PROFILE : MORGAN TSVANGIRAI !
Profile: Morgan Tsvangirai
By Joseph Winter - BBC News Online.
Morgan Tsvangirai has risen from working in a mine to becoming one of the most important political figures in Zimbabwe - even if his dreams of becoming president remain elusive. A charismatic speaker, he is a brave man - constantly running the risk of arrest or assassination since emerging several years ago as a credible challenger to President Robert Mugabe.
Tsvangirai is a frequent visitor to the High Court.
As the leader of Zimbabwe's opposition, he has been called a traitor on many occasions, been brutally assaulted and been charged with treason.
Just before presidential elections in 2002, a mysterious video tape emerged, which allegedly showed Mr Tsvangirai discussing how to assassinate Mr Mugabe with a Canadian consultancy, Dickens and Madson.
The head of the consultancy, Ari Ben-Menashe, used to work as a lobbyist for the Zimbabwe Government and he calls Mr Tsvangirai "stupid" for even speaking to him, let alone allegedly discussing killing the president.
Mr Tsvangirai was acquitted, but for 20 months he had the possibility of a death penalty hanging over his head. He was charged with treason a second time in 2003, after calling for mass protests to oust Mr Mugabe. These fizzled out under the force of police truncheons.
MORGAN TSVANGIRAI
1952: Born in Gutu, central Zimbabwe
Left school early to seek work
1974: Started working in a mine
1988: Secretary General on the ZCTU
1997: Organised anti-government strikes, attacked
1999: Helped form MDC
2000: MDC won 57 parliamentary seats
2000: Charged with treason, later dismissed
2002: Lost elections to Mugabe, charged with treason
2003: Charged with treason
In September 2000, he told a rally of his Movement for Democratic Change: "If Mugabe does not go peacefully, he will be removed by force." The 52-year-old eldest son of a bricklayer says this was not a threat of armed rebellion but a warning of popular discontent.
These treason charges were deemed unconstitutional but he does have a tendency to open his mouth before considering the consequences. Mr Mugabe snootily calls him an "ignoramus" because of his humble background and lack of education.
Some MDC activists have accused him of not doing enough to stand up to the authorities, especially since the controversial 2002 elections, which Mr Tsvangirai says was rigged. Even some opposition activists say Mr Tsvangirai has lacked a strategic plan and has consistently been outmanoeuvred by the government.
He once told me that his strategy to unseat the president was to wait while Mr Mugabe mismanaged the economy to such an extent that he was forced out of office. This long-term, passive view has, so far, steered the country away from civil war but has not seriously perturbed the authorities.
The eldest of nine children, Mr Tsvangirai left school while a teenager to help support his family. The catalyst for Mr Tsvangirai's transformation was his career in the trade unions. He used to be an official in Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party. After being plant foreman of the Bindura Nickel Mine for 10 years, he climbed the unionist ladder until in 1988, he was elected secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.
As Zimbabwe's economy declined and workers' living standards plummeted, the ZCTU took an increasingly political role. When Mr Mugabe tried to raise income tax to pay pensions for veterans of the 1970s war of independence, a ZCTU-organised nationwide strike forced him to back down.
For his part in defeating Mr Mugabe and the war veterans, a group of men burst into Mr Tsvangirai's office, hit him on the head with a metal bar and attempted to throw him out of his 10th floor window. This was a foretaste of the war veterans' campaign of violence, which led to the deaths of more than 100 MDC supporters.
Buoyed by its initial victory, the ZCTU held further strikes against the government's "economic mismanagement". But Mr Mugabe stood firm and after intense debate, the ZCTU helped establish the MDC in September 1999.
Its nationwide structures were crucial in helping the young party campaign for the June 2000 parliamentary elections, in which it won 57 seats - the best opposition showing in the country's history.
Despite its foundations in the black working class, Mr Mugabe says the MDC is a puppet of white farmers and the UK Government. And, before they lost their land, many white farmers did support, campaign for and help finance the MDC. The state-controlled media never tires of reminding voters that Mr Tsvangirai did not participate in the guerrilla war against white minority rule.
As a former miner and unionist, his heart is social democratic. He used to blame many of Zimbabwe's economic woes on the IMF's structural adjustment programme. Now, he is working closely with industrialists who argue that market forces should be left to solve Zimbabwe's economic problems on their own, without minimal government interference.
But Morgan Tsvangirai can at least wait before tackling the ideological contradictions within his party, as that generally only happens in government.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
U.K. OIL WORKER SEIZED IN NIGERIA !
One report says the man was seized from the Bulford Dolphin rig. A British oil worker has been kidnapped in Nigeria, the Foreign Office said. The man was kidnapped in the early hours of Saturday off the coast of the Bayelsa state, in southern Nigeria.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are in contact with the Nigerian authorities to try to bring this to a swift and peaceful conclusion."
One unconfirmed report said the worker, who has not been named, was kidnapped from the Bulford Dolphin rig, 40 miles off the Niger Delta.
Six Britons, one American and a Canadian were kidnapped from the Bulford Dolphin rig last June and were released two days later.
The Niger Delta, which accounts for all of Nigeria's crude exports, has been hit by a wave of abductions and attacks on oil facilities since 2005.
The militants want oil companies to negotiate on a range of issues affecting local people, who see little benefit from the oil industry.
Issues they want addressing include employment for local people and the environmental impact of drilling, industry analysts said.
