Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe gave the strongest indication yet on Friday that he would not run for reelection after 2008 but left open the question of whether he would serve out his current six-year term.
"In five years [I will be] here still boxing, writing quite a lot, reading quite a lot, and still in politics. I won't leave politics, but I will have retired obviously," Mugabe said in an interview with state television on the eve of his 80th birthday.
Mugabe, who has been in power since independence from Britain in 1980, was not specific on when he would quit, meaning he could still serve out the remaining four years of his term following his controversial re-election in 2002.
The veteran leader has left his retirement plans open over the past year despite speculation that he wants a graceful exit in the face of severe economic and political turmoil that critics blame on what they call his misrule.
Mugabe denies charges by the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change and several Western countries that he rigged the 2002 polls, and has previously dismissed speculation he will leave office early.
Mugabe has remained defiant in the face of international criticism of his rule and pulled Zimbabwe out of the Commonwealth group of mostly former British colonies when it extended Zimbabwe's 18-month suspension over the elections.
Mugabe, who dismisses the MDC as a puppet of his Western foes, walked out of talks with the MDC after it went to court to challenge his 2002 victory, and has previously said it must recognize him as president before talks can resume.
Mugabe denies mismanaging Zimbabwe's economy, which has record unemployment and inflation, as well as shortages of foreign currency, fuel and food.
He says the economy has been sabotaged by opponents of his forcible redistribution of white-owned farms among landless blacks.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of