A group of staff journalists from Zimbabwe's Daily News were brutally attacked earlier this week as they tried to report assaults by self-styled war veterans on white farmers in the country.

Journalists attending a Media Institute of Southern Africa Annual General Meeting in Lusaka have condemned the brutal attack on three journalists and a driver from the Daily News in Zimbabwe last week.

Zimbabwe's Minister of Health has predicted that a full census next year will confirm the government's suspicions that the population is not growing. Whether or not this is the case, a decline in the population's growth rate will have a profound effect on the nations' finances and on sectors such as education and employment.

In the wake of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair, Chris Kabwato asks how one can speak of book publishing in an environment where a crumbling regime is beating up the opposition and creating a situation where only the banking and financial sectors can thrive.

While inflation in Zimbabawe sky-rockets, traders face an impossible situation as the money they raise from sales does not cover the cost of replenishing stocks. Analysts predict spiralling poverty may prove President Robert Mugabe's biggest headache in the forthcoming elections.

The Zimbabwean government has raised the stakes in the impending do-or-die presidential election. It plans to plough about ZIM$6,5-billion into social services and housing projects, including funding so-called self-help projects in rural areas.

Two Zimbabwean sculptors, Clifford Guwu and Tanyanyiwa Chipfunde, believe imparting their knowledge to youngsters is the only way they can help build a vibrant arts industry in their country.

Regional leaders have ordered Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to address the land crisis in his country within a month or face isolation. Mugabe is said to be angered by the insistence that he consult Zimbabwe’s civil society before proceeding with land reform.

Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party and the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) were engaged in secret talks to find a common plan to steer the country away from the current crisis over land, the economy and political violence, the ‘Financial Gazette’ reported on Thursday.

The Southern African Development Community says it will monitor the progress of national dialogue between Zimbabwe's government and opposition leaders aimed at ending 18-months of unrest. However incidents of violence are still being reported.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) says that the
Zimbabwean government needs to ensure that the new Bill does not serve the interests of the executive arm of government only.

Fair Election Monitoring Alliance call on the media to provide voters with balanced and accurate reports in order to help them make an informed choice on October 1st. In the current atmosphere of violence and conflict, the media can play a key role in providing information and analysis.

These submissions are based on an analysis of the existing laws in Zimbabwe and the wide consultations done with journalists in Zimbabwe. MISA-Zimbabwe is a member-driven organisation and our membership, made up of mostly media people and organisations, have made known their concerns on the Public Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill.

The Zimbabwean government is considering holding elections earlier than the proposed April date because of the worsening economic crisis.

President Robert Mugabe gave his seal of approval yesterday to an agreement to stop illegal seizure of Zimbabwe's white-owned farms and rein in squatters. Returning to Harare after a week-long "working holiday" in Libya, he told journalists that he accepted the deal, which was hailed as a breakthrough by Commonwealth foreign ministers when it was signed in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, on Friday. But intimidation of opposition politicians and farm invasions continued.

Injecting a strong note of caution, one senior diplomat said: "The Zimbabwe delegation in Abuja was not led by Robert Mugabe."

Project Support Group (PSG), Harare, Zimbabwe will from October this year, offer a two week course on Targeted interventions for Vulnerable Communities in collaboration with Regional AIDS Training Network (RATN).

Self-styled commander of Zimbabwe's farm invasions, Joseph Chinotimba, has threatened to forcibly close the offices of independent newspapers over their alleged negative portrayal of the war veterans and President Robert Mugabe.

An economic stabilisation and reform programme designed to appeal to international donors has been launched by Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Britain's 'Financial Times' reported on Thursday.

Zimbabwe is facing a humanitarian disaster following the eviction of tens of thousands of black farm workers by government-backed militias, it was claimed on Friday.