SOUTH AFRICAN president Kgalema Motlanthe urged Zimbabwe’s political leaders to show “maturity” as they entered crunch talks yesterday aimed at saving their troubled power-sharing deal.

African leaders grappled today with a long-simmering crisis in Zimbabwe and a new humanitarian catastrophe in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will attend a summit in Harare next week aimed at saving an agreement to form a unity government with President Robert Mugabe, a spokesman said yesterday.

A former freedom fighter today became South Africa’s president, but he is only expected to serve until a vote next year chooses ANC leader Jacob Zuma as his replacement.

South Africa’s finance minister resigned along with most leading Cabinet members today in the wake of president Thabo Mbeki’s departure.

African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma will today seek to persuade a court to dismiss corruption and fraud charges against him – and remove the last obstacle on his road to becoming South African president.