabe (pictured) and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have failed to reach a power-sharing agreement at a summit of Southern African leaders in Johannesburg.
However, Tendai Biti the secretary-general of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Tsvangirai said he believed a deal with Mugabe’s Zanu-PF would be reached "very soon".
South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating in the crisis, told the press that talks would continue despite the exasperating stumbling blocks.
Sources close to the talks said the MDC is insisting that Mugabe surrender his executive powers, and that Tsvangirai is said to have agreed in principle to take on a powerful prime ministerial role in a new national unity government, although the exact balance of power is undecided.
Zimbabwe's Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa on Monday said he remained confident that an agreement could still be reached.
"It is our expectation as Zanu-PF that a deal will be concluded in the fullness of time so that we can put behind us the divisions, conflict, the polarisation, that in fact has divided our country," he told the press.
Analysts said both sides in the negotiations have agreed on many things - that there should be a power-sharing government, that Mugabe should be president and Tsvangirai prime minister.
However, the sticking point appears to be the MDC’s insistence that Mugabe should cede real executive power to Tsvangirai and stay in office only as a ceremonial head of state.
Sources also said Tsvangirai is prepared to share cabinet posts with members of Zanu-PF, but he wants ministers to be answerable to him rather than to Mugabe – an arrangement which Mugabe has so far refused to contemplate.
Significantly, Mbeki, said negotiations would continue, but added that it might "be necessary to convene parliament" during that time. However, he warned that a solution to the crisis was doomed unless all parties agreed to it. "It won't last unless it's a common product that is owned by this entire collective of the leadership of Zimbabwe," Mbeki said.
Sadc's committee on security and politics reviewed a report on the mediation effort and concluded that the agreements so far achieved on less contentious issues, were "a good basis for a global agreement".
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 15 Aug Tsvangirai travels to SA after confiscated passport is returned
Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) the leader of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change, has arrived in South Africa after his passport was returned to him.
Earlier reports said Tsvangirai's passport and that of the party’s secretary general, Tendai Biti, were confiscated at Harare airport on Thursday, threatening to prevent both men from attending a SADC summit in Johannesburg. The passports were apparently returned a few hours later, after South Africa intervened.
Tsvangirai has been invited to the summit to brief regional leaders on the latest impasse in the Zimbabwe crisis talks. Tsvangirai reportedly wants more executive powers in the envisaged unity government, given that he beat Robert Mugabe in the March 29 presidential elections.
After the passport seizures, the MDC released a statement accusing Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party of not negotiating in good faith.
"ZANU-PF's latest antics show that the regime is not sincere on the dialogue process. The detention is an affront to SADC, to the [African Union] and to the broader international community who are working hard to peacefully resolve Zimbabwe's crisis," the MDC statement said. "Mugabe continues to preach dialogue and to act war."
Reports in Botswana say the government is mulling plans to give Tsvangirai a diplomatic passport. A Botswana official in the department of Immigration and Citizenship told the press that they have received instructions to look into the issue of how they can give Tsvangirai a diplomatic passport.
”We were instructed to see how we can help ease Mr.Tsvangirai's travel as a civic leader in his country after obvious travel restrictions from the government of Zimbabwe,” the official said.
Botswana, which has publicly said it doesn’t recognise Mugabe as the legitimate president of Zimbabwe has threatened to boycott the SADC meeting if Mugabe attends.
Analysts said the impasse in the talks leaves Mugabe coping with a spiralling hyperinflation and a severe currency crisis. Money is so short that Western Union is paying out in gas coupons instead of cash.
Zimbabwe has no hope of a Western rescue package, reengagement with international financial institutions or credibility among foreign investors without a deal that includes Tsvangirai.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that war veterans in Zimbabwe wrote a letter to Mugabe dated Saturday, August 9, in which they advised him that they would not allow him to share executive powers with the opposition, arguing that any such power-sharing scheme would be a clear reversal of the gains of Zimbabwe's liberation struggle.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 13 Aug Mbeki remains ‘confident’ on Zimbabwe talks outcome after stalemate
South African President Thabo Mbeki, (pictured) has said talks between Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and opposition party MDC, have adjourned to allow the leader of one faction, Morgan Tsvangirai, "time to consider" the proposals on the table.
