HARARE, Zimbabwe – A raging house fire has killed one of Zimbabwe’s main political brokers, raising questions Tuesday about the battle within longtime President Robert Mugabe’s party over who will succeed the ailing 87-year-old leader.

Gen. Solomon Mujuru, the 62-year-old former military chief and guerrilla leader, died in an overnight fire at one of his homes, the nation’s army commander said Tuesday.

Mujuru headed Zimbabwe’s military for more than a decade after independence in 1980, and his widow is vice president. Joice Mujuru and her supporters are vying for supremacy within their party should Mugabe die or retire.

Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party has been plagued by disputes over who will succeed him. Mujuru’s wife leads a powerful faction in Mugabe’s party, but she counted on the support of her husband, who still commanded loyalty in the military for his role in helping sweep Mugabe into power at independence in 1980.

His power base was seen as the foundation of her political fortunes.

After his retirement, Mujuru acquired an empire of farms, properties, mines and other interests that made him one of wealthiest and most influential figures in the top echelons of Mugabe’s party and its policymaking politburo.

“His death leaves the party in a shambles. He was holding it together and we will now see more infighting,” said John Makumbe, a political scientist at Zimbabwe’s main university.

Reporters at the scene of the farm some 35 miles (55 kilometers) southwest of Harare saw the building razed to the ground. Police said Mujuru’s body was “burned beyond recognition.”

Stephen Harineyo, an employee at the farm, said Mujuru went to bed Monday during a power outage, a common occurrence in Zimbabwe. It was not clear if an electrical fault may have ignited the blaze when the power came back on later.

Firefighters arrived without water, with even outages of emergency water supplies common in the embattled economy. Workers at the farm attempted unsuccessfully to stop the blaze with water collected from a stream about nearly 3 kilometers (2 miles) away.

Simon Khaya Moyo, the fourth ranking official in Mugabe’s party, said Mujuru had long fought for unity in Zimbabwe.

“He was the glue to our future,” he said. “None of us would have the audacity to betray him.”

Mugabe has yet to comment on Mujuru’s death.

Makumbe, the political scientist, said the fire raised rumors of foul play as news of Mujuru’s death slowly spread in the capital, Harare, before an official announcement was made.

Police said they were investigating the cause of the fire.

Mujuru was known to have had sharp disagreements with political colleagues over Mugabe’s possible retirement to make way for younger leaders he favored, earning him rebukes from Mugabe hard-liners, Makumbe said.

Makumbe said Mujuru was characteristically “a man of few words who was respected” among the younger political and military hierarchy.

Mugabe has acknowledged deep divisions in his party and has said he cannot leave office until he has resolved them and unified the party ahead of elections. He wants a vote to end a shaky coalition with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, his longtime opponent.

The coalition was brokered by regional leaders after disputed and violent elections in 2008.

Mugabe is scheduled to attend a summit of regional presidents this week in Angola, at which Zimbabwe’s political crisis is high on the agenda. Regional leaders have recently taken a firmer stance against violence and other obstacles to democratic reforms blamed on Mugabe and his party leaders.

In the past, Mugabe has favored Joice Mujuru, 56, to succeed him, making her his first vice president above his veteran colleague, second Vice President John Nkomo, 77.

“I don’t think she will be able to do it alone,” said Makumbe.

___

Associated Press Writer Gillian Gotora contributed to this report from the town of Beatrice, Zimbabwe.

Source

GENEVA – The U.N. World Food Program insisted Tuesday it won’t reduce emergency aid shipments to Somalia despite allegations of fraud, saying that though such complaints are frequent it doesn’t believe there have been big losses.

WFP said it is bringing 5,000 tons a month of food into the Somali capital of Mogadishu to help the famine-hit nation. Tens of thousands of people each week are fleeing famine in Somalia to neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya.

An investigation on the ground by The Associated Press found that sacks of grain, peanut butter snacks and other food staples meant for starving Somalis are being stolen and sold in Somali markets, raising concerns that the unscrupulous are stealing from international famine relief efforts. One official in Mogadishu estimated to the AP that up to half of the recent food shipments may have been stolen.

WFP officials disputed that figure Tuesday. Lauren Landis, the new director of WFP’s Geneva office, said it seems “implausible” that a large amount of food is being diverted because it would pose a huge logistical challenge.

“Large losses of food is abnormal, because we know how to do this,” Landis told AP, without elaborating further.

She said theft worries are common with WFP operations in Somalia and around the world.

However, WFP officials rely on third-party monitors on the ground to make sure that aid agencies and the Somali government fight corruption and don’t allow diverted aid to help fuel Somalia’s 20-year civil war. AP journalists went into the markets to see for themselves.