An upsurge of attacks on foreign oil interests has cut Nigeria's oil production by around 25%.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
MUGABE PARTY BACKS ELECTION BID !
Mr Mugabe has made it clear he wants another term in office. Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party has endorsed President Robert Mugabe as its candidate for the 2008 election. Mr Mugabe, 83, has been in power since independence from Britain in 1980.
Correspondents say the move is a major setback for two party factions that wanted him to stand down in order to end the political and economic crisis.
The UN has warned that many people are facing starvation, and recent months have seen a harsh police campaign against opposition demonstrations.
The BBC's southern Africa correspondent Peter Biles says Mr Mugabe's critics within the party believe his leadership is deeply damaging and, with the economy now out of control, that he should step down.
The opposition group, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), says it is appalled at the latest news - and there is likely to be deep disquiet across southern Africa, our correspondent says.
The US was quick to criticise Mr Mugabe's selection as a candidate. "It's sad, it's outrageous and certainly we hope better for the Zimbabwean people," said state department spokesman Sean McCormack.
More than 80% of Zimbabweans are living in poverty, with chronic unemployment and inflation running at more than 1,700% - the highest in the world.
"The candidate for the party in 2008 will be the president himself. He was endorsed by the central committee," party spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira said after a meeting in Harare.
Morgan Tsvangirai says he was badly beaten in police custody.
Parliamentary elections, scheduled for 2010, will be brought forward by two years to coincide with the presidential poll, he added.
Earlier, Mr Mugabe urged Zanu-PF members to stay united in the face of international and domestic opposition to his rule.
He branded the MDC as "violent", and said: "We can never entertain... a party that is walking the road of terrorism. We will not allow that in Zimbabwe."
However, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai says there has been a sharp escalation in violence against activists, with Mr Mugabe now using "hit squads" to crack down on group members.
Scores of activists were arrested and allegedly assaulted after police broke up a rally earlier this month. The police accuse the MDC of starting the violence.
On Thursday, an emergency southern African summit gave its public backing to Mr Mugabe despite international criticism over the crackdown on opposition activists.
The leaders, meeting in Tanzania, agreed that South African President Thabo Mbeki should try to promote political dialogue inside Zimbabwe.
They expressed solidarity with Mr Mugabe, urging Western countries to lift sanctions and also called on the UK to pay for land reform.
The UK and US governments are calling for sanctions beyond the current travel ban and assets freeze on senior officials.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
PROFILE : KENYAN TERROR SUSPECT !
Profile: Kenyan terror suspect
By Noel Mwakugu - BBC News website, Nairobi.
Abdul Malik has become the first terror suspect Kenya has transferred to the US since its "war on terror" began after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Abdul Malik at first denied bombing the Paradise Hotel
Kenyan government officials have refused to comment on revelations that it handed over the suspect to American investigators who have now transferred him to Guantanamo Bay, a military prison in Cuba.
But the BBC News website has established that Mr Malik, 35, is a Kenyan national, who was arrested in February, while on a visit at the port city Mombasa.
He was then blindfolded and flown to Nairobi where he was held at several police stations.
Although he was not on the FBI list of most-wanted terrorists, the Pentagon says Mr Malik has admitted that he was involved with the November 2002 attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa where 15 people died, and an attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner that was carrying 271 passengers.
His sister Mariam Mohammed has told the BBC News website, through a spokesman, that they last had contact in the year 2000 when he left Mombasa for Somalia on private business.
But she is extremely worried for him, now that he has been sent to Guantanamo Bay.
Muslim leaders in Kenya have condemned his transfer by Kenyan authorities to American investigators.
Mr Malik was born in the western town of Kisumu but was raised by their single mother in Mombasa where he had his early education.
Mariam, who is four years younger than her brother, said he was arrested before they had a chance to meet during his visit to the port city last month.
Inmates who shared a cell with Mr Malik at the Ongata Rongai police station, where he was first held upon arrival, describe him as a humble man.
During his days in custody, he is said to have repeatedly pleaded his innocence to charges of terrorism.
Mrefu, not his real name, was arrested for petty theft when he met Mr Malik, a five-foot tall, well-built man, who despite the congestion at the police cell performed his prayers five times a day, in accordance with the Islamic faith.
"Malik was very friendly and was keen to be set free," the ex-inmate said.
On several occasions he was bundled out of the police cells for long interrogations and often returned confused, Mrefu explained.
However, despite the close interest police paid to him, Mr Malik was given special privileges and was often escorted to shops for simple items by police officers.
The US authorities have now allowed Red Cross officials who have access to Guantanamo Bay to visit him on behalf of the family.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
SUMMIT DISAPPOINTS MUGABE CRITICS !
Summit disappoints Mugabe critics.
By Peter Greste - BBC News, Dar es Salaam.
There was no public rebuke for Mr Mugabe. Before the summit of 14 of southern Africa's leaders opened, Zimbabwe's critics had hoped that at the very least Robert Mugabe would get a private dressing-down as well as a few pointed public rebukes. But when he left smiling for reporters it was clear that his colleagues had done nothing of the sort.
We still do not know what transpired behind the hotel's gilded doors, but the final communiqué gave no sense of urgency or pressure. What it did offer was South Africa's President, Thabo Mbeki, as a facilitator for talks between Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and President Mugabe's government.