Mbeki said he remained "confident" that all three parties in the talks would find a resolution. He also denied reports that Tsvangirai was unhappy with the role he was offered in a unity government.
The negotiations include Mugabe, Tsvangirai and the head of a smaller MDC faction, Arthur Mutambara.
Earlier, an official from the ruling Zanu-PF party told the press Mugabe and the Mutambara faction had reached a deal that would lead to a new government which excluded Tsvangirai.
But this was denied by Welshman Ncube, spokesman for the Mutambara faction, who said: "No deal has been signed by anyone. Dialogue is still continuing.”
Mbeki said he "wouldn't know" if such a deal had been signed. It is not yet known when the parties will meet again to resume the talks.
Power-sharing discussions began after the Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed a Memorandum of Understanding on July 21 laying the framework for the negotiations.
Tsvangirai beat Mugabe in the first round of the presidential election in March but boycotted the run-off in June, citing violence against his supporters. Mugabe was declared President after wining the poll unopposed.
One analysts said any power sharing deal between Mugabe and Mutambara, which excludes Tsvangirai, will not solve Zimbabwe’s mounting problems. “Funds pledged by the international community to revive Zimbabwe’s economy will not be released if Mugabe still holds the reins of power,” the analyst said.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 11 Aug Mugabe confident of break-through in Zimbabwe unity talks
Robert Mugabe (pictured) today said he was "confident" a deal would be signed, following marathon power-sharing talks with the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) over the weekend in Harare.
South African President Thabo Mbeki was leading the mediation.
Earlier today, Mugabe who lost the presidential election to Morgan Tsvangirai in March, warned opposition groups not to be "used by enemies", saying the country was not for sale.
Addressing hundreds of people on Heroes' Day, honouring those who died in the 1970s war against white minority rule, Mugabe vowed that Zimbabwe would "never be a colony again".
"Let's not hand over the country to the enemy," he said. "If you are on the enemy's side or you are being used by enemies, stop it."
Mugabe described the first day of talks on Sunday as "a long night negotiating on some little hurdles". He also thanked Mbeki, calling him a "very patient man".
"We spent all night yesterday in discussions and some of the things that were holding back, at times I nearly raised my fist, but he remained cool and said: 'Let us continue talking'," Mugabe added.
However, analysts said talks appear to have been brought to a close by disagreements over the make-up of the new coalition government. Speculation is rife that the pact being discussed would see Mugabe remain president with Tsvangirai, becoming prime minister.
Tsvangirai would head a large cabinet divided evenly between their two parties, but with a smaller faction of the MDC led by Arthur Mutambara holding the balance of posts.
Tsvangirai declined to comment on Sunday, but on Monday afternoon he said he hoped the discussions would soon be concluded.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 09 Aug Dhlakama calls Mugabe a "political criminal"
Mozambique's main opposition leader Alfonso Dhlakama (pictured) on Friday slammed the power sharing talks between Zimbabwe's main political parties and called Robert Mugabe a "political criminal".
Dhlakama, head of the Renamo party, was quoted as saying "Mugabe used to be my hero, but I now consider him as a political criminal to the
Zimbabweans who were denied the result of their choice in the recent elections".
Dhlakama said the power sharing negotiations "were done in bad faith" and echoed the wide spread sentiment that the talks are "a bad example to African and the whole world". He said it "encourages African leaders who lose elections to resort to robbing elections and rely on the solutions of their friends to continue to cling to power".
Meanwhile, South African President Thabo Mbeki will visit Zimbabwe this weekend to meet the country's political rivals, his government said
Friday, amid signs power-sharing talks have moved closer to a deal.
