Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe earns US300 per month (R2,400), City Press website reported.

This emerged to light when Zimbabwean Finance Minister addressed the Zimbabwe Teachers' Association persuading them not to embark on a strike.

Teachers wanted to be paid US400 per month but Biti said those salary demands were too high under that country's economic conditions.

"Unless there is a dramatic improvement in the economy and revenue improves by 300 percent, we have no fiscal space for a salary increment at the moment. Even the President and Prime Minister are currently earning US300 and we can't draw water from stones. The economy is not performing," City Press website quoted him.

Sapa

Six Gambian journalists sentenced last month to two years in prison after publishing comments critical of the tiny west African nation's president walked free on Thursday after receiving pardons.

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh pardoned the journalists, his office said in a statement.

Gambian Press Union Vice President Sarata Jabbi-Dibba told AFP by telephone that she had been released from the Mile 2 prison.

Her five male colleagues left the Mile Jeshwang prison outside Banjul on Thursday evening chanting "the truth will always prevail".

The journalists from the newspaper Foroyaa and weekly publication The Point were convicted of sedition and defamation for comments critical of Jammeh.

They were taken to court after their publications carried a statement from the Gambia Press Union which attacked remarks made by Jammeh about the murder of a prominent journalist in 2004.

Jammeh, who has ruled the west African country since taking power in a bloodless coup in 1994, warned journalists in July against tarnishing Gambia's image.

"Any journalist who thinks that he or she can write whatever he or she wants and go free is making a big mistake", he told state-owned GRTS television.

"If anybody is caught, he will be severely dealt with," Jammeh added.

AFP

The largest delegation of US lawmakers to visit Zimbabwe in a decade is calling on the country's leaders to ensure the success of the unity government.

The delegation concluded a two-day visit on Thursday to monitor the progress of the government formed in February. The visit included meetings with President Robert Mugabe and other government leaders.

The delegation included Gregory Meeks (D-New York), Jack Kingston (R-Georgia), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Melvin Watt (D-North Carolina) and Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio).

The US has criticised Mugabe's 29-year-rule but the Obama administration has thrown support behind the coalition government Meeks said only the unity government had a "reasonable prospect of delivering benefits to the Zimbabwean people."

Sapa-AP

Gabon's electoral commission said a delay in announcing the outcome of the contest to become president was due a to "misunderstanding" among officials and hoped to declare results later on Thursday.

Members of the Autonomous Electoral Commission had had "a certain difficulty" agreeing on the procedure for validating the results, its president Rene Aboghe Ella told state television channel RTG1.

The result of Sunday's vote, in which three of the front-runners have already claimed victory, had been expected Wednesday, and there have been increasing signs of tension in the capital, Libreville.

Aboghe Ella also said there had been technical difficulties at the start of the committee's meeting, with delays getting the reports issued from the 2,800 voting stations, he said.

"We are going to continue to examine ways out of this little misunderstanding," he said, saying he hoped that a clear result would be announced before the end of the morning.

The Autonomous Electoral Commission, made up of representatives of the ruling majority, the opposition, independent candidates and the government, met on Wednesday night.

Leading candidates Ali Bongo, who is a former defence minister and son of the late president Omar Bongo Ondimba, main opposition leader Pierre Mamboundou and former interior minister Andre Mba Obame have each already claimed victory.

Apart from the party faithful, Libreville was almost deserted early Thursday with very little traffic and few pedestrians, while anti-riot police and troops were deployed all round the capital in small groups.

As tension built, all three mobile phone operators suspended text messaging services without explanation.

There were fears that the long wait might result in violence.

Early on Wednesday masked men machine-gunned an outside broadcast unit of the Go Africa television station in a western suburb of Libreville, owned by Mba Obame, said Franck Nguema, general manager of the channel.

There was no immediate comment from the government on the attack.

AFP