Chad Leader Idriss Deby Dies On Battlefield After Winning Reelection

Idriss Deby took power in a coup decades ago and died fighting against rebels trying to oust him. Over 30 years, Deby has been a maverick figure in the Sahel region, with friends in the West but enemies close to home.

Idriss Deby, the son of a shepherd who went on to lead his country Chad and become one of Africa's longest-serving heads of state, has died on a battlefield with anti-government rebels. He was 68.

The shock announcement came from the Chadian military, just a day after Deby was confirmed president-elect after securing nearly 80% of the April 11 vote. Meanwhile, Deby's son, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, has taken over as interim leader of a transitional military council, the military said |||READ MORE

Zindzi Mandela, daughter of Nelson Mandela, has died - ANC spokesman

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Zindzi Mandela, daughter of former South African president and liberation hero Nelson Mandela, has died, the spokesman of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) said on Monday.

Zindzi Mandela, whose mother was anti-apartheid activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, rose to international prominence when she read out Nelson Mandela's rejection of then-president P.W. Botha's offer for freedom in 1985.

State broadcaster SABC said the 59-year-old, who was serving as South Africa's ambassador to Denmark, died in a hospital in Johannesburg. It did not say why she had died |||READ MORE