JOHANNESBURG: Nelson Mandela is showing a “sustained” improvement after more than a week in hospital battling a lung infection although his condition remains serious, South African President Jacob Zuma said yesterday. “As you are aware, president Nelson Mandela is still in hospital in Pretoria. We are grateful that he continues to get better,” Zuma said. “Over the last two days, although he remains serious, his doctors have stated that his improvement has been sustained. He continues to engage with family.”
Depardieu to seek Algerian passport
PARIS: French actor and new Russian national Gerard Depardieu said yesterday that he was applying for an Algerian passport and possibly others, describing himself a “world citizen”. The 64-year-old star, one of the world’s most prolific actors, acquired Russian nationality in January after getting into a fight with the French authorities over a new 75-percent tax on the super-rich. “I would like to have seven” passports, he told France’s Journal du Dimanche. “I’m going to ask for an Algerian one and others as well,” he said. “This will help me avoid visas.”
Czech PM faces showdown
PRAGUE: Some members of the Czech Republic’s governing coalition are considering ditching Prime Minister Petr Necas after his closest aide was charged with bribery and ordering illegal surveillance, his deputy said yesterday. Necas faces a showdown with his coalition partners when they meet for talks following the arrest of his long-standing personal assistant Jana Nagyova. If Necas is forced to step down, the government has to quit according to the constitution, meaning a period of instability in the republic. Prolonged horse-trading would be likely between the coalition, opposition and the president over how to form a new government.
Rivals scared of defeat: Mugabe
HARARE: President Robert Mugabe accused political rivals of seeking to delay elections in Zimbabwe because they fear defeat, after regional leaders urged his ruling coalition to ask the courts to extend a July 31 deadline for holding the vote. His rivals said reforms to restrictive media and security laws were essential for any fair election to be held and that it was Mugabe’s party that was not ready to go the polls. Mugabe, Africa’s oldest leader at 89, last week used a presidential decree to bypass parliament and fast-track changes to election laws and declare the voting date, drawing a sharp rebuke from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
Agencies
