[Cincinatus' Wife]

Zimbabwe -- Hoogstraten "to buy" MiGs for Mugabe*** The notorious property magnate Nicholas van Hoogstraten, convicted of manslaughter last month, has been involved in secret negotiations to help the Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe buy Russian fighter jets. Leaked documents reveal that in return for underwriting the £250m purchase of 14 MiG-29s, Hoogstraten would receive 1.2m acres (500,000 hectares) of prime ranching property, much of which would be taken from white-owned farms.***

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Africa's most sinister tyrant***Of all the world's hard luck countries, few have had the misfortune of Zimbabwe, whose running start for prosperity and harmony was sabotaged by its elected leader, Robert Mugabe. The fact that Mugabe is a Marxist is irrelevant. His despotism is erratic, perverted, brutal and may be complicated by syphilis, as some critics insist. Whatever, he seems bent on destroying his country.

..... Saddest of all is the political opposition in Zimbabwe, headed by Morgan Tsvangiria's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that is, arguably, the most courageous, balanced and hopeful of all Africa's political movements. Rigged elections denied the MDC power, yet Tsvangiria struggles on - inexplicably cheerful, optimistic, fearless and resolute, despite craven abandonment by the likes of Chretien and the European Union. Chretien has foolishly made Africa a personal cause and urged western countries to invest and donate billions that will inevitably be wasted.

The made-in-Africa program of NEPAD (New Partnership for African Development) appeals to the kind of academics that Canada's foreign affairs minister, Bill Graham, finds irresistible. NEPAD is aimed at enticing foreign investment and aid by ensuring that Africa can produce good and democratic governments, and live by the rule of law. It's all just rhetoric. African leaders won't criticize Mugabe and fear supporting the MDC, violating precisely what NEPAD has promised.***