Families at a large, government-run camp where aid groups distribute food told the AP they were often forced to hand back the aid after journalists had taken photos of them with it. In Mogadishu markets, vast piles of food are for sale with stamps on them from the WFP, the U.S. government USAID agency, the Japanese government and the Kuwaiti government. The AP found eight sites where thousands of sacks of food aid were being sold in bulk. Other food aid was also for sale in numerous smaller stores.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said the mortality rate among young children at a camp for Somali refugees in Ethiopia has reached alarming levels, with an average of 10 children under five dying every day since the Kobe camp in southeast Ethiopia opened in June.

The camp holds 25,000 refugees. A suspected measles outbreak combined with acute malnutrition is thought to be the cause of deaths, said Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Source

BENGHAZI, Libya (AFP) – A deadline for Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi to step down and stay in the country has expired, the chief of the rebel National Transitional Council said Wednesday, as the warring parties spar over ways to end the conflict.

Meanwhile, Britain gave a major boost to the rebels by inviting them to take over the Libyan embassy in London, which the Kadhafi regime slammed, while Washington said it was examining a request by the rebels to recognise the insurgents.

A defiant Kadhafi meanwhile said he was ready to “pay with our lives” to defeat the rebels and the NATO alliance, which he accused of helping him make progress on the ground, namely in the Nafusa western mountains.

NTC chief Mustafa Mohamed Abdel Jalil said the rebels had delivered to UN special envoy Abdul Ilah al-Khatib “a very specific, well-intentioned offer that Kadhafi can stay in Libya under three conditions.

“We made a proposal. The deadline has passed. The proposal has expired,” he told reporters of the month-old offer.

Under the offer, Kadhafi would have had to step aside and relinquish all responsibilities, his place of residence would be the “choice of the Libyan people” and he would be under “close supervision,” Abdel Jalil said.

“The period of this proposal has passed,” he said. “We cannot ignore the fact that the people who have been standing against him want him out.”

Abdel Jalil added it is “disappointing and unexplainable that the NTC has received a counter-proposal stating that the council, being the representative of the Libyan people, should share responsibilities of government of Libya with the Kadhafi regime.”

On Tuesday, following visits to the rebel bastion Benghazi and the capital Tripoli, Khatib said Libya's rivals “remain deeply divided on how to reach a political solution.”

A statement quoted Khatib as saying both sides “remain far apart on reaching agreement on a political solution” but had reaffirmed to him “their desire to continue to engage with the UN in the search for a solution.”

Loyalists troops and rebels have fought their way into a stalemate five months after the start of a popular uprising that quickly turned into a civil war.

The Libyan leader is in control of much of the west and his Tripoli stronghold, while the opposition holds the east from their bastion in Benghazi.

And they are also using the Nafusa mountains in the west as a springboard for their advance on the Libyan capital to overthrow Kadhafi's regime.

But Kadhafi said he would defeat the rebels and NATO.

“We are not afraid. We will defeat them. We will pay the price with out lives, our women and our children. We are ready to sacrifice (ourselves,) he said in an audio message to his loyalists in Zaltan, near the border with Tunisia.

Kadhafi also called on his partisans to march on the Nafusa mountains and said the rebels, whom he called “traitors” must choose between “death and surrender”.

In London British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Wednesday his country has expelled all remaining staff at the Libyan embassy and recognised the NTC as Libya's sole legitimate government, inviting it take over the embassy in London.

“The prime minister and I have decided that the United Kingdom recognises and will deal with the National Transitional Council as the sole governmental authority in Libya,” Hague said.

And in Washington State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the United States was also reviewing a request by Libya's rebels to open an embassy in the US capital.

“They did send an official request regarding the reopening of their embassy and we're reviewing that request. And we'll work through these issues,” he said.

Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaaim slammed Britain's decision as “irresponsible and illegal” under British and international law, while the NTC chairman hailed the British decision.

“We consider this irresponsible, illegal and in violation of British and international laws,” he said, adding that Kadhafi's regime “will take necessary actions,” in British and international courts.

For his part, the NTC's Abdel Jalil said “we express tremendous appreciation for this recognition.”

The council expects the United Kingdom and Turkey to become the first countries to release some of Libya's frozen assets, which he said “unfortunately have not been liquidated to date.”

In that vein, Hague said Britain would also unlock £91 million ($149 million, 102 million euros) of Libyan oil assets frozen under a UN Security Council resolution so that the rebels could benefit from them.

