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via translation - ALERT - Zimbabwe / legislation: the defeat of the party Mugabe confirmed HARARE - The defeat of the party history of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, in power since 1980, when the general elections on March 29, was confirmed Saturday by the figures provided by the Electoral Commission.

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's ruling party said Friday there will be a presidential runoff election between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. ZANU-PF party secretary and Minister of State Didymus Mutasa also charged that the opposition bribed electoral officials and said his party would contest results of 16 parliamentary seats — enough to win back its majority. Mutasa spoke at a news conference after a party politburo meeting, the first since elections results showed it has lost its control of parliament. The opposition claims to have won the presidency, but official returns in that race have not yet...

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Security agents and paramilitary police in riot gear are surrounding a Harare hotel housing foreign journalists. A man answering the phone at the hotel says they are taking away some reporters. The man refused to give his name but said about 30 police entered the hotel Thursday and were preparing to take away four or five journalists. Foreign journalists have been in Zimbabwe to cover elections in which President Robert Mugabe's party lost control of parliament. He is apparently facing a runoff for the presidency. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information....

HARARE - Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu (PF) party still manipulates food supplies for political gain, says a nongovernmental group. The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), a coalition of civic groups, says the government uses traditional leaders to deny suspected members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) access to grain. The ZPP says in a report, Partisan Distribution of Food and Other Forms of Aid, that people without Zanu (PF) cards are routinely denied food from the state-controlled Grain Marketing Board. "Traditional leaders, councillors and community food committees mostly recommended by Zanu (PF) leaders orchestrated the removal of nonruling party members...

HARARE, 30 July 2007 (IRIN) - A recent central committee meeting of Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party called for President Robert Mugabe to be installed as president for life, and the creation of ideological schools targeting preschool children. The minutes of the party's central committee and politburo meeting on 30 March - the two most powerful ZANU-PF organs, both chaired by Mugabe in his capacity as president and first secretary of the ruling party - were adopted on 4 May and subsequently leaked to an IRIN correspondent. Amid an economic meltdown characterised by an inflation rate of more than 4,000...

A KEY ally of Zimbabwe's Vice President Joice Mujuru has said he expects President Robert Mugabe to retire before the end of the year, seen as proof of growing disillusionment within his Zanu PF party over his plans to run for office in general elections next year. Mugabe, 83, has been power since Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980. But an unprecedented economic crisis and growing international pressure has encouraged rivals within his own party to pressure him to quit. Dr Ibbo Mandaza, an influential Zanu PF supporter and adviser to Mujuru, said he expects Mugabe to announce...

Prime Minister John Howard has been labelled the "butcher of Baghdad" by a Zimbabwe government minister angry over the Australian leader's role in his nation's suspension from the Commonwealth. Zimbabwe declared it would pull out of the Commonwealth after Howard helped convince Commonwealth leaders to extend the African nation's suspension from the body. Howard's role has angered Zimbabwe's government MPs seeking parliamentary approval for President Robert Mugabe's withdrawal decision. Foreign Minister Stan Mudenga referred to him as the "butcher of Baghdad" - a reference to Australia's participation in the war in Iraq. Mudenga said Howard had declared that Zimbabwe would...

Zimbabwe is to proceed with plans to nationalise all farmland, a ruling party official has said. Zanu-PF spokesman Nathan Shamuvarira said the party would amend the constitution so as to abolish rights to private ownership of land. He said the move would end "ceaseless litigation" by white farmers whose property has been expropriated by decree over the past five years. Under the proposed new system, land would be leased for 99-year terms. The statement appeared in state media. "Through the amendments we are going to push for when parliament resumes sitting in June, all land will become state land,...

Mugabe's party sweeps to victory President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has swept to victory in Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections. So far the party has taken 40 seats, official results show - enough to guarantee Mr Mugabe's party will control the legislature. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said "disgusting, massive fraud" had been committed in Thursday's polls. President Mugabe, who has been in power for 25 years, has dismissed the complaints as nonsense. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has won 32 seats so far, mostly in urban areas, where it is strongest. A total of 120 seats are being contested, with...

While United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan was patently ignoring a President Robert Mugabe oppressed Zimbabwe, his son, Kojo was making money building the Zimbabwean capitol’s airport. Mugabe runs the ZANU-PF, a regime that Condoleeza Rice labels an outpost of tyranny. Why Kojo Annan’s business activities in Zimbabwe have not surfaced in the ongoing probe of the Oil-For-Food Program should surely raise concern about both the integrity and sincerity of the investigation. It’s a global village as far as Kojo’s business agenda is concerned. First came West Africa where Annan’s youngest son was working for the Swiss-based Cotecna with ties...

