Nestle Saga - International Media Rapped
INDUSTRY and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube has criticised international media organisations for their role which culminated in Nestle Zimbabwe suspending its operations in Zimbabwe last week. allafrica.com

MDC blames expats as money vanishes from overseas offices
Finance Minister suspends British branch as Zimbabweans in exile are accused of 'bleeding movement dry'. The overseas offices of Zimbabwe's opposition face a "huge" corruption problem, with £57,000 missing from the British branch of the Movement for Democratic Change alone, according to a senior official of the cash-strapped party. The Independent

Zim Gov Assurance to Nestle to End Dispute
The Zimbabwean government has offered multinational Nestlé assurances as to the safety of managers and staff aiming to end a dispute that led the company to suspend operations in the country after managers came under heavy pressure to buy milk from a dairy controlled by President Robert Mugabe's family. VOA News

Gwezere’s lawyer pays bail, release awaited
Lawyer Alec Muchadehama, who represents the abducted and tortured MDC Transport Manager, Pascal Gwezere, said they paid his bail on Wednesday and now await his release. By 1pm the bail had been paid and a ‘Warrant of Liberation’ issued and taken to prison warders at Chikurubi.

Nestlé shuts Zim milk factory over harassment
International food giant Nestlé has shut its milk processing plant in Zimbabwe, amid mounting threats by Mugabe loyalists to resume its commercial contract with Grace Mugabe’s dairy farm.

Expat tax proposal sparks anger in Diaspora
There has been an outburst of anger by some Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora in response to a proposal that Zimbabwean expatriates pay a tax, in exchange for voting rights. The proposal was outlined in a new economic blueprint, unveiled by Finance Minister Tendai Biti last week.

Nestlé faces renewed threats to buy Mugabe ‘blood milk’
The Zimbabwe executive of international food giant Nestlé has this week come under renewed threats to resume buying milk from Grace Mugabe’s dairy farm, more than two months after the group ended its commercial relationship with the first family.

MDC campaigning for targeted sanctions removal
The MDC has admitted that it is actively campaigning for the removal of some targeted sanctions placed against Robert Mugabe’s regime, just weeks after saying the full terms of the Global Political Agreement had to be implemented first.

Major diamond sellers urged to shun Zim stones
A leading human rights group has called on the world’s major diamond retailers to shun Zimbabwean sourced gems, because of ongoing human rights abuses at the Chiadzwa diamond fields.

SA opposition says Mugabe will never implement the GPA
A top South African parliamentarian has accused Mugabe and ZANU PF of deliberately stalling the progress of the unity government, saying the ageing dictator has no intention of fully implementing the Global Political Agreement.

Negotiators to resume talks on outstanding issues
Negotiators from the three parties in the Global Political Agreement are set to resume talks Saturday in an attempt to break the deadlock over contentious issues.

ZANU PF apologist smuggled back onto media commission
There are reports that Chris Mutsvangwa’s name is back in contention for a place on the new Zimbabwe Media Commission, following suspected political horse-trading by the principals in the Global Political Agreement.

Mugabe slams western nations – again – over climate change
Robert Mugabe has once again slammed Western Nations, using an international platform, this time lambasting the world’s super powers for their role in climate change. He was speaking at the world climate conference in Copenhagen, which is fast turning into a power charade, as the world’s leaders gather to discuss how to tackle rapidly worsening climate change.

ZANU PF rapist jailed in Rusape
A self proclaimed war vet and ZANU PF member has been jailed for 32 years, for raping two female MDC supporters during the violent 2008 election period. Lovemore Manjeni, who is a Bishop of the Mabasa Avapositori Church in Rusape, was found guilty of five counts of rape by magistrate Hosea Mujaya, who said the accused used rape as a political weapon against MDC supporters.

Tsvangirai calls for investigation into airport road deal
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai used a Wednesday meeting with Harare City councilors from his MDC party to call for a probe into a controversial airport road construction deal. The Joshua Nkomo Expressway is meant to link Harare International Airport and the city centre and has been valued at US$80 million despite a similar 2001 project in Chegutu costing just US$19 million.

SA urged to arrest Zim rights violators
A High Court appeal in South Africa could force the state to prosecute known Zimbabwe rights violators who travel to the country. The appeal was brought by the Southern Africa Litigation Centre and the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum, in the Gauteng High Court on Tuesday, following a decision by the South African National Prosecuting Authority not to prosecute known Zimbabwean human rights violators.

Gwezere bail hearing set for the Supreme Court
Pascal Gwezere, the MDC transport manager jailed on trumped-up charges of weapons theft, appeared in court Monday for a remand hearing, but his case was postponed to next week by a Harare magistrate. Gwezere’s lawyer said that he’s pushing for the case to be heard in the Supreme Court, after the Attorney-General filed an application challenging the bail that was granted by the High court.

Concern as Jonathan Moyo welcomed back into ZANU PF
Concern has been raised about the reaction to ZANU PF’s appointment of media oppressor Jonathan Moyo to the party’s Central Committee, after delegates at the congress gave him a standing ovation. Moyo received the longest and loudest round of applause from delegates when members of the Central Committee were announced at the end of the congress.

Prime Minister not attending Climate Summit to reduce spending
Morgan Tsvangirai will not attend the Climate Change Summit meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark this week. It had been reported that he would be taking a delegation of about 15 people to the conference while Mugabe and his entourage would number 59.

2 PTUZ members found guilty of inciting violence
ZANU PF’s selective use of the rule of law is evident again as two women teachers, Moreblessing Hliziyo and Isee Makhuyana, have been found guilty of inciting violence against ZANU PF supporters. But according to the PTUZ the facts are different.