Abdel Jalil promised that the rebels would honour all of Libya's international agreements made prior to February 17 and that it would comply with the wishes of the international community over the fate of Kadhafi, who is now a “wanted man.”

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in a statement in the Hague that Libya and any future government of the country has the “obligation” to arrest Kadhafi.

On June 27, ICC judges issued arrest warrants for the embattled Libyan leader, his son Seif al-Islam, and Libyan spy master Abdullah al-Senussi for crimes against humanity allegedly committed since the uprising started against Kadhafi in mid-February.

Source

CAIRO (Reuters) – The judge presiding over the trial of Hosni Mubarak on Monday ordered TV cameras out of the courtroom until the case concludes, enraging opponents of the deposed president who vowed to challenge the decision with protests in downtown Cairo.

Mubarak is the first head of state overthrown during a wave of uprisings in the Arab world to appear in court and the TV coverage has gripped audiences across the Middle East. A public trial was a key demand of protesters who had camped in Cairo's Tahrir Square for weeks in July to press for a swift hearing.

“Preposterous!” said Sherif Mohamed, an engineer who was watching the trial outside the court building in Cairo. “The case is necessary for public opinion. Not airing it live means there is a deal with Mubarak.”

“To Tahrir — that is where I am going now. People power is stronger than people in power,” said Mohamed Ali, 35.

Mubarak stands accused of authorizing the use of live ammunition to shoot protesters, of corruption and abuse of power. Judge Ahmed Refaat ordered the trial be merged with that of Mubarak's Interior Minister Habib al-Adli and six others who face similar charges in order to streamline the processes.

Supporters and opponents of Mubarak threw stones at each other and fist fights erupted near the court, set up in a police academy building in a Cairo suburb, as Mubarak flew in by helicopter for the second day of his trial and was wheeled into the courtroom's steel cage on a hospital bed.

The crowd lunged forward as Mubarak arrived and his supporters hurled stones at a group of protesters who demanded the death penalty for the 83-year-old.

The crowd broke through a cordon formed by hundreds of riot police and the Mubarak supporters chased their opponents away from the court building. One protester attacked a policeman. Then police jumped on him and beat him.

“Judge, wake up! Mubarak killed my brothers! Execute the killer!,” shouted some in the crowd.

In a courtroom packed with more than 150 excited lawyers, Mubarak looked composed and stern, hands clasped over his chest. An intravenous needle was implanted in his left hand. He was not wearing the regulation white uniform of prisoners.

Mubarak spent much of the session with his eyes closed and often yawning, and some observers said he looked weaker than at his last appearance. “His health is a little bit worse it seems… His sons kept bending over to explain to him what's going on,” said military analyst Safwat Zayaat.

Mubarak exchanged a few words with his sons Alaa and Gamal, also standing trial, and spoke up to state his presence. The sons sought to shield him from cameras and one of them kissed Mubarak on the forehead to comfort him.

Ousted on February 11, Mubarak fled Cairo to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Medical reports issued after he was taken to a hospital following initial questioning in April said he was suffering from heart problems, depression and fainting.

“I want people to read their history and know what this great man has done for us. He kept Egypt stable. He has been humiliated but he is weathering the storm with pride,” said Ehab Sameh, 30, outside the court.

HEARING POSTPONED

For generations, Arab leaders ruled for life and were seldom held to account, but if found guilty of ordering the killings, Mubarak could in theory face the death penalty.

Some 850 people were killed in the uprising and more than 6,000 wounded when security forces fired live rounds, rubber bullets and water cannon, and used baton against protesters.

Judge Refaat postponed the hearing until September 5 after Mubarak's lawyer Farid al-Deeb requested time to view all the documents submitted to court.

Lawyers were split over whether suspending television coverage of the trial was a good thing. Monday's session was marked by rowdy exchanges and scuffles between the dozens of lawyers who pressed toward the bench to make their demands.

“The Egyptian public needs a transparent trial at this stage. If they cannot see what is happening, rumors will circulate and the degree of vagueness surrounding the trial will increase,” said plaintiff lawyer Mahmoud el-Khoudary.

“It is understandable to cut live feed of this sensational trial,” said Ahmed Hamrawi, a lawyer for some of the plaintiffs. “There are lawyers who are more concerned about appearing in front of the camera than putting up a good argument … From now

the trial session will be more focused and less chaotic.”

RISKS IF TRIAL DRAGS ON

Egypt's ruling military council has promised a transition to democracy in the Arab world's most populous country — a process far from complete and, the pro-reform camp says, vulnerable to high-level obstruction.

Judging and punishing Mubarak swiftly could assuage the population and ease a peaceful transition to civilian rule.

