The Hospital Doctors' Association (HDA) met this week to discuss whether doctors should down stethoscopes once again to press the government for an 80 percent pay rise promised to all civil servants.

Four suspects in the murder of Bulawayo war veterans' chief, Cain Nkala, were tortured during interrogation by the police in Bulawayo and forced to sign confessions which were dictated to them by their torturers, the High Court has heard.

When reports of killings and mass human rights violations reach the international community, the first response is always cautious. The first demand is for verification, whilst the second is usually conservative under-reaction. The machinery for dealing with mass human rights violations is inherently conservative, and this inevitably produces a significant time lag in responding to such situations, says a report prepared for ZWNEWS.

The Amani Trust has strongly denied involvement in a petrol bomb attack in Zimbabwe on Monday night after the state news media had claimed that an Amani vehicle had been identified as one of the vehicles ferrying the alleged attackers. "These allegations are wholly unfounded, but consistent with the continuous attacks that have been mounted against the Trust over the past year...There must therefore be concern for the safety of the staff and Trustees of the Amani Trust, and we hope that calls will be made upon the government of Zimbabwe to protect its citizens against unlawful attack."

Edited by Michael Bourdillon
Child labour has received much international attention in recent years, as a form of child abuse that needs urgently to be brought to an end. It is perceived to hinder the rightful development of children, and particularly their education. In Zimbabwe, formalised child labour is not common. Nevertheless, children in a variety of situations have to work for their livelihood. In many cases families, and the children themselves, depend partly on it. Often the schooling of the children depends on the income they earn.

One man died and seven people were injured - two critically - in an attack on a ZANU-PF meeting in Kuwadzana, a suburb of Harare which is preparing for a local election.

Efforts by Nigeria to mediate in resloving the political and economic crises engulfing Zimbabwe may get a boost as Foreign Affairs Minister, Alhaji Sule Lamido, travels to Harare to deliver a letter from President Olusegun Obasanjo to his Zimbabwean counterpart President Robert Mugabe.

A student from the University of Pretoria's Centre for Human Rights has been arrested in Zimbabwe, for allegedly being involved in a plot to overthrow the government.

Despite energetic denials from President Mugabe, speculation surrounding the future of his presidency intensified as more details emerged of an exit deal, put together by his closest associates. The latest initiative has placed Mugabe in a vulnerable position as his government openly admits its failure to cope with food and fuel shortages.

The Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ) says it is "imperative" that the private media should be tenacious in investigating seemingly harmless government policies such as the intention to establish information kiosks in rural areas. The MMPZ says the kiosks could curtail citizens' right to access information of their choice, says the MMPZ in its latest Weekly Update, which also deals with wrangles around local government and food shortages.

The Head of Mission is in overall charge of all aspects of the Mission in the field. The HoM coordinates the programmes and represents Action Against Hunger in meetings with local authorities, other agencies and donors. He/she also manages the expatriate team, oversees the budgets, administration and local staff. The HoM is the link person between the Desk Officer in HQ and the field team for all aspects of the mission's running and for development of the mission strategy.

Ernest Mungwari, who runs one of Zimbabwe's biggest transport companies, Tenda Transport Private Limited is reported to have hired thugs to beat up Brian Mangwende, The Daily News bureau chief, in the eastern border city of Mutare.

The Associated Newspapers Group has lodged a constitutional challenge of sections of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. This requires media houses to be registered by the Media and Information Commission appointed by the Minister of Information.

In a move that signals the beginning of the harassment and arrests of publishers and journalists over non-compliance with the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, officers from the Criminal Investigations Department visited the publisher of The Sun newspaper, and requested that he produce his registration certificate.

The technical problems which have been brewing in Zimbabwe’s email system for months came to a head this week, with widespread failures affecting subscribers at almost all internet service providers in the country. People outside Zimbabwe reported that email sent to Zimbabwe email addresses were returned with the message "user/domain unknown". Those sending email from Zimbabwe to international addresses had messages bounced back to them, and access to Zimbabwean websites from outside the country has also been difficult, or impossible at times, reports ZWNews.

Beatrice Moyo, the wife of the Minister of Information and Publicity, has instructed her lawyers to sue The Daily News for $10 million (US$182 000) for damages allegedly caused by an article that appeared in the paper on Monday 13 January 2003.

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition has said they are concerned about the welfare of MDC MP Job Sikhala and NGO Human Rights Forum research lawyer Gabriel Shumba, both of who were arrested and detained on Tuesday. The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition is deeply concerned for the welfare of these two individuals and urges the police to release them immediately, the organisation said in an urgent alert.

The people of Zimbabwe are trapped in a leadership paradox. On one hand is the brutual authoritarianism of a government that is long overdue its sell-by date and has overstayed its usefulness. On the other hand is the apparent lack of leadership from an opposition that they have to look up to for answers to their daily anguish. Those that had put all their cards on a new political scene after the elections, feel the most pinch from the opposition’s lack of leadership as they still look up to it for a solution. Unfortunately, the opposition has not been pro-active and decisive in leading the people after the presidential election, says this commentary on the Centre for Civil Society web site of the University Natal.

A Zimbabwe private newspaper reported that Zimbabwean, South African and British authorities have hatched a plan for embattled President Robert Mugabe to hand power to his chosen successor, before the end of his current term in 2006. The Zimbabwe Sunday Mirror said the plan, which it claimed had the support of Zimbabwe's army commander, included the appointment of an interim government with the support of the main opposition and the holding of parliamentary and presidential elections in 2005.
Related Link:
* I won't step down just now - Mugabe
http://allafrica.com/stories/200301160214.html

The Combined Harare Residents Association, together with other representatives of civil society, including the 350 members of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, has strongly condemned the continuing repression of democratically elected representatives and the citizens of Zimbabwe in general.