A South African spy captured by Zimbabwean counter intelligence is alleged to have been severely tortured before agreeing to co-operate with local officials, the Institute for Security Studies said in Pretoria today. The spy recently was nabbed by Zimbabwean Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operatives at Victoria Falls and under questioning, revealed the names of his collaborators within the governing Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu(PF)). Chris Maroleng, an analyst, said the spy would not have naturally agreed to work with the Zimbabweans as they had alleged and therefore must have reached his "pain threshold". "The Zimbabwean CIO are renowned...

I have created a public register of "bump lists" here on Free Republic. I define a bump list as a name listed in the "To" field used to index articles. Free Republic Bump List Register

The consequences of China's growth. THAT CHINA'S NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS convened last week is not news, though it provided the occasion for prime minister Wen Jiabao's first address to the rubber-stamping body, a 90-minute affair which, quite predictably, was well received. That China released two dissidents, Wang Youcai and Phuntsog Nyidron, may be news, if it portends a greater sensitivity to pressure from international human rights advocates and even a slight loosening of the regime's grip on the political system. That Wen announced China will address the economic imbalances that threaten to turn its phenomenal growth into an equally phenomenal...

A patriotic education campaign for students has been launched to fight the "infiltration" of foreign ideologies through new media such as the internet. Education Minister Zhou Ji said the measures would be incorporated in every stage of the curriculum as part of a plan to "reinvigorate" the school system for the next five years. The move will affect 367 million students. The programme includes plans to "promote and cultivate the spirit of patriotism" and to promote Chinese language among ethnic minorities. It will also reinforce the position of the Communist Party. "Strengthening the leadership of the Communist Party is a...

China Arrests Dozens of Prominent Christians At least 50 detained in fresh crackdown on house churches, reportedly promoted by new video and book releases. By Timothy C. Morgan with David Neff in Washington, D.C. | posted 02/18/2004 China's Public Security Bureau has launched a new crackdown on unregistered church leaders, arresting 50 or more people following the release of a new video and book, documenting huge growth among Christians outside the officially permitted church. ...[snip]The crackdown may last for 30 days and began during China's annual National Religious Working Conference. This meeting brings together top leaders of the state Religious...

A Chinese Internet dissident has been formally arrested and charged with subversion. Authoritarian China will tolerate little opposition to the continuing domination of the Communist Party. Internet writers are no exception. State media report 39-year-old prolific Internet author Du Daobin has been charged with inciting subversion of China's state power and attempting the overthrow of China's socialist system. He has already been in custody for four months. Police say his crimes stem from 28 articles he had written and posted on the Internet since 2001. Police also say Mr Du has confessed to the major facts, which include co-operating with...

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126 USA E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com, Web Site: www.assistnews.net Tuesday, December 30, 2003 CHINA ARRESTS HOUSE CHURCH LEADERS AND WRITER Voice of the Martyrs urges prayers amid concern about crack-down By: Stefan J. BosSpecial Correspondent, ASSIST News Service BEIJING, CHINA  (ANS) -- The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) urged prayers for a jailed Christian Internet writer Zhang Shengqi and other Christian contacts who were arrested amid a crackdown against house churches across China, ASSIST News Service (ANS) monitored Tuesday, Dec. 30 VOM, a leading Christian human rights watchdog, said "10...

  Wal-Mart Asia President: I hope to retire in China "I have told the US headquarters that I hoped to stay in China till my retirement," said Joe Hatfield, president of Wal-Mart Asia, who usually arrives at his office before 5 o'clock in the morning. Hatfield was appointed the president and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart Asia: Wal-Mart Stores. Inc. in 1994, and spentnine years in South China's Shenzhen. Wal-Mart entered China in 1996 and opened its first Supercenterand Sam's Club in Shenzhen, China. It has since then opened thirty-one stores in fifteen cities in China, including Wal-Mart Supercenter, Sam's...

China developing `paralysis warfare'By Brian HsuSTAFF REPORTER Wednesday, Oct 08, 2003,Page 1 China's military is changing its strategy from deterrence to pre-emption, planning to use "paralysis warfare" against Taiwan in the future, the Ministry of National Defense said in a report delivered to the legislature's defense committee yesterday. "Paralysis warfare features Web-based information warfare, saturation ballistic missile attacks, joint precision strikes and seizure of the enemy's capital city by special operations units," the report says. "Such tactics will become a major option for the Chinese military in its choice of modes of attack against Taiwan in the future," it says....

<p>China's military is quietly building up troops on borders from North Korea to India by replacing tens of thousands of border police with regular army forces, a U.S. official said.</p> <p>About 150,000 Chinese military troops recently replaced People's Armed Police troops on China's border with North Korea, according to Hong Kong's Sing Tao newspaper.</p>