But with so many witnesses, lawyers, plaintiffs and varied charges, it could drag on for months or years.

The cases of the defendants are interlinked and each could accuse his superior of giving the orders to fire, thus weakening the case against Mubarak, said Essam Soltan, a lawyer for the plaintiffs lawyers.

In the first court session on August 3, lawyers asked for the head of Egypt's ruling army council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and about 1,600 others to testify as witnesses.

Lawyers have also called for Tantawi, who was defense minister for two decades under Mubarak and heads the military council, to appear as a witness.

Mubarak's defense counsel says testimony by Tantawi on Mubarak's role in trying to suppress the 18-day uprising could decide the ex-president's fate.

“Tantawi's testimony would help the court determine whether Mubarak gave orders to Interior Minister Habib al-Adli to fire at protesters or whether Adli was acting independently,” said a member of the defense team, who asked not to be named.

(Reporting by Yasmine Saleh; Writing by Tom Pfeiffer; Editing by Sami Aboudi and Jon Boyle)

Source

Eritrea emerged from its long war of independence in 1993 only to plunge once again into military conflict, first with Yemen and then, more devastatingly, with its old adversary, Ethiopia.

Today, a fragile peace prevails and Eritrea faces the gigantic tasks of rebuilding its infrastructure and of developing its economy after more than 30 years of fighting.

A former Italian colony, Eritrea was occupied by the British in 1941. In 1952 the United Nations resolved to establish it as an autonomous entity federated with Ethiopia as a compromise between Ethiopian claims for sovereignty and Eritrean aspirations for independence. However, 10 years later the Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie, decided to annex it, triggering a 32-year armed struggle.

This culminated in independence after an alliance of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) and a coalition of Ethiopian resistance movements defeated Haile Selassie's communist successor, Mengistu Haile Mariam.

In 1993, in a referendum supported by Ethiopia, Eritreans voted almost unanimously for independence, leaving Ethiopia landlocked.

Continue reading the main story

At a glance

Politics: The government has been accused of repression and of hindering the development of democracy

Economy: Eritrea is said to exist on loans and the earnings of the diaspora

International: Eritrea and Ethiopia remain in dispute after their 1998-2000 border war; in 2009 the UN imposed sanctions on Eritrea after accusing it of backing anti-Ethiopian Islamist insurgents in Somalia

The two countries hardly became good neighbours, with the issues of Ethiopian access to the Eritrean ports of Massawa and Assab and unequal trade terms souring relations.

In 1998 border disputes around the town of Badme erupted into open hostilities. This conflict ended with a peace deal in June 2000, but not before leaving both sides with tens of thousands of soldiers dead. A security zone separates the two countries. The UN patrolled the zone at one time but pulled out, unable to fulfil its mandate.

The unresolved border issue compounds other pressing problems. These include Eritrea's inability to provide enough food; two thirds of the population receive food aid. Moreover, economic progress is hampered by the proportion of Eritreans who are in the army rather than the workforce.

Source

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Former military chief Gen. Solomon Mujuru, one of Zimbabwe’s main political power brokers and husband of the vice president, has died, relatives and family friends said Tuesday. Mujuru was 63.

Family members said by telephone that Mujuru, a retired general, died at a farm about 60 miles (100 kilometers) west of Harare on Monday. They could not be identified because releasing the news violated the protocol rules of President Robert Mugabe’s fractured party.

Rugare Gumbo, spokesman for Mugabe’s party, said party leaders in Harare knew of the family members’ reports but he could not officially confirm the information.

Vice President Joice Mujuru leads a powerful faction in Mugabe’s party backed by her husband, who commanded loyalty in the military. The general, a leader of the guerrilla war that swept Mugabe to power, commanded the military for more than a decade after Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980.

Details on the circumstances of his death were not immediately available, but friends said a house fire was suspected.

Mujuru’s death was likely to intensify turmoil in Mugabe’s party over the question of who will succeed the 87-year-old president. Joice Mujuru and her supporters in the party are chief rivals to Defense Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa and his followers, who have been vying for supremacy in the party should Mugabe, in ailing health, die or retire.

Mugabe has acknowledged deep divisions in his party and has said he cannot leave office until he has resolved them and unified the party ahead of elections. He wants a vote to end a shaky coalition with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, his longtime opponent.

The coalition was brokered by regional leaders after disputed and violent elections in 2008.

Regional presidents, including Mugabe, are scheduled to hold a summit in Angola this week with the Zimbabwe political crisis high on the agenda.

Regional leaders have recently taken a firmer stance against violence and other obstacles to democratic reforms blamed on Mugabe and his party leaders.

Source