SA facilitators leave empty-handed after brief ‘talks’ visit
President Zuma’s South African facilitators, tasked with breaking the political deadlock in Zimbabwe, came away empty handed Thursday after meeting party leaders Tsvangirai, Mugabe and Mutambara. They had jetted into the country and left on the same day. Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara confirmed the meeting, but refused to disclose what had been discussed.

MDC youth chair in trouble over anti-Mugabe slur
Law and order police officers from Bindura are hunting down the MDC provincial youth chairman for Mashonaland Central, for allegedly insulting Robert Mugabe in Guruve on Wednesday. Tonderai Samhu, who has since gone underground, told us that police also want to speak to him about an alleged rally he organised in Mvurwi on Wednesday to bid farewell to the late MDC provincial Chairman Biggie Chigonero.

Police in scramble for Chiadzwa diamonds in Marange
The Zimbabwe Independent reported Friday that Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri personally wrote a letter to Mines Minister Obert Mpofu, asking for a mining concession in Marange for the police.

GNU making no effort to create safe election environment
Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara has again said there won’t be elections in 2011, in contrast to his partners in the coalition government. Mutambara is quoted in the Daily News online publication saying statements from ZANU PF and the MDC-T calling for fresh polls next year were political gimmicks and the parties in the coalition government should concentrate on reviving the economy.

Tourism minister in climb down over North Korean team visit
Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi has said North Korea’s World Cup squad will no longer visit and play a friendly match in Bulawayo, following unprecedented pressure from residents who labelled the planned trip ‘insensitive.’

Mugabe remains stumbling block in efforts to implement GPA
South African President Jacob Zuma’s facilitation team jetted into Harare Thursday in another attempt to diffuse rising tension between Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai. It has also emerged that the team, which consists of former South African minister Charles Nqakula, Zuma’s foreign policy advisor Lindiwe Zulu and Mac Maharaj, quietly slipped into the country two weeks ago to try to push the principals to agree on a workable solution to the stalled negotiations.

Cranswick denies High Court has approved sale of diamonds
African Consolidated Resources CEO Andrew Cranswick has denied state media reports that the High Court approved the sale of diamonds at the centre of an ownership dispute between his company and the government. On Tuesday the Herald claimed the Court sanctioned the sale of 129 000 carats of diamonds mined from the Marange diamonds fields where abuses from the army are rife. ACR was kicked off at gunpoint from their claim in 2006 by the army.

ZANU PF MP accused of fuelling political violence in Muzarabani
The MDC-T in Mashonaland central province claimed on Tuesday that it has indisputable evidence that the ZANU PF MP for Muzarabani South, Edward Raradza, was fuelling a surge of violence and torture in the district.

RIP Peter Lovemore
It was with great sadness on Tuesday that I opened an email which told me that Peter Lovemore had died the night before.
Many Zimbabweans will remember Peter as a crazy auctioneer and horse racing enthusiast. I remember him because he was keen on rock n roll.

5 journalists summoned to testify in Chiyangwa land case
Harare Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda and eight councillors are being sued by Phillip Chiyangwa for criminal defamation over their exposure of his ‘illegal’ land deals. Now Five Harare based journalists who broke the story of the land scandal, have been summoned by the state to testify in court.

MDC-T snub Iranian leader
The MDC-T led by Prime Minister Tsvangirai snubbed the arrival ceremony of Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the Harare International Airport on Thursday describing the visit as a ‘scandal.’ The ZANU PF part of the coalition government led by Mugabe invited him as their special guest of honour to the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo. The MDC-T likened inviting Ahmadinejad to an investment forum to ‘inviting a mosquito to cure malaria,’ adding that, ‘hobnobbing with dubious political leaders confirms stereotypes that we are a banana republic.’

ZANU PF threatens crackdown on MDC after SA World Cup
Villagers in districts of Mashonaland East provinces have been told to brace themselves for more political violence, following ‘promises’ from ZANU PF officials they would be dealt with after the 2010 World Cup finals. Pressure group, Zimbabwe Democracy Now, issued a statement Thursday detailing how Mike Chiwodza, a ZANU PF district chairman, has been going around the province telling villagers ‘We will kill you after the World Cup.

