Mugabe refuses to stand down in talks with military
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, the world's oldest head of state, refused to resign during a crunch meeting Thursday with military generals who have seized control of the country.
The talks in Harare came after tumultuous days in which soldiers blockaded key roads, took over state TV and put the veteran leader under house arrest.
"They met today. He is refusing to step down. I think he is trying to buy time," said a source close to the army
BONN, Germany (Reuters) – China and 18 other nations representing half the world’s population said on Thursday they planned to increase the use of wood and other plant matter from sustainable sources to generate energy as part of efforts to limit climate change.
The group would work out collective targets for increasing the use of what they called sustainable bioenergy, they said during talks in Germany among 200 nations on bolstering the 2015 Paris climate agreement. leadership who declined to be named.
Mugabe's motorcade took him from his private residence to State House for the talks which included envoys from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional bloc. A Catholic priest was also present for the gathering, according to the state-run Herald news site.
Government TV showed Mugabe dressed in a navy blue blazer and grey trousers standing alongside army chief General Constantino Chiwenga who
Argentina, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Morocco, Mozambique, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Philippines, Sweden and Uruguay signed up for the plan.
They agreed to “develop collective targets prescribing the contribution of sustainable bioenergy to final energy demand and as a percentage of transport fuel use”, their joint Biofuture Platform initiative in a statement.
Bioenergy can be generated by burning smiled and was dressed in camouflage military fatigues.
The broadcast said talks were ongoing. It also said that a graduation ceremony at a university where Mugabe is the chancellor would proceed as planned on Friday morning.
Mugabe has previously taken a hands-on role in the capping of graduates himself and if he were to attend in person it would suggest that his house arrest had been relaxed.
Zimbabwe's former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose sacking last week triggered the military takeover, has returned to the country, a senior aide told AFP on Friday.
''Yes, he is back,'' said the aide, who declined to be named, adding that Mnangagwa, who is a potential successor to President Robert Mugabe, had returned on Thursday.
Zimbabwe was left stunned at the military intervention against Mugabe, 93, who has ruled the country since independence from British rule in 1980.
Despite Mugabe's refusal to resign, attention has shifted to the prominent figures who could play a role in any transitional government.
Morgan Tsvangirai, a former prime minister and long-time opponent of Mugabe, told journalists in Harare that Mugabe must resign "in the interest of the people". wood, wood pellets or crop waste such as bagasse from sugar production.
The group would also seek to expand what they called the “bioeconomy”, or all economic activity related to the use of plants in the production of renewable energy, materials and chemicals.
“The technology and awareness of the need for bio-based solutions are finally coming together,” Brazilian Environment Minister Jose Sarney Filho said in a statement.
Environmental groups often criticize the use of trees and other plant matter in energy production, saying it can lead to the diversion of land use from food crops and destruction of natural habitats.