Mandela Finally Removed From US Terror List

91-year-old taking limited role in South Africa events

(NEWSER) - Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from a South African prison, but the 91-year-old won’t return to the site of his 27-year incarceration to join in a retracing of his steps to freedom over concerns that he’s too frail for the task. The abrupt announcement came today from the African National Congress, which Mandela led and in which his ex-wife is still powerful. More»

Motlanthe viewed as able to ease tensions within ruling party

(NEWSER) - Kgalema Motlanthe was sworn in as South Africa’s caretaker president today after winning three-quarters of a parliamentary ballot, the BBC reports. The left-leaning intellectual is seen as someone who can ease rifts between supporters of Jacob Zuma, head of the African National Congress party head, and former President Thabo Mbeki. More»

Leader's writings released in new memoir

(NEWSER) - Nelson Mandela sat in a prison cell for 27 years, alone and separated from his family, with not much more to do than write—waves of words documenting his anguish that are now being released in a new memoir, Conversations With Myself. Some excerpts, as per the BBC:

• To wife Winnie Mandela, he wrote in 1969 that his main problem was "my waking up without you close to me, the passing of the day without my having seen you."
• To his daughters, aged 9 and 10, as both he and Winnie were imprisoned in 1969: "Now you will get no birthday or Christmas parties, no presents or new dresses no shoes or toys." Later: "Long may you live as orphans."
• A year later, he wrote Winnie that "I feel I have been soaked in gall, every part of me, my flesh, bloodstream, bone and soul, so bitter am I to be completely powerless to help you in the rough and fierce ordeals you are going through."

Former prez gets roaring approval from rally crowd

(NEWSER) - Even at 90, Nelson Mandela can still fire up a crowd, which was exactly what South African presidential nominee Jacob Zuma was counting on. The white-haired former president rolled into a stadium of 100,000 African National Congress supporters yesterday and sat on stage during Zuma's rally. Despite corruption scandals, polls predict an easy win for the ANC, the Washington Post reports. More»

Critics none too pleased by new role for ex-convict Winnie

(NEWSER) - Placed high on her party’s list of future MPs, Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is set to return to a central role in South Africa’s government, the Guardian reports. Such a position is already sparking controversy surrounding Madikizela-Mandela's past—including a 2003 fraud conviction when she was deputy arts minister, and a 1991 kidnapping conviction and accessory role in a 14-year-old’s death. More»