The trial of Bright Chibvuri the editor of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions’ The Worker magazine charged under the repressive Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) resumed on 1 February 2008 in Plumtree only to be postponed yet again. The trial but had to be postponed after the magistrate ruled that he needed time to consider legal arguments which arose during the trial.This comes hardly a day after the trial was postponed on 31 January 2008 because the trial magistrate was on a prison visit in the town.

On 29 March 2008 Zimbabwe will be holding its harmonized presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections. Zimbabweans will again be faced with the opportunity to exercise their democratic right and freedom to choose freely, through the ballot box, leaders with the mandate to securing a prosperous, peaceful and democratic Zimbabwe.

The 29 March elections will not solve Zimbabwe's crisis. From 8 - 9 February, nearly 4,000 delegates will attend the Zimbabwe People's Convention in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, to decide how to organise themselves and work together to bring about peace and social justice. The majority of Zimbabwean men, women and children do not have food, clean water, and medical services. Come and hear what they have to say and find out how you can support them.

Alois Mufundisi, a media professional, earns 200 million Zimbabwean dollars, about 50 U.S. dollars on the thriving parallel market. On paper this amount appears huge, but in real terms it is just enough to buy essential foodstuffs for half a month. He is barely able to keep his three children in school. Seven years ago he could manage without any problem. Now he has to do private jobs to supplement his income.

They left the country in search of jobs to better their lives, but village elders in rural Tsholotsho, say young men who left home to fend for their families are losing their lives at alarming rates to HIV/AIDS related ailments. Tsholotsho, about 150 kilometres south-east of Bulawayo, is one of many rural outposts in Matebeleland that have seen thousands of young men making the trek to neighbouring South Africa and Botswana in search of jobs.

imbabwe’s private newspaper publishing companies face imminent collapse in the wake of prohibitive production costs which have since been compounded by an acute shortage of locally produced newsprint. Mutare Board and Paper Mills (MBPM) warned of severe shortages of newsprint owing to intermittent power cuts, coal and foreign currency shortages. Executives in the newspaper industry confirmed to MISA-Zimbabwe that the dire situation had forced them to drastically reduce their print runs.

The MDC under Morgan Tsvangirai will meet on Saturday to make key decisions regarding participation in the March 29 election and will also decide on a unity deal with the Mutambara MDC. Party spokesman Nelson Chamisa said the National Council will deliberate on the two critical issues before a press conference is convened on Sunday to announce the resolutions. Mugabe set February 8 as the nomination deadline for parties contesting in the elections to submit their candidates. Chamisa denied they had been forced into a hasty meeting by Mugabe’s timetable and that the meeting had been organised some time ago.

South African police on Wednesday raided the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg that has been sheltering Zimbabwean refugees, asylum seekers and homeless people. Some of the police were heavily armed as they stormed the church compound around midnight, claiming they were searching for drugs and guns. Although they found nothing they arrested 1500 homeless people. Many have been released without charge but an estimated 300-500 are still in police cells. They are due to appear in court on Friday.

To keep up-to-date with the latest developments in Zimbabwe, bookmark where the latest postings are to be found.

This study focuses on the social protection aspects of children’s property and inheritance rights in southern and eastern Africa. It discusses the relationship between HIV and AIDS and agriculture, food security, and rural livelihoods (including children’s property and inheritance rights). It also considers factors that render children’s property rights more vulnerable than adults’ property rights. The paper reviews literature on social protection of children, emphasizing historical developments, types of child social protection, and recipients and providers of child social protection.

This document published by the Forced Migration Studies Programme, University of the Witwatersrand, examines South Africa’s response to people fleeing from political crises and economic deprivation in one of its immediate neighbours. It also tests prominent claims made about the nature and scope of migration. The authors conclude that the South African government, media, and civil society should dedicate the material and intellectual resources necessary to develop a human and effective response to the continued arrival of Zimbabweans in South Africa.

A broad coalition of civil society organisations has convened what they are calling the People’s Convention, which will take place on Friday and Saturday in Harare. The aim is to assess the critical situation the people of Zimbabwe are facing, and map the way forward in resolving the political crisis that has crippled the country. The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and the umbrella National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO) are among the groups involved.

From South Africa , the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum (ZEF) has today, 23.01.08 issued a press statement entitled 'The SADC Initiated Talks: A Let Down for Most Zimbabweans'. ZEF calls upon President Mbeki to give a frank indication of who is responsible for the failure of the talks when reporting back to the SADC Troika. It urges him to do everything in his power to deal with the stumbling block and salvage the negotiations and ensure Zimbabweans in the Diaspora get the
opportunity to vote in the forthcoming elections.

After six years of drought, the forecast was that Zimbabwe was set for good rains and a decent harvest this season - and then came the deluge. The country has been pounded by torrential rains, with December 2007 the wettest month in 127 years, according to the metrological department. Localised flooding has claimed 21 lives, affecting around 5,000 people along the southeastern border with Mozambique, and a further 3,000 in Muzarabani district in the northeast of the country.

The British government's loud condemnation of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe led many Zimbabweans to assume they could find easy refuge in the United Kingdom: the reality for asylum seekers has been far less straightforward. According to Home Office figures, around 20,000 Zimbabweans sought asylum in Britain between 2000 and 2007; of those, 4,807 applications were successful - 944 of that total making it on appeal.

HIV-infected women living in rural areas are finding it increasingly difficult to access life-prolonging antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) and tend to be more marginalised than those living in urban areas, non-governmental organisations say. "Rural women who need ARVs find themselves in a quandary because levels of income for a rural household tend to be low," said Tariro Kutadza, provincial coordinator of the Zimbabwe AIDS Network (ZAN) in the northern province of Mashonaland West.

With elections about 6 weeks away the number of political parties mushrooming across the country continues to grow. In a week that saw intense speculation over a new party to be led by former finance minister Simba Makoni, another political party in Gweru has been formed. Former town councillor Ruyedzo Mutizwa is reported to have formed the People’s Democratic Party and wants to contest the presidential election.

The Southern African Development Community’s initiative to resolve the Zimbabwe crisis, believed to be at a deadlock over key electoral issues, went into high gear as mediator Thabo Mbeki arrived in Harare on Thursday. The South African President met separately with Robert Mugabe and leaders of the two MDC factions, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara. Reports said Mugabe returned home from his holiday on Sunday allegedly earlier than planned, after Mbeki requested this crucial meeting.

Impoverished Zimbabwean farmers have to show they are loyal members of the ruling party if they want free equipment that the government is offering, and opposition supporters have been threatened with dogs, independent democracy monitors said on Thursday. Thursday's report by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network three months ahead of planned national elections also outlined problems with voter education and registration.

This conference, to be held at Wits Campus in Johannesburg from 9-11 June 2008, emerges from an ongoing collaborative research project initiated in late 2006 by the Nordic Africa Institute entitled Political Economies of Displacement in Post-2000 Zimbabwe. The project links researchers located within and outside Zimbabwe who share an active interest in mapping the complex dynamics of change related to the crises, uncertainties and multiple displacements of contemporary Zimbabwe and their effects on neighbouring states and diasporas further afield.