Harare, Zimbabwe News

By MacDonald Dzirutwe Harare - Lawyers for senior MDC official Roy Bennett on Thursday accused Zimbabwe's police of parading in court weapons not related to his terrorism trial in a bid to whip up public sentiment against him.

ZIMBABWE Youngsters gather in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital, to mark the 20th anniversary of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.

By Peta Thornycroft Independent Foreign Service More than 200 South African farmers whose land was seized in Zimbabwe are threatening legal action against the South African government for apparently excluding them from an investment protection treaty with Zimbabwe.

THE Unity Accord survived its sternest test ever on Monday when all but one of the ZANU-PF provinces that were still to select their preferred candidates to the presidium upheld a decision by the politburo to reserve the chairmanship of the party for the former PF-ZAPU to avert cracks that were threatening to further split the party.

The Girl Child Network, a rights group, says 95 per cent of all rapes against minors are perpetrated by men against girls.

By Luvuyo Mjekula Squeezing each other's hands, seemingly oblivious to the tears running down their faces, a group of women form a circle.

Zimbabwean security forces have started withdrawing from the country's eastern diamond fields to meet Kimberley Process reforms over human rights abuses, a report said on Thursday.

The German government has sent a written protest to Zimbabwe over an alleged attack by Zimbabwean soldiers on a German priest last weekend, it was disclosed on Wednesday.

There were wry smiles at many Zimbabwean breakfast tables this week when it was announced in the government press that President Robert Mugabe is attending the Rome summit of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation.

The Law Society of Zimbabwe on Monday petitioned the Minister of Justice to stop harassing its members.

PF national chairman Cde John Nkomo has all but wrapped the Vice-Presidency after winning support from six provinces that nominated him as the ideal candidate to fill the post that fell vacant following the death of fearless founding nationalist, Vice President Joseph Msika, in August.

Botswana President Ian Khama on Friday accused Zimbabwe's long-time leader Robert Mugabe of failing to honour a power-sharing deal and called for fresh elections in the troubled nation.

Stakeholders in Zimbabwe's struggling health care system have agreed on the need to set up a national health fund to channel donor funds where they are needed given the reluctance of Western sources of assistance to directly fund the Harare power-sharing government.

By MacDonald Dzirutwe Harare - Zimbabwe's government has failed to attract funding from foreign donors for next year's budget because they feared the money could be misused if the central bank is not reformed, the finance minister said on Tuesday.

Primeiro d'Agosto of Angola won Zone 6 Champions Cup for men Qualifiers played in Harare, Zimbabwe.

ZIMBABWE will this month sign a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement with South Africa, amid a farm ownership dispute between deputy Reserve Bank governor Edward Mashiringwana and a South African farmer, Louis Fick.

A weekend spate of arrests of trade unionists and students activists is set to further threaten Zimbabwe's political stability, with observers arguing that it is clear that Robert Mugabe has no intention of abiding by regional calls to uphold the Global Political Agreement.

A Zimbabwean regional magistrate on Tuesday acquitted a top official of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party of rape charges, bringing to six the number of MDC parliamentarians who have been freed by the courts since the setting up of the inclusive government last February.

Tendai Javangwe is 16 years old but looks half his age; he was born HIV-positive and has been staying at a home run by Mashambanzou Care Trust, a community care and support organisation.

Brussels - The European Union on Thursday expressed concern about the arrest in Zimbabwe of five prominent union members, including Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions head Lovemore Matombo.