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Johannesburg
Robyn Dixon, Bureau Chief
Robyn Dixon, who covers West and Southern Africa, has also reported from Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia and other parts of the former USSR, Afghanistan and Iraq. She spent 10 years in Moscow, traveling extensively to Ukraine, Georgia, Tajikistan and across Russia. She started as a cub reporter in her home city of Melbourne. After doing every conceivable job, from writing a daily TV column to covering national politics in Canberra, she went to Moscow for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, sister papers of the Fairfax group in Australia. In 1999 Dixon shifted to the Times Moscow bureau. In 2003, she moved to Johannesburg. EMAILThe surprise move, in defiance of a power-sharing deal, ensures Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party will retain their iron grip on the troubled country.
The head of the ruling ANC is in line to be the nation's president. Despite his recent efforts, the prospect unsettles those unsure of him.
An ally of former President Thabo Mbeki accuses the African National Congress of betraying democracy. He says he and other ANC members plan to form a new party.
Supporters of former President Thabo Mbeki and backers of current party leader Jacob Zuma square off in acrimonious discord.
About $2.16 billion has flooded out of the country so far this year as foreign investors sell off stocks and continue to shun emerging markets.
Kgalema Motlanthe, called a uniting figure, is viewed as a caretaker until elections next year, when ANC chief Jacob Zuma is expected to take over.
The ruling African National Congress tries to restore investor confidence as it deals with a rift between the nation's outgoing president, Thabo Mbeki, and party president Jacob Zuma.
The ANC party leader says his deputy, Kgalema Motlanthe, would be up to replacing the ousted Mbeki. Zuma is likely to win the presidency next year.
Mbeki says he has never tried to use the judicial process to attack rival Jacob Zuma.
The Zimbabwe president can't be held accountable for political violence during his 28-year rule, but others may be, the new prime minister tells The Times.
After lying low in the wake of beatings by thugs from the ZANU-PF party, they venture out to support Morgan Tsvangirai as he and Robert Mugabe sign a power-sharing deal.
'The ruling party's time was over,' one Zimbabwean says. But others fear more trickery from President Robert Mugabe.
The president will remain in office and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will become prime minister under a complicated deal.
The West's muted reaction to the oil-rich nation's election is called a double standard.
COLUMN ONE
With most independent newspapers shut down by Mugabe's regime, activists -- and even a diplomat -- have turned to the Internet.
The election of a candidate from the Movement for Democratic Change, or MDC, deals a blow to President Robert Mugabe's regime. The vote is seen as a key test of who will control parliament.
The Zimbabwe political impasse will top the agenda of the Southern African Development Community. Botswana threatens to boycott if Robert Mugabe attends as Zimbabwe's president.
SOUTHERN AFRICA
Rising prices mean more hunger for the people of Swaziland, most of whom already live in dire poverty.
U.N. food agency says the situation is dire, with roads blocked amid tension and unrest over the disputed presidential election.
One-third of the people depend on foreign food aid, with the rural poor most affected.
COLUMN ONE
With hyperinflation at 7,900% and people using up their savings just buying food, life has been reduced to the queue.
COLUMN ONE
In a country where land is bitterly contested and racial fury is rooted deep, Mike Campbell is one of the last resisting attempts to seize his property.