Showdown in Zimbabwe - New low point in Mugabe's "career"*** About 3,000 white farmers in Zimbabwe are waiting to see if the government will make good its threat to evict them without compensation and turn the land over to blacks. The deadline passed last Thursday for the farmers to voluntarily leave their land, and President Robert Mugabe announced on Monday that he was standing by the eviction order. White farmers reported yesterday a wave of threats and intimidation by government officials and ruling party militants trying to force them off their land. If white farmers do not leave, they can now be legally evicted. The world waits to see if Mr. Mugabe's government is ready to fully carry out its ruthless policy to the letter of the law.***
SA - and Nigeria - clueless over Zim crisis***Finally a government minister has admitted it: South Africa hasn't a clue what to do about the rapidly deteriorating political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe. "What is it that we are expected to do?" Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad asked journalists on Wednesday as they repeatedly pressed him on what South Africa was doing about the crisis across its border.
"In all our consultations with the international community and our colleagues on the continent, the question always comes up - 'What can be done more than what is being done now?' " Pahad admitted the only idea Pretoria could come up with was to continue to join its Commonwealth partner Nigeria in pressing for a resumption of the stalled talks between President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.***