[Cincinatus' Wife]

Zimbabwe's Mugabe says prepared to meet opposition leader *** HARARE (AFP) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is prepared to meet opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai if the latter accepts Mugabe won presidential elections last year, the 79-year old leader said. In a wide-ranging interview broadcast on state television, Mugabe also hit out at the United States for wanting him to hand over power to a transitional government, saying Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Walter Kansteiner could "go hang".

The Zimbabwean leader was speaking in a special interview to mark Zimbabwe's 23 years of independence. But the celebrations have been marred for many by worsening economic hardships and widening political divisions. The country's main labour body has set Wednesday as the start of protest mass action over a massive fuel price hike announced last week. Inflation meanwhile has reached 228 percent and 7.8 million people have faced food shortages. Mugabe however claimed that most Zimbabweans are content. ***

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Mugabe's day of reckoning dawning*** Mr. Mugabe's own day of reckoning, however, may be near. The opposition MDC kept two critical seats in Zimbabwe's parliament in by-elections last weekend, further solidifying its control of the capital, where it holds all 17 seats. The election results came a day before the expiration of an opposition ultimatum calling on the government to address its human rights abuses and restore such democratic institutions as freedom of the press. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai called the developments a "final push for freedom."***

US wants "Comrade Bob" out, transitional government in Zimbabwe: senior official***WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States is urging Zimbabwe's neighbors to step up pressure on President Robert Mugabe to hand power to a transitional government to pave the way for new elections, a senior State Department official said. "What we're telling them is there has to be a transitional government in Zimbabwe that leads to a free and fair, internationally supervised election," the official said. "That is the goal, he stole the last one, we can't let that happen again," the official said, referring to a widely condemned election last March in which Mugabe won re-election. "It has to be internationally supervised, open, transparent with an electoral commission that works," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

The official would not say whether Washington had gotten positive reactions to its call from any specific country in the region, but said generally the "neighborhood" was increasingly aware of the problems posed by Mugabe's rule. "The neighborhood -- meaning southern Africa -- is realizing that this is not going well, this is breaking bad," the official said. "The food situation is going to get nothing but worse, the economic scene is disastrous."***