Zenani Mandela Dead
EXCERPT:
JOHANNESBURG — It should have been a moment of triumph – Nelson Mandela, basking in the cheers as Africa's first World Cup opened.

Instead, South Africa's beloved anti-apartheid icon stayed at home with his family Friday in northern Johannesburg during the opening ceremony and game, mourning his 13-year-old great-granddaughter Zenani, who died in a car crash on the way home from a tournament-eve concert in Soweto.

Nelson Mandela's great granddaughter killed
EXCERPT:
A heartbroken Nelson Mandela has pulled out of today's football World Cup opening ceremony in South Africa after the death of his great-granddaughter in a car crash.

Zenani Mandela, 13, was killed on the way home from last night's pre-tournament concert in Soweto, where tens of thousands of people sang and danced with pop stars including Shakira and the Black Eyed Peas.

It meant that a day the frail Mandela had long anticipated – his "rainbow nation" performing a new miracle under the world's gaze – became instead one of private grief and mourning.

The day George Bush Killed off Nelson Mandela
EXCERPT:
The day George Bush killed off Nelson MandelaBy DAVID GARDNER
Last updated at 09:54 24 September 2007

Comments (3) Add to My Stories Nelson Mandela yesterday assured the world that, contrary to the impression given by the President of the United States, reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated.
Even for a statesman as blunder-prone as George Bush, it was a gaffe of toe-curling proportions.
The president's latest faux pas came as he tried to draw a tortuous link between the revered former South African leader and the sectarian violence in Iraq.
Defending his stand on the war, Mr Bush said Saddam Hussein's brutality had made it impossible for a unifying leader to emerge and halt the civil warfare that has torn Iraq apart.

Nelson Mandela
EXCERPT:
The man making those statements was Nelson Mandela, who just turned 85. Mandela celebrated his birthday with a gala dinner in Johannesburg. Among those taking part were the Clintons, Oprah Winfrey, the singer Bono, Barbra Streisand, actors John Cusack and Robert De Niro, Coretta Scott King, Richard Branson, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and some 1,600 other guests. Archbishop Desmond Tutu came out of retirement to bless the proceedings.

RUNNING INTERFERENCE

A week earlier, the South Africans resorted to diplomatic maneuver to avoid a confrontation between Mandela and the visiting U.S. president. Nelson was dispatched to speak at conferences in London and Pariswhile our president was visiting South Africa. When the coast was clear, he returned for his party.