ZANU PF youths target son of activist murdered 10 years ago
ZANU PF youths in Harare’s Glen Norah suburb are reported to be persecuting the son of an MDC activist murdered 10 years ago in the run up to the 2000 parliamentary election. Tichaona Chiminya, and fellow activist Talent Mabika, were brutally murdered when ZANU PF state agents Joseph Mwale and Kainos 'Kitsiyatota' Zimunya petrol bombed their election campaign vehicle during an ambush.

Court cases against 300 MDC activists drag on in Manicaland
Almost 300 MDC activists in Manicaland province are still to stand trial, a year after police charged them with trying to reclaim their livestock looted by ZANU PF supporters in 2008.

WOZA leaders remain in police custody
Jenni Williams, Magodonga Mahlangu, Clara Manjengwa and Celina Madukani, remain in custody for protesting high electricity tariffs and poor service delivery outside ZESA in Harare. Scores of protesters had marched to the ZESA offices, but the demonstration was broken up by riot police.

Minister Mohadi believed to be involved in latest farm invasion
Co-Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi is believed to be involved in the invasion of the South African owned Benlynian Game Ranch, which lies just 46 km from the South African border. It was invaded by eight men Wednesday, who gave the owners until Thursday night to vacate.

Zanu PF begins to militarise rural constituencies
Chances of a free and fair election to break the political deadlock in Zimbabwe looked even more remote following reports that ZANU PF has stepped up youth militia deployment in most rural areas. The news comes hot on the heels of other reports suggesting traditional chiefs have been given a 100 percent salary increase despite government recently rejecting demands from civil servants for improved wages.

Police defend WOZA members, after detention by other officers
Police in Bulawayo have lashed out at fellow officers for arresting two members of the pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise, who were taking part in a public meeting on electricity tariffs.

Mugabe, the Russian billionaire and basketball
A Russian billionaire’s attempt to buy US basketball team the New Jersey Nets is now on the line, following demands for a government inquiry into his possible business links with the Mugabe regime. A New Jersey lawmaker is leading the campaign to have Mikhail Prokhorov and his companies investigated, for violating US targeted sanctions that forbid American citizens and companies from doing business with those in Mugabe’s inner circle.

ZINASU demand inquiry into death of UZ student 9 years ago
The Zimbabwe National Students Union is demanding an independent commission of inquiry to investigate the death of Batanai Hadzidzi 9 years ago.

Police detain councilors who probed Chiyangwa land deals
Eight Harare city councilors who led a probe into the shady purchase of council land by business tycoon Philip Chiyangwa, were on Thursday again detained by police. The previous day they were similarly detained following a complaint of ‘criminal defamation’ made by Chiyangwa, Mugabe’s nephew.

Three more ZANU PF MPs named in MDC’s roll of shame
ZANU PF deputy minister Hubert Nyanhongo was on Wednesday named by the MDC as one of the masterminds of the political violence in the 2008 elections. The MP for Harare South and deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development, is alleged to have led a group of youths to attack MDC Harare council candidate Brian Mamhova and his family on 6th June 2008.

South Africa’s hate speech echoed in Zim, by Malema
Concern is high after this weekend’s controversial visit by ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, who used a ZANU PF rally to sing a song that his country’s courts have ruled is ‘hate speech’. Malema visited Zimbabwe as a guest of ZANU PF’s Youth League and addressed a number of ZANU PF rallies over the weekend.

Talks collapse as parties prepare report for Zuma
After South African President and mediator Jacob Zuma raised the hopes of many by claiming ‘a package of measures’ had been agreed, the entire charade was exposed when Mugabe declared he would not budge on the appointment of provincial governors, Gideon Gono, Johannes Tomana and the swearing in of Roy Bennett.

Parliamentary investigators barred from Chiadzwa
A parliamentary committee that was to investigate operations at the controversial Chiadzwa diamond fields were this week barred from entering the site, with sources claming Mines Minister Obert Mpofu was responsible.

Rights group says villagers flee violence in Shamva
The Restoration of Human Rights says seven families have fled after being threatened by known ZANU PF supporters at a prayer meeting held at Zhanda village in the Chishapa area, Shamva. It’s reported the victims are now living in the bush with no access to food, water or shelter.

Human rights and electoral commissions sworn in
New commissioners for the independent Human Rights and Electoral Commissions were sworn in by Mugabe in Harare on Wednesday.