The summit chairman, Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete, said that that decision alone was a breakthrough. He described it as a landmark and to be fair, it is a departure from the deeply-held principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of member states here. The final communiqué also called for a study group to look at Zimbabwe's plunging economy and come up with ways to help. It urged the West to end economic sanctions and engage diplomatically.
But the communiqué was also significant for what it left out. It said nothing about timelines or dates, it gave no benchmarks for progress and said nothing about what might happen if Mr Mbeki's talks fail.
Yet the urgency is real. Zimbabwe's economy has already plunged through the floor, with inflation now over 1,700% and eight out of 10 workers without a job.
The government security services have taken to beating opposition supporters and accusing MDC activists of fire-bombing police stations and preparing for guerrilla war. In that environment it is hard to see what middle ground there might be for Mr Mbeki's negotiations, but it might all be academic if he does not move fast.
Few people believe Zimbabwe is going to plunge into civil war next week or next month, but it is heading in that direction. Without urgent and dramatic action, it is not just Zimbabwe that is in danger of slipping into conflict.
The country's neighbours, South Africa chief amongst them, would probably have to deal with a flood of impoverished and desperate refugees, and any violence could well follow close behind.
So self-interest alone would seem to inspire more robust action. Yet the region's leaders have decided that the greater priority is to stick together rather than to risk internal dissent.
Overall, these measures will disappoint those who had hoped to see southern African leaders discipline Robert Mugabe for the recent political crackdown on opposition protests. It also defied those who suggested that for their own sakes the 13 leaders would ramp up their efforts to avoid the regional crisis that civil war would inevitably provoke.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
CASUALTIES IN GUINEA BOAT CAPSIZE!
A passenger boat has capsized off the coast of Guinea, leaving at least 10 people dead, reports from the West African nation say. One report on state television said that as many as 60 people were killed. About 120 passengers were on board the vessel, the TV station said. It showed images of mainly young people being brought ashore.
The open boat, or pirogue, sank late on Wednesday off the capital, Conakry, a police official told Reuters. The vessel was on its way from Forecariah in the south, he said. It turned over in high seas and strong winds, another official said.
Boats are a common form of transport in coastal areas of Guinea, but safety standards can be poor.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
'PEOPLE SMUGGLERS' HELD IN ATHENS !
A gang of suspected people traffickers has been arrested in Athens for holding hostage 60 illegal immigrants, Greek police say. The suspects are accused of trying to get the captives to pay about 1,900 euros (£1,291; $2,530) each for their passage into Greece.
The immigrants - thought to be mostly Somalis - were held in two flats in Athens, authorities say.
Greece is a major transport hub for many immigrants heading to Europe.
The immigrants had arrived on the island of Evia near Athens by boat after stopping off in Turkey, according to police. Thirty-two were being held in a flat in the suburb of Nikea, and 28 others in a basement in the central neighbourhood of Exarchia.
Police said the migrants were crammed into modified "prison-like" rooms, with barred windows and security doors.
According to the Greek news website Ekathimerini, the suspects include three Afghans and an Iranian national.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
NEW LOW-COST VACCINE FOR AFRICA !
New low-cost vaccine for Africa
By Angus Crawford - BBC News.
For the first time, Europe's largest drugs company, GSK, is starting the registration process for a vaccine from which it never expects to make money. Globorix will only be used in Africa to prevent meningitis at prices that may never cover its research costs. Experts say it is a sign big companies are changing their business practices, but some critics say it is not enough.
Millions of people in Africa are at risk from meningitis, which can kill a child in six hours.
The new vaccine, Globorix, cost more than $400 million (£204m) to develop, but will only be sold and used in Africa. It is aimed at meningitis A and C and will succeed an older vaccine called Titanrix - which covered hep B, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), diphtheria and haemophilus influenza.
The company does not expect to get its money back. GSK chief executive Jean-Pierre Garnier says this is about a new way of doing business, not just good PR. "We have found a pretty clever way to fund therapeutic solutions for the developing world without essentially sacrificing the more traditional research we do around on diseases around the world," he said.
But this isn't just about an attack of conscience - six years ago GSK and other big firms tried to sue the South African government for trying to buy cheap generic drugs to combat HIV and other diseases. In the face of world wide public outrage they backed down..
Companies found themselves in a perfect storm - a PR disaster and a realisation that the old business model of profits above everything had to change.
They looked for research funds from governments and charities, and teamed up with smaller firms in India and China. As a result diseases once overlooked got more attention, said Anne Laure Ropars, an academic who has studied the way big firms deal with "neglected diseases".
Nevertheless, some critics say Globorix should be available more widely. Others point out that there are 12 big pharmaceutical firms worldwide but only four have centres specialising in diseases like TB, malaria and HIV.
"While a few companies such as GSK have sharply increased their research into drugs and vaccines for neglected diseases, there is still a lot of room for improvement across the board," Anne Laure Ropars said.
Globorix could soon start coming off a production line at a factory in Belgium. Teaming up with people like Bill Gates means vaccines for malaria, TB and eventually Aids may follow. It seems changing the way big pharmaceutical companies do business can also save lives.
Dr Richard Barker from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry said: "This is only one of many things that the pharmaceutical companies are doing for the developing world.
"For the last five or six years the industry has spent something like two and a half billion of its own money developing medicines for neglected diseases, giving away or giving at cost medicines to sub Saharan Africa and elsewhere in the world.
"So this is not an isolated example of a general response."
BBC NEWS REPORT.
HIJACKED PLANE ARRIVES IN SUDAN !