The trip by Mbeki, who mediates in negotiations between President Robert Mugabe's party and the Zimbabwe opposition, comes after more than two weeks of discussions in South Africa between representatives of the rival sides.
"He's going Saturday to meet the leaders of the political parties involved in the SADC-mandated talks facilitated by South Africa," foreign ministry
spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said, referring to the Southern African Development Community regional bloc.
Mbeki, who returns on Sunday, will meet Mugabe and opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai, as well as the leader of a smaller MDC faction, Arthur Mutambara, the spokesman said. It was unclear, however, whether the meetings would be held separately or in one session.
South African newspaper Business Day reported that Mugabe and Tsvangirai will meet Sunday as the two sides draw nearer to a power-sharing agreement.
Mbeki's trip comes ahead of Zimbabwe's Heroes' Day on Monday, which commemorates fighters who died in the guerrilla war that led to independence in 1980.
Analysts said the main sticking points in the talks are believed to involve what roles Mugabe and Tsvangirai would play in a power-sharing government.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 07 Aug Mugabe and Tsvangirai ‘close to settlement’
Robert Mugabe and his rival, Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) are expected to meet on Thursday after details emerged of a possible settlement of Zimbabwe's crisis.
Sources said a 50-page draft agreement, outlines that Mugabe would become a ceremonial president with Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change assuming the role of Prime Minister, until new elections are held.
Analysts said the plan was a "shocking outcome" that failed to heed the will of the people as expressed in the presidential election's first round on March 29, which Tsvangirai won.
Observers said the government of national unity could see Mugabe retaining key ministries, including the army and the Reserve Bank.
"Unless Tsvangirai has real executive power then the whole thing will break down almost immediately," one analyst said. "There is no mechanism for this transition to be policed, so who will Tsvangirai appeal to if Zanu-PF break
out of the deal once they have got their hands on some international finance?"
A report in one of the South African newspapers, "The Star", said under the draft agreement, Zanu-PF would control the defence ministry while the MDC would run home affairs, which includes police and prisons. Other key ministries, including finance, land and justice, would go to independents.
Foreign aid has been promised if there are reforms in Zimbabwe, where inflation officially runs at 2.2 million per cent. A senior Western diplomat
said: "We will look at the deal. If it reflects the will of the people as of March 29, then fine, if not then nothing will change. It is very shocking that people go and vote and then land up with a government of national unity, which is not what they voted for."
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Mauritania |
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 06 Aug Mauritania army overthrows President Abdallahi
Troops in Mauritania have seized power after overthrowing the government of President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi (pictured).
Reports say the military has formed a state council to rule the country after Prime Minister Yahia Ould Ahmed El-Ouakef and President Abdallahi were held following the sacking of several senior army officers.
Soldiers have been seen on the streets of the capital, Nouakchott, but there have been no reports of fighting. Mauritania staged free and fair elections in June 2007 which President Abdallahi won, two years after a military coup. However, the country has been gripped by political crisis for a fortnight, after a vote of no confidence in the cabinet.
On Tuesday, 48 MPs walked out of the ruling party.
Earlier today, President Abdallahi replaced several senior army officers, including the head of the presidential guard, Gen Ould Abdelaziz. Shortly afterwards, Gen Abdelaziz led soldiers in a coup against the president. Officials loyal to the general said all the officers sacked by the president had been re-instated.
A statement issued by the military also said Abdallahi was no longer president of Mauritania and that Gen Abdelaziz would head the new state council.
Reports say the first indications of a military coup came as state television was taken off the air amid reports of unusual troop movements in the capital, Nouakchott.
Mauritania is one of the world's poorest nations as well as its newest oil producer. The desert nation, a former French colony of more than three million people, has been looking to oil revenues to boost its economy.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 04 Aug Zimbabwe Banks run out of money
Zimbabwean banks have been turning customers away after running out of cash, since August 1, according to reports.
The move follows the introduction of a new currency by Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono (pictured) who lopped off ten zeroes from the old currency, effectively revaluing Z$10 billion to one Zimbabwe dollar.
