Abuse of state power by Zimbabwe's state security agents, disregard of court orders by the police, harassment of lawyers, intimidation of opposition and civic society activists continued unabated in May according to the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum's monthly violence report . The Human Rights Forum records its dismay at the continued harassment and intimidation of lawyers representing civil and political rights activists who might have been arrested.

Pius Ncube, the outspoken Catholic archbishop of Bulawayo in southern Zimbabwe, has urged President Robert Mugabe to step down -- this as the country faces deepening political and economic woes. cube was launching a report titled 'Destructive Engagement: Violence, Mediation and Politics in Zimbabwe', published by the Solidarity Peace Trust. He chairs this church-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), which aims -- in part -- to further justice and peace in Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) is becoming increasingly concerned by imminent job losses caused by the unprecedented move by government to indiscriminately cut prices of all commodities including clothing. Already industry has been performing at 20 percent capacity and the current chaos will further worsen this situation.

We, the affiliate union leadership of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), meeting at the Quality International Hotel in Harare on 28 and 29 June 2007 to, among other things, discuss the Kadoma Declaration...

Zimbabwe has lifted a ban on political rallies and protests in Harare which the opposition had likened to a state of emergency, but police permits are still required for such gatherings. President Robert Mugabe's government imposed a three-month ban on rallies and demonstrations in February over fears of an opposition uprising in the face of a growing economic crisis, and had renewed the restrictions in the past two months.

Three months after the extra-ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), which took place on 29 March 2007 in Dar es Salaam, the United Republic of Tanzania, over one hundred international human rights and civil society organisations have come together to call on SADC leaders to urge the government of Zimbabwe to end human rights violations in Zimbabwe. In particular, we call on President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, in his capacity as the SADC-appointed mediator, to ensure that human rights issues are prioritised in any settlement to be agreed by the government of Zimbabwe and the political opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

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Zimbabwe's civic society organisations say they are being sidelined from negotiations in Pretoria, South Africa, between the divided opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and the ZANU-PF government.

Zimbabwe’s escalating food crisis comes amid resurgent accusations that food aid is being abused as a political tool. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have said that more than 2,1 million Zimbabweans in both rural and urban areas will be in dire need of food aid in the third quarter of this year.

Zimbabwean media practitioners have launched a self-regulatory media body for journalists despite government threats of unspecified action against them. The non-governmental Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ) launched the Media Council of Zimbabwe (MCZ) earlier this month. If MCZ members have their way, the ruling Zanu-PF will cease its stranglehold on the operations of the country's media and task this autonomous body to regulate and monitor the media independently in Zimbabwe.

Despite Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s incessant homophobic public comments, Gays and lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) is spreading its wings. The organisation which pushes for social tolerance of sexual minorities and the repeal of homophobic legislation in Zimbabwe, has recently established a new centre for its Bulawayo members.

Firewood has become Zimbabwe's hottest seller, with demand shooting up since the introduction two weeks ago of widespread and prolonged power outages to give the irrigation of winter wheat fields a priority allocation of dwindling energy supplies.

Zimbabwean police on Monday arrested dozens of women as they staged a demonstration in south-western Zimbabwe, a statement said. The women, all members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (Woza) had "tried to gather to hold a march in a small administrative centre in Insiza district but were arrested", the group said.

The Zimbabwe government's plan to change the Constitution ahead of 2008 elections undermines efforts to broker an end to political turmoil in the African nation, the country's main opposition leader has said. President Robert Mugabe's government has proposed a Bill that would pave the way for joint presidential and parliamentary polls next year and amend the rules for electing a new president should the post become vacant before an election.

Inflation in Zimbabwe is soaring, and its citizens abroad are pitching in to help relatives at home -- giving part of their earnings in South Africa, for example, to Zimbabwean businessmen there, who then truck food, cooking oil and other scarcities across the border. Now a high-tech solution has arrived, with internet-based companies allowing Zimbabweans across the globe to go online to buy their loved ones everything from fuel and food to generators.

US ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell and Zimbabwe Health and Child Welfare Minister David Parirenyatwa in a joint announcement on Thursday said that the U.S. will provide the country with $18 million (about R130-million) over three years for antiretroviral drugs and rapid HIV testing kits.

The lower house of Zimbabwe's parliament passed a bill on Wednesday allowing the government to monitor phones, mail and the Internet to protect national security. While conceding the country needed to protect itself against terrorism, opposition members said they feared the bill would pave the way for President Robert Mugabe's government to curtail freedom of speech and breach privacy.

WOZA has been reading and hearing about 'the talks' and wish to express our views about these. Firstly, we would like to know exactly what South African President Thabo Mbeki, Tanzanian President Kikwete and our SADC brothers and sisters want to achieve by their mediation.

Approximately 20 members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA/MOZA) were arrested in Bulawayo. Amongst those arrested are Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, who handed themselves in at Bulawayo Central in solidarity with a group that had been arrested earlier.

Zimbabwe National Students’ Union (ZINASU) commissioned research to assess how the fees charged at Zimbabwe’s tertiary institutions of Harare, Mashonaland, Manicaland, Masvingo, Midlands and Bulawayo have impacted on the welfare of students and to establish the patterns and effects of student victimization.

It was a case of jumping from the fire into the frying pan for Law Society of Zimbabwe president Beatrice Mtetwa and a number of her colleagues, who recently had to flee from charging, truncheon-wielding police officers. The lawyers ran for safety into the offices of the Justice ministry only to find more officers waiting there to bash them.