Mugabe hands Olympic medalist $100,000 cash reward

Fri Aug 29, 12:38 PM ET

HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe on Friday handed the country’s only Olympic medalist in Beijing a $100,000 cash reward for her performance at the games.

Swimmer Kirsty Coventry smashed the world record to win gold in the women’s 200 meters backstroke. She also captured three silver medals.

Mugabe handed the U.S-based swimmer the cash at a ceremony in Harare carried live on state television.

“Our national spirit must exude joy and pleasure and say you have done well, daughter of Zimbabwe. We are proud of you, we wish you well. She’s our golden girl … take care of her,” he said at the ceremony.

The U.S. dollars, scarce in a country struggling with an economic crisis marked by a severe shortage of foreign currency, were carried in a briefcase by Zimbabwe’s central bank governor.

Other members of Zimbabwe’s Olympic team received between $2,000 and $10,000 each.

(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by MacDonald Dzirutwe)

Zambia’s president dies in French hospital

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) — Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa died Tuesday at a hospital in Paris nearly two months after suffering a stroke, Zambian and French officials confirmed. He was 59.

Levy Mwanawasa, president of Zambia, died after suffering a stroke nearly two months ago.

Mwanawasa fell ill in late June at an African Union summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Zambian officials said at the time.

Mwanawasa’s death “is a great loss for the Zambian people who respected and had great affection for him,” according to a statement from French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

“It’s a great loss for the African continent as a whole, which appreciated his political courage,” Sarkozy’s statement said. “It’s a big loss for democracy, for which he was an ardent defender his whole life.

“France salutes his memory, full of courage and liberty.”

The Zambian leader was taken from a hospital in Egypt to an intensive care unit in Paris in June, but initial reports that he died days later turned out to be false.

Mwanawasa would have turned 60 on September 3.

President Bush also issued a statement mourning the loss of Mwanawasa, described by the U.S. leader as “a champion of democracy in his own country and throughout Africa.”

“As President of Zambia, President Mwanawasa launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign and dedicated himself to improving the welfare of all Zambians,” according to the White House statement.

“As Chairman of the Southern African Development Community, President Mwanawasa worked tirelessly to uphold the values of good governance, speaking out against human rights abuses and threats to democracy when many others were silent.

“On behalf of the United States, we extend our sincere condolences to President Mwanawasa’s wife, his family, and all Zambians during this difficult time.”

Hundreds of protesters greet Mugabe at summit

Robert Mugabe (left) and Morgan Tsvangirai met last month for the first round of talks.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) — African leaders gathered for a weekend summit in South Africa on Saturday as hundreds protested nearby, angry at the inclusion of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

The protesters planned to march to the summit venue in Johannesburg to call on the leaders not to recognize Mugabe as a head of state after June’s widely discredited presidential runoff that returned the longtime president to power.

Zimbabwe’s political crisis is expected to dominate the summit of the 14-member Southern African Development Community (SADC), a regional group set up to promote democracy and economic growth in the region.

South African President Thabo Mbeki, SADC’s appointed mediator for Zimbabwe, had hoped to host the summit having clinched a power-sharing deal between Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. But after weeks of back-and-forth talks among the parties, Mbeki has been unable to get them to agree.

Inside the summit venue, Mugabe sat on the dais along with the other invited leaders, while Tsvangirai sat in the audience with other guests.

One leader was missing from the line-up — Botswanan President Ian Khama, who said he was boycotting the summit because he considers Mugabe’s presidency illegitimate.

Talks on Zimbabwe are continuing throughout the weekend on the sidelines of the summit, but the sides appeared far from reaching a deal. The sticking point is how much power Mugabe would retain in a future unity government.

Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change disputes the result of the June runoff, condemned internationally as a sham. Tsvangirai pulled out of the race citing political violence and intimidation, but Mugabe went ahead with the vote and declared victory.

Zimbabwe power-sharing deal close, sources say

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A power-sharing deal between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is just “one or two sticking points” away, sources close to the negotiations said Saturday.

South African President Thabo Mbeki was scheduled to arrive in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, on Saturday to mediate another round of face-to-face talks between the two bitter political rivals, the sources said.

The sources did not elaborate on the nature of the issues still separating the sides.

The region has been engulfed in politically motivated violence since the disputed March presidential elections

France Denies Involvement in Rwanda Genocide

By Lisa Bryant

PARIS, France has rejected a report by Rwanda claiming Paris played a role in the 1994 genocide in the East African nation. Lisa Bryant reports from Paris the French government says it still wants to rebuild frayed relations with Rwanda.

In remarks to reporters Wednesday, French Foreign Minister spokesman Romain Nadal said the report by a Rwandan commission made “unacceptable accusations against French political and military officials,” and he questioned the commission’s objectivity.

French soldiers on patrol pass ethnic Hutu troops from the Rwandan government forces 27 June 1994, near Gisenyie, about 10kms from the border with Zaire

Published Tuesday, the 500-page report claims France was aware of preparations leading up to Rwanda’s 1994 genocide that killed some 800 people in just a few months. It accuses the French military in Rwanda of contributing to the planning of the massacres and even taking part in the killings that mostly targeted members of the minority Tutsi ethnic group. France had military advisors in Rwanda leading up to the genocide, and later headed a humanitarian operation there.

It implicates 13 French politicians and 20 military officials, including former French prime minister Alain Juppe – who was foreign minister at the time – and late president Francois Mitterrand.

The accusations against France are not new, nor are the French rebuttals. During a visit to Kigali in January, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner again denied French military involvement in the genocide.

Mr. Kouchner said there was a certain reticence and problems of understanding by the French military back home, but he would never attack the French army because it was not responsible for the killings. In his opinion, the mistakes were political ones.

France and Rwanda have traded accusations over the years over just who was responsible for the killings. The two countries cut diplomatic ties in 2006 after leading French judge Jean -Louis Brugiere accused current Rwandan President Paul Kagame of being involved in the death of his predecessor in 1994, which sparked the genocide.

The two countries have sought to mend relations in recent months, with a meeting between Kagame and French President Nicolas Sarkozy last December and Kouchner’s trip to Rwanda in January. Foreign Ministry spokesman Nadal said Tuesday that France remained determined to rebuild a new relationship with Rwanda.