However, analysts say the move will not solve the country's hyperinflation, currently estimated at 2.2 million percent by the government and at more than 15 million percent by independent economists.
On 4 August, US$1 was quoted to Z$75 on the parallel currency exchange market. The largest denomination of the new currency is Z$500 (US$6.60).
During Gono's half-yearly monetary policy statement on 30 July he said the new notes, along with the bearer and agro cheques being used as currency, would remain in circulation until 31 December. He recommended that wage and salary increments be frozen for six months.
A bank manager, who declined to be identified, told the press that they had not received the new notes. "Our only problem is that the maximum withdrawals have been increased to Z$2 trillion (US$200) per customer per day, and as a result we have run out of cash. The Reserve Bank has not given us any additional supplies of money."
The EU has frozen bank accounts and slapped travel restrictions on Zimbabwe's ruling elite in protest against the government's human rights violations.
In August 2006, Gono chopped three zeroes from the currency in a bid to contain inflation, which was then running at 1,183 percent, describing his policy as a "sunrise - a new beginning for Zimbabwe".
Independent economist Tony Hawkins dismissed Gono's latest strategy as little more than posturing. "What monetary policy? That was a political statement that was made. The nonsense about Zimbabwe being under sanctions was not monetary. There were a few currency changes, but that is where it ends. Freezing wages is not going to end hyperinflation," he told the press.
Hawkins also said unless there was a political settlement, the zeroes would be back on the currency in a few months. The ruling ZANU-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change are engaged in negotiations, but no settlement has been reached.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 31 July Zuma bid to stop documents being used as evidence fails
Jacob Zuma, (pictured) the man tipped to succeed South African president, Thabo Mbeki, has lost a legal bid to stop documents being used as evidence in his corruption trial that starts next week.
Reports in South Africa said the country's Constitional Court upheld earlier rulings allowing prosecutors to present documents seized from Zuma's home and other locations.
Last year, the Supreme Court upheld appeals against this ruling, saying that the tens of thousands of pages of seized documents could be used in evidence.
In Thursday's ruling, Chief Justice Pius Langa said the court had found "nothing untoward" in a raid by South Africa's Scorpions police unit on Zuma's home in August 2005. The court ordered Zuma to pay legal costs in the case.
Zuma (66) argues that moves against him are politically motivated. He was not in court to hear the ruling, but has previously said he will step down as ANC leader if convicted. He was charged last December shortly after winning a bitter campaign against President Mbeki to become ANC leader.
Zuma is accused of racketeering, corruption, money laundering and fraud in connection with a giant arms deal. South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) said it respected the court's decision, but doubted whether Zuma would get a fair trial.
31 July MDC wants honourable exit for Mugabe
Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said he hopes President Robert Mugabe will make an "honourable exit" after power-sharing talks.
In an interview with Britain's Channel 4, Tsvangirai, who leads the larger faction of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said Mugabe was in denial about violence in Zimbabwe.
Talks, which started a week ago in South Africa, after Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed Memorundum of Understading, were halted earlier this week.
Mbeki, who has led negotiations over Zimbabwe's crisis, has said the parties are determined to find a solution within a two-week timeframe.
Tsvangirai said he was not in a position to define what his role or that of Mr Mugabe would be after the end of the talks. But he added: "What I would hope is that it will allow [Mugabe] a process of an honourable exit."
"There have been sticking points," he added. "Some issues have been ironed out, some issues are still outstanding. We hope that as the negotiations proceed they will find a common compromise."
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 28 July Zimbabwe talks in SA hit stumbling block
Unnamed sources in Zimbabwe's MDC opposition say historic talks with the governing Zanu-PF party are deadlocked, according to a report in the BBC.
A dispute has apparently arisen over a move by Robert Mugabe's party to have MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) appointed "Third Vice-President".
The MDC sources said this was "insulting", and reflected negatively on the talks' facilitator, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.
