Harare, Zimbabwe (CNN)Zimbabwe's former vice president has returned to the country to serve as interim President, vowing to lead the nation into a "new and unfolding democracy" following Robert Mugabe's historic resignation.
Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is scheduled to be sworn in on Friday, arrived at the ruling ZANU-PF party headquarters in the evening to the cheers of thousands of supporters, eager to hear from "The Crocodile," as he is known.
Mnangagwa's return comes after a night of euphoric celebration. For the first day in nearly four decades, Zimbabweans experienced life free from Mugabe's iron grip.
"Today we are witnessing the beginning of a new and unfolding democracy," he told his supporters. "The voice of the people is the voice of God."
Mugabe, 93, fired Mnangagwa as his deputy more than two weeks ago, triggering a political firestorm that culminated in his own humiliating defeat on Tuesday. Mnangagwa fled the country after his dismissal.
Mnangagwa's rise comes just a week after the military took control in the capital, Harare, in what the defense forces insisted was not a coup.
But the incoming leader confirmed in his remarks that he was in "constant contact" with the military chiefs over the past week. Sources had told CNN that Mnangagwa had been instrumental in plans to dethrone the president.
In his speech, Mnangagwa avoided references to elections slated for next year. He will need to run and win the popular vote to remain in power for any meaningful amount of time and to have a clear mandate from the people.
But his speech nonetheless resembled the opening of an election campaign, in which he promised to bring prosperity and stability to the impoverished country.
"I pledge myself to be your servant," he said.
"We want to grow the economy. We want peace in our country. We want jobs, jobs, jobs."
Nervousness over Mnangagwa
For many, the joyous end of Mugabe's reign is tempered with apprehension -- Mnanagagwa served as Mugabe's right-hand man for his entire career, and to many Zimbabweans, he is more feared than the leader he replaces.
The main opposition MDC-T has shown no resistance to Mnangagwa serving as transitional leader. It will be looking instead to make inroads in next year's elections.
Ratko Mladic jailed for life over Bosnia war genocide
Former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic has been jailed for life for genocide and other atrocities in the 1990s Bosnian war.
Known as the "Butcher of Bosnia", Mladic led forces during the massacre of Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) in Srebrenica and the siege of Sarajevo.
The UN tribunal in The Hague convicted him on 10 of the 11 charges.
Mladic, 74, was not in court when the sentence was read out. He had been removed for shouting at the judges.
"It's a lie. Everything you said in this courtroom is a lie," he said.
The outburst came after the judges rejected a request by his team to halt the proceedings because of Mladic's high blood pressure.
Mladic has denied all the charges and his lawyer said he would appeal.
What were the crimes?
Mladic was the military commander of Bosnian Serb forces against Bosnian Croat and Bosniak armies. He had been on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) since 2012.
It found that Mladic "significantly contributed" to the genocide in Srebrenica in 1995, where more than 7,000 Bosniak men and boys were murdered, the worst atrocity in Europe since World War Two.
He was cleared of a second count of genocide in other municipalities. The other charges included war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Presiding judge Alphons Orie read out many crimes committed by troops under Mladic's command, including:
- Mass rapes of Bosniak women and girls
- Keeping Bosniak prisoners in appalling conditions - starving, thirsty and sick - and beating them
- Terrorising civilians in Sarajevo by shelling and sniping at them
- Deporting Bosniaks forcibly en masse
- Destroying Bosniaks' homes and mosques
How was Gen Mladic brought to trial?
At the end of the war in 1995 Mladic went into hiding and lived in obscurity in Serbia, protected by family and elements of the security forces.
He was finally tracked down and arrested at a cousin's house in rural northern Serbia in 2011 after 16 years on the run.
