Johannesburg  - South Africa was thrown into turmoil Sunday after the governing African National Congress (ANC) called on President Thabo Mbeki on Saturday to resign over evidence of political interference in a case against ANC leader Jacob Zuma.

The ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe told reporters the party's National Executive Committee had "decided to recall the president of the republic before his term of office expires".

Mbeki, who is in the final months of his second five-year term as president, has yet to indicate whether he is ready to accede to their demand.

Johannesburg  - The top decision-making body of South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party began a three- day meeting Friday that will decide the fate of President Thabo Mbeki.

Mbeki's neck has been on the ANC's chopping block since a court last week found evidence of political interference in the decision to prosecute ANC leader Jacob Zuma for corruption.

Mbeki and Zuma have been foes ever since Mbeki sacked Zuma as his deputy in 2005 on suspicion of corruption in an arms deal.

Zuma came back to trounce Mbeki as leader of the ANC last December, putting him on track to become president.

Johannesburg  - Voting was underway Friday in parliamentary elections in Swaziland that have been branded farcical by political parties that are barred from contesting polls in Africa's last absolute monarchy.

Voters queued outside polling stations from early morning in the landlocked kingdom of around 1 million people to cast their ballot for 55 members of the 65-seat national assembly. King Mswati III names the remaining 10.

He also names the prime minister, ministers and judges.

The run-up to the polls has seen unprecedented protests in the normally peaceful country of mainly subsistence farmers, with political parties and trade unions using the occasion to underscore the lack of democracy in the country.

Johannesburg - FIFA president Joseph Blatter got into the swing of things Wednesday, clicking his heels in a little dance as he expressed satisfaction with South Africa's preparations for the 2010 World Cup.

"I am a happy man," Blatter said after visiting Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg, one of two stadiums in the city being upgraded for the tournament.

Expressing his pleasure at being in South Africa, the head of football's world governing body said: "I prefer the rhythm of this country.

"You know in Zurich (FIFA headquarters) we are in the German part of Switzerland. This is boring, boring!"

Harare /Johannesburg  - As Zimbabwe's newly united political leaders prepared to hash over the make-up of a unity government, aid agencies urged donors to quickly release aid to feed the country's needy.

President Robert Mugabe, prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai and deputy prime minister-designate Arthur Mutambara were due to meet later Thursday to finalize the apportioning of ministries between their parties.

"We hope to finalize everything by the end of the week," Patrick Chinamasa, chief negotiator for Mugabe's Zanu-PF told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Johannesburg, Sept. 15 : He rules Zimbabwe with an iron fist, but when he wants to relax, he loves to watch tennis, cricket and the BBC -- a trio of very British institutions.

We are talking about Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, and the man revealing his favourite pastimes is his former press secretaryAndrew Mutandwa.

Mutandwa was forced to flee Zimbabwe after he broke ranks over his former hero''s brutal excesses. Now living in exile in London, he has spoken out about the chilling and sometimes bizarre realities of life with the African leader.