Talks began last week after Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed a Memorunduim of Understanding, paving the way for the negotiations. However, sources in the Tsvangirai camp have told the BBC that they have now ground to a halt.
Other news reports said Mugabe's negotiators were to fly home to Zimbabwe on Monday, although it is unclear whether the talks are in recess or have broken down completely.
Zimbabwe Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Social Welfare Minister Nicholas Goche who are Zanu-PF negotiators are expected to go home to consult Mugabe about their mandate.
Mweanwhile, Tsvangirai is reported to have left Zimbabwe on Monday and was travelling to South Africa, to consult his own negotiators. A spokesman for President Mbeki told the press he had no knowledge of the talks breaking down.
Tsvangirai beat Mugabe into second place in the first round of voting on 29 March but he pulled out of a 27 June run-off election after citing a wave of deadly attacks against his supporters.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 24 July Zimbabwe power sharing talks get underway in SA
Power-sharing talks between representatives of Zimbabwe's ruling and opposition parties have begun South Africa, officials said.
Reports said talks began after the arrival of the main negotiators from Zimbabwe's capital, Harare. The start of the talks on Thursday was confirmed by the office of South African President Thabo Mbeki, (pictured) who has been leading mediation over Zimbabwe.
Zanu-PF is represented by Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Public Services Minister Nicholas Goche, while Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC has sent Secretary General Tendai Biti and deputy Treasurer Elton Mangoma. The Arthur Mutambara's MDC is led by Welshman Ncube and Priscillah Misihairabwi-Mushonga
A Zanu-PF official told the press that the party's politburo had been briefed on the negotiations at a meeting on Wednesday.
"We gave Comrade Chinamasa and Comrade Goche the green light for them to go ahead with the negotiations within the parameters signed by the principals," said Zanu-PF deputy secretary for information and publicity Ephraim Masawi.
Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed a deal agreeing to the negotiations on Monday. The talks are intended to end a crisis following disputed presidential polls and are scheduled to last two weeks.
Analysts said progress will have to be swift for the talks to be concluded within that timeframe. Moreover they said the composition of a new government and the future of Mugabe, are likely to be stumbling blocks, since Zanu-PF insists that Mugabe remains president in any agreed government structure.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed a memorandum of understanding last Monday in their first meeting in over 10 years. Both men claim to have won this year's presidential elections.
Tsvangirai won the first round in March, but official results gave him less than the 50% required for outright victory. Mugabe then claimed victory in the second round after Tsvangirai pulled out, complaining of a campaign of violence against his supporters.
The MoU pact bans parties from talking to the media about the progress of the negotiations.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Congo DRC |
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 22 July Congo prisoners die of acute mulnutrition
At least 26 inmates (see picture) have died from acute malnutrition at a prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo since February 2008, according to he United Nations.
The agency says it is alarmed by the number of deaths in the main prison in the city of Mbuji Mayi in Kasai Oriental province.
Reports say four inmates died of hunger last week alone. The UN says it is particularly concerned because no measures are being taken to improve living conditions.
According to the UN, which is providing water to the prison, weekly, many of the inmates have not yet been convicted of any crime.
Staff from the UN Mission in DR Congo, Monuc, investigating the deaths found more than 20 prisoners on the verge of death in the prison, which houses 425 prisoners in a facility originally designed for 200.
22 July Zimbabweans welcome crisis talks
Zimbabweans have welcomed the signing of a MoU between Zanu-PF and the two wings of the Movement for Democratic Change, led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, respectively.
The deal sets a framework for talks on the country's political crisis and all the parties have committed themselves to hammering out the terms of the agreement within two weeks.
A report in the BBC said residents in Harare and Bulawayo were excited at the news of the agreement, saying they hoped it would allow a return to normal life.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai have been locked in a bitter dispute over this year's presidential election. Tsvangirai won the first round of presidential elections at the end of March, but official results gave him less than the 50% needed for outright victory.