A plane flying from Libya to Sudan has been hijacked and landed in the Sudan capital, Khartoum. The lone hijacker, armed with a knife, is thought to be have been arrested by Sudanese special forces.
Civil aviation authority official Abdel Hafiz Abdel-Rahim said: "The hijacker burst into the pilot's cabin about one and half hours from landing."
The Sudan Airways plane, carrying 210 passengers, landed at Khartoum airport early on Friday.
Mr Abdel-Rahim told Reuters news agency that the hijacker had told the captain he wanted to meet the British and US ambassadors, as well as the media. "Snipers dressed as journalists then took him into custody," he said.
No apparent motive for the hijacking has yet been identified.
In January a 24-year-old man armed with knives and a pistol hijacked a Sudanese plane and tried to force it to fly to Europe.
Mahamat Abdelatif Mahamat demanded an end to the conflict in Darfur. The plane was diverted to Chad, where he was arrested and the passengers released unharmed.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
PROFILE : EMMERSON MNANGAGWA !
Profile: Emmerson Mnangagwa
By Joseph Winter - BBC News.
It has been an open secret in Zimbabwe for many years that Emmerson Mnangagwa would like to succeed Robert Mugabe as president. Emmerson Mnangagwa received military training in China and Egypt. And Mr Mugabe has been almost toying with his emotions - one day promoting him to senior positions in both the ruling Zanu-PF party and the government, raising speculation that Mr Mnangagwa is the "heir apparent" but later demoting him, after he possibly displayed his ambitions a bit too openly.
He helped direct Zimbabwe's 1970s war of independence and later became the country's spymaster during the 1980s civil conflict. He is currently minister of rural housing, a relative backwater after spells as minister of national security and speaker of parliament.
In 2005, he also lost his post as Zanu-PF secretary for administration, which had enabled him to place his supporters in key party positions. This followed reports that Mr Mnangagwa, 60, had been campaigning too hard for the post of vice-president, backed by his close ally, former Information Minister Jonathan Moyo.
Mr Mugabe sacked Mr Moyo from both party and government but Mr Mnangagwa seems to be back in the president's good books. The president has instead reportedly become alarmed at the activities of Joyce Mujuru, who got the vice-president's job, and her powerful husband, former army chief Solomon Mujuru.
Before his 2005 demotion, Mr Mnangagwa was seen as "the architect of the commercial activities of Zanu-PF", according to a UN report in 2001. This largely related to the operations of the Zimbabwean army and businessmen in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Zimbabwean troops intervened on the DR Congo conflict on the side of the government and, like other countries, it was accused of using the conflict to loot some of its rich natural resources, such as diamonds, gold and other minerals.
But despite his money-raising role, Mr Mnangagwa, a lawyer who grew up in Zambia, is not well-loved by the rank and file of his own party. One veteran of Zimbabwe's war of independence, who worked with him for many years, puts it simply: "He's a very cruel man, very cruel." Another Zanu-PF official poses an interesting question when asked about Mr Mnangagwa's prospects: "You think Mugabe is bad but have you thought that whoever comes after him could be even worse?"
The opposition candidate who defeated Mr Mnangagwa in the 2000 parliamentary campaign in Kwekwe Central, Blessing Chebundo, would also agree that his rival is not a man of peace. During a bitter campaign, Mr Chibundo escaped death by a whisker when the Zanu-PF youths who had abducted him and doused him with petrol were unable to light a match.
Mr Mnangagwa's fearsome reputation was made during the civil war which broke out after independence between Mugabe's Zanu party and the Zapu of Joshua Nkomo. He was tortured severely resulting in him losing his sense of hearing in one ear
As National Security Minister, Mr Mnangagwa was in charge of the Central Intelligence Organisation, CIO, which worked hand in glove with the army to suppress Zapu. Thousands of innocent civilians - mainly ethnic Ndebeles, seen as Zapu supporters - were killed before the two parties merged to form Zanu-PF.
Among countless other atrocities, villagers were forced at gun-point to dance on the freshly-dug graves of their relatives and chant pro-Mugabe slogans.
Despite the 1987 Unity Accord, the wounds are still painful and many party officials, not to mention voters, in Matabeleland would be reluctant to support a Mnangagwa presidential campaign.
Mr Mnangagwa, though does enjoy the support of many of the war veterans who led the campaign of violence against the white farmers and the opposition from 2000. They remember him as one of the men who, following his military training in China and Egypt, directed the 1970s fight for independence. He also attended the School of Ideology, run by the Chinese Communist Party.
On his official profile, Mr Mnangagwa says he was the victim of state violence after being arrested by the white-minority government in the former Rhodesia in 1965, after he helped blow up a train near Fort Victoria (now Masvingo).
"He was tortured severely resulting in him losing his sense of hearing in one ear," the profile says. "Part of the torture techniques involved being hanged with his feet on the ceiling and the head down. The severity of the torture made him unconscious for days." As he was under 21 at the time, he was not executed but instead sentenced to 10 years in prison.
He was born in the central region of Zvishavane and is from the Karanga sub-group of Zimbabwe's majority Shonas. The Karangas are the largest Shona group and some feel it is their turn for power, following 27 years of domination by Mr Mugabe's Zezuru group.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
MBEKI TO TACKLE ZIMBABWE CRISIS !
A summit of 14 southern African nations has agreed that South African President Thabo Mbeki should try to mediate in the political crisis in Zimbabwe. Mbeki will aim to formally arrange talks between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and the opposition.
