Vol 48 No 25 | ZIMBABWE Mnangagwa momentum 14th December 2007 Alongside the main business of endorsing President Robert Mugabe as its flagbearer in next year's elections, the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front Congress is this weekend expected...
Vol 48 No 24 | SOUTH AFRICAZIMBABWE Mbeki to the rescue 30th November 2007 Restarting talks between Mugabe's government and part of the opposition may not be a triumph for quiet diplomacy South African President Thabo Mbeki stopped over in Harare on 22 November and persuaded Zimbabwe's main opposition party to carry on talking to the ruling Zimbabwe African...
Vol 48 No 23 | ZIMBABWE This time I'm going. No, really 16th November 2007 President Mugabe has assured some of his henchmen that he will go next year, but don’t hold your breath At a sombre gathering before his party's Central Committee meeting on 26 October, President Robert Mugabe solemnly assured some long-time comrades that he would retire from politics within...
Vol 48 No 23 | ZIMBABWEBRITAIN Sanctions sense 16th November 2007 Western sanctions on Zimbabwe appear to be unravelling ahead of the European Union/African Union summit in Lisbon on 8-9 December. The Harare delegation is to push for the...
Vol 48 No 22 | MALAWIZIMBABWE His friend Bob 2nd November 2007 President Mutharika seems to be buddying up to Zimbabwe's failing boss, which looks a bad move Since he became President in 2004, Bingu wa Mutharika has confounded expectations that he would go on governing as his predecessor, Bakili Muluzi, did. His management of the...
Vol 48 No 22 | ZIMBABWEINTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND Fund furore and banking bailout 2nd November 2007 Against the advice of their own senior staff, the Boards of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are blocking the restoration of voting rights to Zimbabwe,...
Vol 48 No 22 | ZIMBABWEEUROPEAN UNION Brown's boycott 2nd November 2007 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s refusal to attend the European Union summit in Lisbon, Portugal, on 8-9 December alongside Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe plays well with Britain’s conservative...
Vol 48 No 22 | SOUTH AFRICAZIMBABWEBRITAIN Scrum half 2nd November 2007 Relations between Britain and South Africa, not helped by the Springboks’ 15-6 defeat of England in the Rugby World Cup in Paris on 20 October, have become poisonous...
Vol 48 No 19 | ZIMBABWE Signs of movement 21st September 2007 After a surprising political deal, reformers hope that at last the opposition’s talks with government are leading somewhere This week’s deal in parliament between the government and the opposition parties over constitutional changes shows the desperation on all sides after five months of stagnation in the...
Vol 48 No 19 | ZIMBABWE Turbulent priests 21st September 2007 Just when President Robert Mugabe thought it was safe to go back to the altar, another troublesome priest has lambasted him for running an oppressive and corrupt regime....