Rights lawyer says ZANU PF’s days in power are numbered
A leading Zimbabwean human rights lawyer has said ZANU PF’s days in power are numbered, as the party has largely lost the support of the once loyal armed forces.

ZANU PF bars independent journalists from covering congress
ZANU PF has barred journalists from the independent media from covering their congress, which is fast degenerating into a fiasco following an open rebellion against Robert Mugabe.

Botswana responds to ZANU PF complaints over ‘pirate radios’
Botswana’s government has poured cold water on claims from ZANU PF that it is hosting so-called ‘pirate radio’ stations. Presidential spokesman Dr Jeff Ramsey said Voice of America’s Studio 7 was produced in Washington and is only relayed from VOA facilities in Botswana, a fact which has been acknowledged by the government of Zimbabwe in the past.

Govt spending more on travel than civil servants healthcare
There has been renewed outrage over the unity government’s expenditure after it was revealed last week that it is spending more of the country’s money on travel than on healthcare for its civil service. The revelations were made during Finance Minister Tendai Biti’s budget speech, where statistics showed that foreign travel by Mugabe and his cabinet used US$30 million of the US$126 million allocated for ministries’ expenses between January and October.

More xenophobic violence in SA leaves 6 Zimbabweans injured
A new wave of xenophobic violence in South Africa is gathering intensity, after six Zimbabwean nationals were severely injured in a vicious attack by a mob of local residents in Polokwane. More than a 100 other Zimbabweans have since fled the area and are camped in an old stadium under heavy police guard.

Police disrupt weekend Anglican services
Riot police loyal to excommunicated Anglican Bishop Nolbert Kunonga, disrupted several church services in Harare at the weekend. Kunonga, a fanatical supporter of Mugabe and beneficiary of his violent land reform programme, instructed police to bar all parishioners who were attending services, other than those controlled by priests loyal to him.

Concern raised over humanitarian crisis at SA refugee mission
The conditions facing hundreds of mainly Zimbabwean migrants in Johannesburg is developing into a worsening crisis, with civil society groups urging the intervention of the South African government.

Former student activist attacked and left for dead
Attempts to mend a rift within the national students union took a major step back when a former student activist was attacked and left for dead by a gang of unknown assailants. Zimbabwe National Students Union President Clever Bere, locked in a bitter fight with a faction led by former Vice President Brilliant Dube, says he was the target of Friday evening’s attack on Benson Matsveruka.

State blocking release of tortured MDC employee
The MDC’s Transport Manager Pascal Gwezere, who is still being kept behind bars on trumped-up charges, could find his prison stay drawn out even longer, after the Attorney General’s office filed an application challenging his bail. The High Court had granted Gwezere US$500 bail with strict conditions, but the State immediately invoked a draconian legal act that forced him to remain in remand for another week.

State media news editor takes top job in journalist’s union
Dumisani Sibanda, the news editor of the state owned Sunday News newspaper, is the new president of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists. Foster Dongozi, the Secretary General who was re-elected unopposed, and who is an independent journalist, told Newsreel the Friday congress in Bulawayo went ahead without incident despite reports suggesting otherwise.

Fort Hare MDC students fear being sent to prison
Twelve students from Fort Hare University in South Africa have expressed fears about returning home to Zimbabwe, saying they will be sent to prison for supporting the MDC. The students’ government scholarships were withdrawn because of their alleged involvement in political activity on campus.

Budget shows US$28 million gobbled up in foreign trips
Foreign trips by Mugabe and other government officials gobbled up US$28 million from state coffers, Finance Minister Tendai Biti revealed during his budget presentation. Biti has now ordered a review in the way foreign trips are funded adding that ‘with effect from January 2010, business travel for individual ministries will have to be managed within the voted amount and the monthly allocations availed for this purpose.’

Selective justice prevails as PM’s bodyguard jailed
The worrying trend of selective justice continues to prevail with Tuesday’s jailing of three MDC activists, including Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s bodyguard. The trio was jailed for 18 months for public violence committed during the run-up to the 2005 parliamentary elections.

Zuma to be briefed on GPA talks by facilitation team
The South African facilitation team that met the three principals and the six negotiators from ZANU PF and the MDC, flew back home Tuesday. They had been in Harare since Sunday. The reports that stated that President Zuma himself would be flying to Harare on Tuesday or Wednesday turned out to be inaccurate.

Germany protests Zim violation of protection agreement
The German embassy has once again lashed out at the government for violating a bilateral protection agreement between the counties, writing a letter of complaint about the forced takeover of yet another farm belonging to a German family. The embassy last week wrote to the Foreign Affairs Ministry following an attempt by Maclean Bhala and Thabani Ndlovu, to seize Doublevale Farm in Matabeleland South, owned by a German family.

Lack of investment set to define 2010 budget
The lack of foreign investment in the country is set to define the 2010 budget to be tabled in Parliament Wednesday, where Finance Minister Tendai Biti is expected to keep a tight rein on government spending. Biti has already indicated that control of government spending is critical, because the necessary reforms, promised by the unity government to attract foreign donors, have not been realised.

MDC’s Gwezere still detained at Chikurubi prison
Pascal Gwezere, the MDC transport manager facing trumped-up charges of stealing ‘arms of war’, is still in remand prison, despite the elapse of the seven-day appeal period by the State. The High court granted Gwezere bail a fortnight ago, but the State immediately invoked Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, which meant he had to stay in remand for a further seven days.