South African president takes a break

CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA
Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s president is taking a rest for a few days to recover from the demands of an election season and shaping his new administration, his office said Friday.

Zuma, 72, has begun a second five-year term following the election victory last month of the ruling African National Congress party, which has dominated politics in South Africa since the end of white rule in 1994.

“President Jacob Zuma will take a few days off from public engagements while continuing to perform official duties from home,” Zuma’s office said in a statement. It did not elaborate on his condition.

Zuma, a former anti-apartheid activist, was inaugurated May 24 in a ceremony marked by dance, prayer, a 21-gun salute and air force flyovers. In a speech, he said South Africa was a better place to live in than it was in 1994 but that poverty, unemployment and other problems persist.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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