The meeting also called on the West to drop sanctions and appealed to Britain to "honour its commitments" to fund land reforms in its former colony.
The Tanzania summit came amid rising concern about the Zimbabwe crisis.
Political violence is increasing in the country, which is beset by unemployment and poverty, and suffers the world's highest inflation - 1,700% a year.
Diplomats said before the summit that the leaders would tell President Mugabe that he should not stand for re-election next year, but there has been no word on whether they did so during their closed-door meeting.
The decision had been taken to promote dialogue, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete said at the end of the summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
"Of course the appeal to parties is to be co-operative and give this initiative a chance, also for the parties to exercise restraint and avoid anything that's going to inflame the situation," Mr Kikweti told a news conference.
The summit, which was attended by Mr Mbeki and Mr Mugabe, echoed the demands of the Zimbabwean government for all sanctions against the country to be lifted.
Britain and other Western countries have imposed targeted sanctions, including a travel ban on Mr Mugabe and his circle.
The meeting's outcome will probably disappoint the opposition, which had hoped for a much tougher line, says the BBC's Peter Greste in Dar es Salaam.
Their resolution also falls far short of the action urged by the US, which had called on the SADC summit to hold Mr Mugabe to account "for his misrule, not only over the last few weeks but over the last few years".
Amid the rising tension, Zimbabwean police on Wednesday cracked down further on the opposition.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said leader Morgan Tsvangirai was held for several hours after Wednesday's police raid on the party's headquarters in Harare.
Police denied he was among those arrested.
The policy-making body of Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF is due to meet on Friday to decide whether to postpone the elections and, if not, who its candidate will be.
Speaking to the BBC as the summit got under way, Mr Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, said the president would stay for as long as he had the popular vote.The pressure for change, he said, was coming from the US and Europe, and Zimbabwe was hoping for the support of other African nations. "Our expectations are very, very simple: to recognise that Zimbabwe is under assault... it is under assault from Western countries that have imposed illegal sanctions on it," Mr Charamba said.
Mr Mugabe, who has governed Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980, has blamed the opposition for the recent violence, accusing it of staging attacks. He has also dismissed complaints from the West about human rights abuses and political oppression as the whining of old colonists.
The SADC summit also discussed the violence in DR Congo.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
HELICOPTERS FIRE ON SOMALI MARKET !
Many civilians had been injured and wounded in recent weeks. Ethiopian helicopter gunships have fired at a market near an insurgent stronghold in the south of the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says hundreds of insurgents armed with rocket launchers and machine guns are battling Ethiopian troops.
Government spokesman Mohamed Mohamud Husein says this is the start of a three-day operation to restore order.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia says two-thirds of its troops have withdrawn from Somalia.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said this to parliament.
Ethiopian troops helped install the government last December but have been gradually handing over responsibilities to the African Union force that was deployed to Mogadishu this month to try and bring stability to the city.
Some 1,700 Ugandan troops are in Mogadishu as the advance party of a planned 8,000 strong AU force.In the dawn operation, at least six people died in fighting which broke a ceasefire declared a week ago and brokered by elders form the Hawiye clan - the biggest in Mogadishu - but Ethiopia denied reaching the deal.
The southern part of Mogadishu, where the fighting is going on, has become a no-go zone.
The interim government has blamed the escalating violence at the capital on remnants of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC).
Somalia enjoyed a six months lull in the insecurity that had dogged the country in the past 16 years, when the UIC took power last year. But insecurity has returned to the city. The UN estimates that 40,000 people have fled Mogadishu since February.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
WHO AGREES HIV CIRCUMCISION PLAN !
Foreskin cells are thought to be more vulnerable to HIV infection. International experts have backed the use of male circumcision in the prevention of HIV. The World Health Organization and UNAIDS said circumcision should be added to current interventions to reduce the spread of HIV.
Three African trials have shown that circumcision halved the rate of HIV infection in heterosexual men.
The recommendations largely apply to countries where rates of heterosexual transmission is high. Experts warned that greater use of circumcision would not replace the need for other prevention methods, such as condoms.
But modelling studies have shown that if male circumcision was more widely available, millions of lives, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa would be saved.
WHO and UNAIDS said access to the procedure should be urgently scaled up in areas with high rates of heterosexual infection and low rates of male circumcision.
But warned that it was an additional intervention and would not replace programmes providing HIV testing, or prevention or treatment for sexually infected infections.
Men and their partners must also be given counselling to prevent them developing a false sense of security, they said.
Training and monitoring must be done to check circumcision is being done by appropriate health professionals in a sanitary environment with proper equipment.
And they stressed there was no evidence yet as to whether circumcision has any impact on the risk of infection for the woman or on the risk among men who have sex with other men.
Kevin De Cock, director of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organization said: "The recommendations represent a significant step forward in HIV prevention."
"Countries with high rates of heterosexual HIV infection and low rates of male circumcision now have an additional intervention which can reduce the risk of HIV infection in heterosexual men."
However, he said it would be years before the impact on the epidemic would be apparent.
Catherine Hankins, UNAIDS, said: "Being able to recommend an additional HIV prevention method is a significant step towards getting ahead of this epidemic. "However, we must be clear: male circumcision does not provide complete protection against HIV. "Men and women who consider male circumcision as an HIV preventive method must continue to use other forms of protection such as male and female condoms, delaying sexual debut and reducing the number of sexual partners."
