ZIMBABWE is facing political and security risks which might scuttle the current transition, the International Crisis Group (ICG), a global organisation led by retired statesmen, has said.

INDIGENISATION and Empowerment minister Saviour Kasukuwere will meet the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) and the Securities Commission (SEC) to deliberate on the empowerment regulations compelling white and foreign businesses to sell controlling stakes to blacks, amid reports that government may grant a reprieve.

MDC-T legislators this week took their leader Morgan Tsvangirai to task demanding a clear party position on sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.

BRITISH premier Gordon Brown yesterday said sanctions against Zimbabwe should not be lifted until concerns about human rights violations and media restrictions are addressed.

THE government has accused the region’s biggest mining giant, South Africa’s De Beers, of looting tonnes of diamonds from the Chiadzwa mining fields over a period of 15 years without notifying the state of the discovery of the gems.

WHEN mystic Rotina Mavhunga, alias Sekuru Muboni, announced she had discovered pure diesel flowing from rocks in the sacred Chinhoyi caves, she became Zanu PF’s new best friend.

ZANU PF youth leader Absolom Sikhosana is a man with a few surprises up his sleeve. And President Robert Mugabe must be loving all the surprises he got over the weekend.

WHILE Zanu PF, MDC-T and the National Constitutional Assembly agree on many aspects of what should be in the new constitution, the three disagree on fundamental areas to do with the executive, commissions, land, systems of government and on how the bill of rights should be expanded.

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has further immersed himself in the ongoing diamonds row by defending controversial mining companies Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners which have been accused of involvement in shady deals with government.

Mines minister Obert Mpofu could face contempt of court charges over the diamonds dispute unless he complies with a recent Supreme Court ruling to let certain gem packages be kept by the Reserve Bank.

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has said he has no plans to retire and will stand in the next presidential election if his party endorses his candidacy — a move which will heighten fears that he is determined to be president for life.

Mugabe’s decision to stay on sets the stage for another bruising fight between him and his fierce rival, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the elections that he says are possibly on for next year.

ALPHA Media Holdings (AMH), the publishers of the Zimbabwe Independent, the Standard and NewsDay, have appointed new editors for the newspapers in a restructuring exercise to position the company for a liberalised media environment.

A PARLIAMENTARY portfolio committee yesterday threatened to charge NetOne board chairperson, Callistus Ndlovu, with contempt of parliament after he failed to pitch up for a hearing, amid growing confusion over which ministry is in charge of the telecoms firm.

THE administration of justice is under threat after it emerged the Zimbabwe Prison Services (ZPS) does not have vehicles to transport remand and convicted prisoners to jail.

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe is caught in a sticky situation over the raging diamonds conflict, facing an explosive confrontation with the Reserve Bank and the Supreme Court.

Official sources said Mugabe is sailing close to the wind on the volatile diamonds dispute after he went along with Mines minister Obert Mpofu’s “unlawful” explanation that gemstones extracted from the contested Chiadzwa diamonds fields must be kept at the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ), not the Reserve Bank.

REELING from widening political divisions and tensions following the recent controversial appointment of its new politburo, Zanu PF is considering establishing a Council of Elders to restore cohesion within its fractured structures.

Inside sources said the issue was being vigorously debated and was on the politburo agenda on Wednesday, although discussion on it was postponed after senior party official Emmerson Mnangagwa (pictured), who was due to present a paper on it, left the meeting prematurely due to other commitments.