Southern African leaders will meet on Wednesday in Swaziland's capital, Mbabane, to discuss the current election crisis in Zimbabwe. Noticeably absent from the meeting will be South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki. Whilst the Southern African Development Community (SADC) claims an invite was sent to Mbeki, his spokesperson, Mukoni Ratshitanga, denied that the president had actually been invited. Mbeki, who was appointed by the SADC more than a year ago to mediate between Zimbabwe's President Mugabe and opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has frustrated many SADC members over his insistence on non-confrontational, behind-the-scenes "quiet diplomacy."
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Ignoring calls from the U.N. for the election run-off to be postponed, President Mugabe has vowed to go ahead with the vote on Friday, despite being the only candidate left in the race. The U.N. Security Council issued a statement condemning the vote and calling a fair election "impossible." However, an earlier draft of the statement was blocked by the government of South Africa, because it called for the March elections to be recognised by default as the "only legitimate basis for a government of Zimbabwe," thereby making Tsvangirai the legal president of Zimbabwe.
Mbeki is desperate to avoid direct confrontation with Mugabe, worried that it might provoke even worse violence and precipitate a refugee crisis in the region, leading to more violence and instability. However, with Zimbabwe now approaching breaking point, it looks like Mbeki's "quiet diplomacy" may have failed and regional leaders are distancing themselves from him. Writing in the Guardian, Tsvangirai has criticised Mbeki's diplomacy, saying it seeks "to massage a defeated dictator, rather than show him the door and prod him towards it."
The U.S. announced on Wednesday that it will not recognise the outcome of the election, and the U.K. has said it is preparing tougher sanctions against Zimbabwe,
Global opinion divided over issue of terrorist torture
A poll of nineteen countries worldwide has revealed that 35 per cent of those surveyed believe governments should be allowed to use torture. In four countries, India, Nigeria, Thailand and Turkey, a majority thought government torture was acceptable if innocent lives were at risk. The largest majority was in India, where 59 per cent said they were in favour of allowing torture. The poll, released to mark International Victims of Torture Day, was carried out by WorldPublicOpinion.org, a research project managed by the University of Maryland.
Israel-Hamas ceasefire under threat
Israel has decided not to open its border crossing with the Gaza Strip, following a rocket attack on Tuesday. The crossing was due to open as part of an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire deal with Hamas. Al-Quds, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, have claimed responsibility for the attack, which they say was in response to an Israeli raid. The raid took place on Tuesday in the West Bank, which is not covered by the terms of the ceasefire. Hamas is urging militant groups not to launch further attacks.
Pentagon "pouring money into a black hole" in Pakistan
A report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has criticised the Pentagon for failing to properly account for over $2 billion of the $5.5 billion in military aid given to Pakistan since 2001. Senator Tom Harkin, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said it was "appalling that the Defence Department did not send any embassy officials working in Pakistan to verify these enormous costs." Assistant Secretary of Defence James Shinn defended the Pentagon in a written response published with the report, arguing that verification is made difficult because Pakistan is a sovereign country with different accounting standards to the U.S.
Relations stay sour between Colombia and its neighbours
Colombia has refused to restore diplomatic relations with Ecuador until "the attitude of the government of Ecuador... becomes a friendly one," according to a statement issued by the Colombian foreign minister. The two countries broke off ties following a Colombian raid on a FARC rebel base in Ecuador, which Ecuador says was a violation of its sovereignty. The statement comes as rhetoric is exchanged between Colombia and Nicaragua at the Organisation of American States (OAS) meeting in Washington, with Nicaragua accusing Colombia of state terrorism and Colombia denying the suggestion and demanding an apology.
Number of attacks falling in Iraq, rising in Afghanistan
The number of attacks against coalition forces in Iraq has fallen by between 40 and 80 per cent since June 2007, according to a Pentagon report released earlier this week. The news comes as top U.S. generals admit that the number of attacks in Afghanistan has risen by 40 per cent in the same period. The Pentagon report points to the drop in violence in Iraq as a positive sign that things are on the right track. However, a GAO report, also released this week, argues that many other indicators are negative. Among other things, the GAO criticises the Pentagon's calculations of the numbers of trained Iraqi military and police units, saying that "according to the DoD, the number of trained troops includes personnel who are deceased or absent without leave."