All three African trials were stopped early because the results were so dramatic - with reduced rates of new HIV infections of 48-60%.
There are several reasons why circumcision may protect against HIV infection.
Specific cells in the foreskin may be potential targets for HIV infection and also the skin under the foreskin becomes less sensitive and is less likely to bleed reducing risk of infection following circumcision.
When Aids first began to emerge in Africa, researchers noted that men who were circumcised seemed to be less at risk of infection but it was unclear whether this was due to differences in sexual behaviour.
Deborah Jack, chief executive of the National AIDS Trust, said: "These recommendations address many of the benefits of including male circumcision in a comprehensive HIV prevention package.
She added: "Additional research to determine the health impact for women and men who have sex with men is vital, as is ensuring that adequate resources are provided to fund existing prevention methods, as well as continue research into new technologies such as microbicides and vaccines."
BBC NEWS REPORT.
GUINEA'S LEADER NAMES GOVERNMENT !
President Conte won a third term in 2003 elections despite poor health. Guinea's president has named a new government, a month after appointing a consensus prime minister to end a series of crippling strikes. Lansana Conte's decree was announced in a television broadcast to the West African nation. It came after consultations with Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate.
More 100 people were killed during a seven-week period of unrest earlier this year in the country. Most were shot by Guinea's security forces.
A broadcast by Mr Kouyate accompanied President Conte's decree. "I have formed a government team which the president has seen fit to accept, and which will immediately tackle the problems we face," it said.
The prime minister said that tackling high unemployment was his government's priority.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
MUGABE'S HOLD OVER AFRICAN LEADERS !
Mugabe's hold over African leaders.
By Martin Plaut - BBC News Africa analyst.
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has gone to meet his fellow heads of state in Tanzania in a defiant mood.
Mr Mugabe's defiance has won the day with his counterparts in the past. He may appear to be in a corner, with the world's fastest-shrinking economy, massive food shortages and pressure from the international community. But Mr Mugabe has been in a corner before and knows how to respond.
An indication of his response came in the state-run Herald newspaper.
It accused the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of using an underground organisation, the Democratic Resistance Committees, to unleash what were described as "orgies of violence to create mayhem and render Zimbabwe ungovernable".
A police spokesman, assistant commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena, accused the committees of being behind eight petrol bomb attacks in the past 12 days. "These are clearly acts of terrorism," he said.
The opposition believes President Mugabe will present the Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders with a dossier outlining these charges in detail.
The talks are likely to be more frank and direct than anything President Mugabe has ever experienced.He will then challenge them to side with him, as a leader of a liberation movement, or with "terrorists" backed by imperialist forces.
This is the language the president has used time and again, tying in alleged plots by Britain and the West in general to destabilise his government. In the past this defiance has won the day. But it may not work much longer.
Reluctant as the rest of the region will be to take on Mr Mugabe, he is now a real threat to regional stability. As Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa said last Friday, Zimbabwe is like the Titanic and if it sinks it could take its neighbours down with it. Zimbabweans have little food and little prospect of getting more.Only a third of the 1.8m tonnes of maize the country needs will be harvested this year. An estimated 2m Zimbabweans are said to be so desperate they could flee across the country's borders if the economic situation worsens.
While Malawi has some surplus grain, the rest of the region is also short of food and could be overwhelmed.
South Africa is also increasingly worried about the impact of Zimbabwe's instability on its own position.
While President Thabo Mbeki insists he is engaged in "constructive diplomacy" with his northern neighbour and that Zimbabwe's problems must be solved by Zimbabweans, it is clear he is delivering a tougher message in private.
When the two men met in Ghana for the country's 50th anniversary celebrations this month Mr Mbeki told Mr Mugabe he was determined that the 2010 World Cup planned for South Africa would not be placed in jeopardy.
Some European nations have begun contemplating challenging South Africa's suitability as a venue if chaos in Zimbabwe deepens. This is something that President Mbeki will not be willing to tolerate.
The talks in Tanzania are likely to be more frank and direct than anything President Mugabe has ever experienced from his fellow African heads of state.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
SOUTH AFRICA SLAMMED ON ZIMBABWE !
South Africa comes in for criticism from the African press for its role in Zimbabwe, facing accusations of inaction, indifference and having a "quasi-imperialist agenda".
Elsewhere, a Kenyan title sees Zimbabwe, formerly a "shining hope" for Africa, descending into anarchy, while a Nigerian daily says Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has turned into "a monster".
But some papers in Zimbabwe itself hit out at what they regard as the country's enemies, accusing the BBC of racism and Tony Blair and George Bush of not wanting to leave office while Mr Mugabe is still in power.
ALAIN BALAGEAS IN ZIMBABWE'S INDEPENDENT ONLINE NEWZIMBABWE
South Africa's persistence in its policy of 'quiet diplomacy' has revealed its double standards to Africa and the world... Its inaction on Zimbabwe... raises eyebrows... It is plainly a case of a sinister quasi-imperialist agenda, masquerading as 'diplomatic engagement' on their part that they seek to entertain in order to perpetuate their interests and hegemony as the chief politico-economic power edifice in the region... The ANC-led government in Pretoria simply couldn't care less about who runs Zimbabwe.