Mugabe won the second round, after Tsvangirai withdrew, complaining of a campaign of violence against his supporters.
South African presidential spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga said the talks would begin at an undisclosed location in Pretoria on Tuesday afternoon. However, MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said the party's chief negotiator, Secretary-General Tendai Biti, remained in Harare.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe Mou |
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 21 July Mugabe and Tsvangirai to sign MoU on Zimbabwe crisis talks
Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and Zimbabwe’s opposition party Movement for Democratic Change, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, are due to sign a Memorundum of Understanding outlining a framework for talks on the country's political crisis, this afternoon.
Haile Menkerios, (pictured) the UN's envoy to Zimbabwe, told the press that the deal would be signed by Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
Furthermore, Menkerios said he believed the two men had agreed a draft MoU setting out the terms under which they could enter direct negotiations. But he said both men would have to sign the document to "clear the way" for talks.
The MDC still has several conditions to be met before starting substantive talks with Mugabe’s Zanu-PF. In an interview on the BBC, MDC spokesman George Sibotshiwe said that future talks would remain conditional on a complete cessation of violence and the release of all political prisoners.
"We want a government that creates a platform for us to democratise our society, in order for us to have a genuinely free and fair election," he said.
The MDC says at least 120 of its supporters have been killed, about 5,000 abducted and 200,000 forced from their homes since the first round of the elections, in a campaign of violence by pro-Mugabe militias and the army. Zanu-PF officials and military chiefs have denied the charges.
Analysts said the five-page agreement to be signed does not go into the details of a possible power-sharing arrangement, which some see as the only way out of Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis - it is merely the starting point for substantive talks.
Neither does the document mention the central issue of Mugabe's future. He insists that he must be recognised as Zimbabwe's president - a position rejected by the MDC, which accuses him of using violence to ensure that he won the run-off election on June 27, from which Tsvangirai withdrew.
Analysts say although the deal is being seen as an important step forward, the goal of a government of national unity, is still a long way off.
However, one political observer said that the fact the African Union (AU) and the United Nations joined the South African mediation efforts, was crucial in persuading the MDC to agree to talk.
The MDC accuses Mbeki of being biased in favour of Mugabe, and Tsvangirai had asked for another envoy to replace him. Last Friday, it was announced that a group of senior diplomats, drawn from the UN, AU and the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), would work alongside Mbeki, who is expected to attend the signing ceremony at a hotel in Harare.
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| AFRICA TOP NEWS - Zimbabwe |
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 17 July Mbeki cancels Zimbabwe visit over MoU impasse
South African President Thabo Mbeki (pictured) cancelled a critical visit to Zimbabwe today to witness the signing of an inter-party agreement to pave the way for substantive talks on power-sharing after the opposition backed out of endorsing the draft.
A political analyst in Harare said this was a major setback to Mbeki's efforts to find a breakthrough in the talks between President Robert Mugabe's Zanu (PF) and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) factions led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara.
Sources in Harare and South Africa said the collapse of the planned signing of the Memorundum of Understanding between Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change, flopped at the 11th hour.
Tsvangirai apparently boycotted that meeting, urging the African Union (AU) to appoint a permanent envoy to beef up Mbeki's mediation efforts. Tsvangirai has all along argued that political violence in the country had to stop before the parties can hammer out a path towards a government of national unity.
The AU recently resolved that Zimbabwe should form a government of national unity to end its political impasse. Mbeki is expected to meet AU Commission chairman Jean Ping tomorrow for talks on the Zimbabwe crisis and then fly to Harare at the weekend.
A source close to the talks said Mbeki's meeting with Ping is likely to be highly charged because of assertions that Tsvangirai reluctance to sign a MoU is based on Ping’s advice that the MDC shouldn’t co-operate until a permanent AU envoy was appointed.
South Africa’s Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said the Ping saga was a "fake issue".
The MDC and western countries say Mbeki is ineffective, even biased, and should be replaced or assisted , but Pretoria rejects this.
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