The European Union have decided to impose "targeted sanctions" against President Robert Mugabe and his cronies within a week if Zimbabwe refuses to admit independent European observers. Backing a British call to maintain "calibrated" pressure on Mr Mugabe, European foreign ministers said sanctions would be triggered automatically if EU election observers were kept out, if free media coverage were hindered, if the human rights situation deteriorated any further or if "the election is assessed as not being free and fair".

In a letter to Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, RSF expressed its concern over government threats to foreign journalists who may have entered the country illegally. "These journalists applied for tourist visas only because they had no other option in order to cover the news. We ask the government to give them accreditation and let them work freely," stated RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard.

Britain's relations with Robert Mugabe plunged to their lowest level since independence this weekend, when the Government called for Zimbabwe to be thrown out of the Commonwealth and millions of pounds of funds to be seized as a wave of political murders sweeps the impoverished country.

Four Zimbabwean human rights activists are challenging their arrest, deportation and permanent banning from Malawi. The activists, representing the umbrella Zimbabwe Crisis Group, were arrested a day before the 14 January Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit and returned to Harare as the summit got under way.

The government-controlled media seized the opportunity to feast on the comments of opposition MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, who suggested that South Africa could introduce sanctions against Zimbabwe as a response to threats to undermine the presidential election by the military and President Mugabe himself. He was commenting to the BBC on the inconclusive SADC summit in Malawi that discussed the deepening political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe.

Commonwealth, European Union and United States officials have begun investigating the overseas assets of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, his family and his close associates in readiness for possible sanctions against the country.

Zimbabwean authorities are searching for several foreign journalists who entered the country as tourists in defiance of a ban on most visiting correspondents, a senior government official said on Thursday.

Six representatives of media organisations in Zimbabwe including, MISA-Zimbabwe Director, Sarah Chiumbu, The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists, Secretary General, Basildon Peta, Eunice Mafundikwa, Chairperson, Federation of African Media Women of Zimbabwe, Abel Mutsakani, President, Independent Journalists Association of Zimbabwe, Andrew Meldrum, Foreign Correspondents Association of Zimbabwe, and the Chairperson of the Harare Journalists Press Club, Luke Tamborinyoka presented a fresh petition to the parliament of Zimbabwe on the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill. The Bill was set to be passed on Tuesday, January 15. For more on the story and the full petition, read on..

The Zimbabwe government has failed, for the second time in a week, to introduce in parliament a controversial bill that would clamp down on press freedom.

Christian AID,Save the Children and UN World Food Programmes's funding for food security in Zimbabwe's poorest regions has had a positive impact on intended beneficiaries.

There are signs that the Zimbabwean government is trying to honour commitments it made to its neighbours at the recent Southern African Development Community (SADC)summit in Malawi, a leading human rights activist told IRIN on Tuesday.

The Zimbabwean President faced a rebellion by some of his closest allies on Tuesday when they refused to endorse a media law that seeks to stifle criticism of Robert Mugabe and shut down the free press.

Zimbabwe faces the near certainty of EU sanctions yesterday after failing to give assurances on press freedom, or to say how international observers will be able to monitor the presidential elections.

Baseless allegations against a human rights organization printed in Zimbabwe's state controlled daily newspaper signal the newest phase in the government's campaign to undermine civil society, according to Amnesty International.

ARTICLE 19 has released a report criticising a Bill now before the Zimbabwean Parliament that will significantly extend government control over the independent media. ARTICLE 19 calls on the Parliament not to pass the Bill into law. The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill 2001 would grant a broad range of restrictive powers over the media to a Commission under the control of the Minister of Information. Despite its name, the Bill does very little to ensure access to information and contains only limited provisions on privacy.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has welcomed Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's assurances of a free and fair election in March, but says he is "acutely" concerned by the promulgation of a battery of restrictive laws in the troubled southern African country.

Zimbabwean journalists who gathered in Harare on Saturday have resolved to defy a proposed new media bill expected to be considered by parliament later this week.

After intense international pressure, Zimbabwe's government delayed its vote last week on a harsh media bill that would stifle dissent during the run-up to the presidential elections, scheduled for early March, until certain changes can be made to the legislation, according to Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa.

International auditingfirms operating in southern Africa said an investigation into the assets of Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe, and those of his associates would be strengthened by the co-operation of international donor agencies.

Zimbabwe's Minister of State for Information and Publicity Jonathan Moyo wants the European Union (EU) to urge the British and Netherlands governments to stop sponsoring short wave radio stations that broadcast in Zimbabwe.