RHODA KADALIE IN SOUTH AFRICA'S INDEPENDENT BUSINESS DAY
Support for Robert Mugabe has more to do with SA's solidarity with a former liberation leader than its so-called non-interference stance on sovereignty. No matter how dictatorial its rule, Zanu-PF knows it can rely on SA for support because its identity as a former liberation movement seals its survival regardless of the atrocities it perpetrates against its own people... Equally, its support for communist China on Burma is in line with a foreign policy that has consistently supported pariah states such as Libya and Iran against countries that value human rights, good governance and democracy. It finds it so easy to condemn Israel on the grounds of human rights and self-determination, invoking similarities with the apartheid state, but when it comes to Zimbabwe and Burma, its forked-tongue agenda becomes nauseatingly transparent.
SOUTH AFRICA'S INDEPENDENT CAPE ARGUS
21 March 1960, looms large in South Africa's history as a milestone in the quest for freedom.. On that day police opened fire on a crowd of people that had gathered at the police station in Sharpeville... Surely - given the awful history that is embodied by that day in 1960 - we should never turn a deaf ear to the cries of others whose rights are trampled upon... Freedom is indivisible, including that involving our neighbours and fellow Africans in Zimbabwe, who are routinely beaten for exercising their rights to freedom of speech, association and assembly. In these circumstances, silence is not a sign of statecraft but, rather, of complicity and consent.
STEVEN FRIEDMAN IN SOUTH AFRICA'S INDEPENDENT BUSINESS DAY
Government's failure to take a clear enough stand against heightened tyranny in Zimbabwe is not an aberration. It illustrates a pattern in our foreign policy: that, whatever our goals in the world may be, supporting democracy elsewhere is not one of them. We have repeatedly ignored Zimbabwe's desire for democracy... Why would a government that owes its existence to a fight for democracy not support it energetically abroad? ... Supporting democracy beyond our borders is not a luxury that hampers our chances of getting on in the world - it is a necessity that is in our national interest.
KENYA'S INDEPENDENT DAILY NATION
The unfolding events in Zimbabwe in the past few weeks illustrate the depths of repression and political intolerance raging in a country that once stood as a shining hope for Africa. The brutal attacks on opposition chief Morgan Tsvangirai and a few others slightly over a week ago, and the violent events that followed meant Zimbabwe is sliding fast to anarchy.
NIGERIA'S INDEPENDENT VANGUARD
It is sad that Mugabe who started on a bright note has in the twilight of his life turned into a monster that could go to any length to remain in power.
JOHN ITESHI IN ZIMBABWE'S INDEPENDENT ONLINE NEWZIMBABWE
Racism, the worst kind of racism, is the only reason for the British media's obsession with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe... It seems to me that the only reason the white world is against Robert Mugabe is because he expelled white farmers... It is now clear to me that BBC and other British media are far worse than the British National Party (BNP) which is labelled racist. The BNP is not threatening the existence and survival of the black race while British journalists are... Zimbabwe is by far more democratic and successful than most other black African countries... but today it bears the ignoble reputation of being one of the worst places to live in!.. It is purely and squarely about race!
ZIMBABWE'S GOVERNMENT HERALD
It is easy to see why the gloves are off, the MDC's godfathers; George W. Bush and Tony Blair are running out of time; with the former expected to leave office in June, while Bush is in the final months of his tenure. Both men are not keen to go while their nemesis Cde Mugabe remains, they would rather have him go; if not to justify their ruinous foreign policies, at least to have him as a trophy in light of their glaring failures in Iraq and Afghanistan.
BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
PRESS URGES SADC TO PULL ZIMBABWE SUPPORT.
African papers are displaying signs of a shift in regional opinion towards President Robert Mugabe, ahead of an SADC emergency summit in Tanzania to discuss the crisis in Zimbabwe.
While some papers say Africans should stand by Mugabe, one daily directly accuses him of behaviour against his people that is worse than under colonial rule.
Others suggest that the end of his rule is approaching and that the SADC should no longer back him.
MOS KASIBANTE IN UGANDA'S INDEPENDENT DAILY MONITOR
What Africans have learned is that fellow Africans, including those who carry the label of a freedom fighter can visit atrocities on their people similar to, and in some cases worse than, those committed by the colonialists.
TANZANIA GOVERNMENT DAILY NEWS
Political stability and security is exactly what SADC countries need to implement... We have witnessed recently political stand-offs in Zimbabwe precipitated by the opposition's decision to go ahead with an unauthorized meeting. This is a situation which should not be allowed to get out of proportion. We want our Zimbabwean brothers and sisters to live in peace.
REASON WAFAWAROVA IN ZIMBABWE'S GOVERNMENT HERALD
Zimbabwe does not need street terrorism; it needs a battle of minds competing for the betterment of the country ... we need to share one history and one heritage just like other nations, among them settler colonies like the US.
BILAL ABDUL-AZIZ IN TANZANIA'S INDEPENDENT GUARDIAN
It should be clear to every one, especially the boastful 'Western fathers' led by the United Kingdom and her twin ally United States, that true sons of Africa, including Tanzania, stand by Mugabe's Zimbabwe.
ZIMBABWE'S THE INDEPENDENT
The heat on Mugabe is now coming from closer to home. In fact, there is a meeting of minds between Western governments and SADC states that Mugabe's time is up.
The answer from a SADC point of view lies in Mugabe leaving the political scene. The new approach hinted at by [Zambian President Levy] Mwanawasa replaces quiet diplomacy. It is a blend of megaphone diplomacy and SADC withdrawing its support for Mugabe. The leaders have now realized the folly of believing that Mugabe is amenable to reform.
RAYMOND LOUW IN SOUTH AFRICA'S INDEPENDENT BUSINESS DAY
A statement that goes beyond 'staying silent' is unlikely ... if [President Thabo] Mbeki maintains SA [SAfrica]'s view... that the current crisis in Zimbabwe could have been averted if Europe, the US and SA had adopted a common approach to the country's problems...
How long can Mugabe remain in power in the face of the condemnation of his peers in Africa, where he would be relegated to a lonely hermit with possible forays to friends in China...? Dissidents in ZANU (PF) would be given a powerful weapon to use against Mugabe and demand his departure.
BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
ZIMBABWE'S TSVANGIRAI 'ARRESTED' !
Mr Tsvangirai was allegedly beaten in custody earlier this month.
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been arrested in a raid on his headquarters, officials from his party have said. He was seized along with about 20 members of staff ahead of a news conference, the Movement for Democratic Change's Tendai Biti told the BBC.
Mr Tsvangirai was also arrested earlier this month and beaten while in custody.
The latest arrest came as southern African leaders gathered in Tanzania for talks on Zimbabwe. President Robert Mugabe is expected to be at that meeting.
The BBC's Peter Greste in Tanzania's capital, Dar es Salaam, says that in private the gathered leaders will give Mr Mugabe a frosty reception following the beating of opposition politicians in police custody this month.
In the latest raid, the opposition headquarters in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, were cordoned off before officers went in to make the arrests.
"There's a wall of riot police so you can't actually see what's happening," Mr Biti said.
Mr Mugabe may get a frosty reception at the Tanzania meeting
Mr Tsvangirai had been planning to hold a news conference about the arrest and assault of scores of opposition activists after police broke up a meeting earlier this month.
Germany, which holds the European Union presidency, said it was "deeply concerned" at the latest arrests.
But Zimbabwe's Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told the BBC the arrests were a police matter.
"If the police take action it's their prerogative... They are doing their job, we can't interfere," he said.
Zimbabwe's Herald newspaper reported on Wednesday that a suspected petrol bomber was arrested amid reports that ruling party offices and a police camp were bombed on Tuesday.
Mr Biti denied speculation that MDC members were involved as "fiction".
In Dar es Salaam, Mr Mugabe is expected to blame tensions in his country on an opposition campaign of violence.
The government has consistently accused the MDC of using violence and attacking the police.
Our correspondent in Tanzania, Peter Greste, says that Mr Mugabe built up strong regional support for standing up to former colonial masters but that is now waning amid the brutal suppression of opposition protests.
The leaders at the summit are expected to tell Mr Mugabe, who has governed Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980, that he should stand down when his term in office ends next year.
Our correspondent says Mr Mugabe has so far seemed immune from verbal attacks from the West may not be so resistant to criticism from his own contemporaries.
Mr Biti told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that Mr Mugabe appeared defiant. "Mugabe is telling them, 'I've got the title deeds to Zimbabwe, you can go to hell'. He's saying, 'Stuff diplomacy'."
Zimbabweans are grappling with the world's highest inflation - 1,700% a year - while unemployment and poverty are widespread.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
SCORES DIE IN NIGERIA TANKER FIRE !
A petrol tanker explosion has killed 83 people and wounded 20 others critically in north-western Nigeria. The victims were trying to scoop fuel from the scene of a crash after a 33,000-litre tanker tipped over in a village in Kaduna State.
Police authorities say there has been a mass burial for most of the bodies which were "burnt beyond recognition".
Hundreds of people trying to scoop petrol from vandalised pipelines have lost their lives in Nigeria.
The accident occurred in Kagarko village some 150km north of the capital, Abuja.
"Only three of the corpses were recognised by their relatives, but emergency workers are on the scene," Kaduna State police spokesman Saad Yahaya told the BBC.
The villagers who became trapped in the fire had rushed to scoop the petrol gushing from the crashed tanker.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
LEADERS GATHER FOR ZIMBABWE TALKS !
Mr Mugabe has governed Zimbabwe for 27 years.
Southern African leaders are gathering in Tanzania for two days of emergency talks over the crisis in Zimbabwe.
The country's president, Robert Mugabe, will attend the meeting, called by the Southern African Development Community.
BBC correspondents say support for Mr Mugabe in the region is waning, after opposition politicians were beaten up while in custody earlier this month.
The Zimbabwean leader is expected to blame tensions in his country on an opposition campaign of violence.
African leaders have been reluctant to criticise Mr Mugabe in public.
They see him as a hero of the fight against colonial rule.
But the BBC's Peter Greste, in the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam, says in private the leaders will give Mr Mugabe a frosty reception.
Our correspondent says South African leader Thabo Mbeki in particular is likely to put pressure on Mr Mugabe.
South Africa is already taking many refugees from Zimbabwe, and Mr Mbeki will be aware that a complete collapse there would severely affect his own country, our correspondent says.
The leaders are expected to tell Mr Mugabe, who has governed Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980, that he should stand down when his term in office ends next year.
Zimbabweans are grappling with the world's highest inflation - 1,700% a year - while unemployment and poverty are widespread.
Critics blame the economic meltdown on Mr Mugabe's seizure of white-owned farms, while he says he is the victim of a Western plot.
The conference in Dar es Salaam, hosted by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, will also focus on the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Recent fighting between the army and militias in DR Congo has left at least 150 people dead.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
