World Watch

ZIMBABWE
The Last Throes of A Desperate Man
Democracy lost as president Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe forced rigorous new laws through Parliament to silence any opposition and ensure his re-election on March 9. Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since it won independence from Britain 21 years ago, but in the face of ebbing support he has grown ever more desperate to hold on to power.

Mugabe paved the way for the Public Order and Security Act by denouncing his opponents as terrorists. The new law carries the death penalty for acts of "insurgency, banditry, sabotage and terrorism," and jail terms for anyone who "undermines the authority of the President" or "engenders hostility" to him. It also bans demonstrations and gives the police greater powers to deal with "riots, disorder or intolerance." The second bill bans independent election monitors and effectively disenfranchises millions of Zimbabweans living abroad. Parliament is due to pass an Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill, which will ban foreign correspondents from the country and impose heavy fines and jail terms on local reporters for "unethical journalism."

For the past two years Mugabe has tried to secure support for his zanu-pf party by distributing farmland forcibly wrested from its white owners to landless black Zimbabweans. The looked-for political gains have not materialized as the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), led by Morgan Tsvangirai, won 57 of the 119 constituency-held seats in June 2000 elections. Since then bands of ZANU-PF thugs have attacked opposition offices and attempted to intimidate voters in MDC areas.

In support of Mugabe's continued tenure as President, Commander General of the Defense Force General Vitalis Zvinavashe hinted at an army coup should the election result not please the military. He issued a statement saying that since the President is expected to observe the objectives of the liberation struggle, "we will therefore not accept, let alone support," anyone who had not fought in the independence movement. Tsvangirai was a labor activist during the battles for independence.

As the rest of southern Africa looked anxiously on, Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he would push for Zimbabwe's suspension from the Commonwealth at the heads of government meeting scheduled to take place in March. The E.U. gave Harare an ultimatum: accept foreign media and international monitors within a week, but it did not threaten sanctions. Zimbabwe has said it will only accept observers, not monitors.

MIDDLE EAST
After a Lull, Violence Returns
Tentative steps toward ending more than 15 months of bloodshed stumbled when two Islamic militants stormed an Israeli army outpost near the Gaza Strip, breaking a Hamas-declared suspension of violence in Israel. The attackers killed four soldiers, members of a Bedouin Arab battalion, before being shot dead. In retaliation, Israeli bulldozers destroyed 32 houses in the Gaza refugee camp that had been home to the two assailants and ripped up the runway of the Palestinian-controlled international airport.

NORTHERN IRELAND
Sectarian Madness
A row between two women outside a primary school in the divided Ardoyne area of north Belfast degenerated into two nights of rioting involving hundreds of opposed nationalists and loyalists. Police said 82 officers were injured and several vehicles set alight. A 20-year-old Catholic man was shot dead by a loyalist group that was also involved in last week's rioting.

VATICAN CITY
Keeping It Quiet
The Vatican released an unannounced papal directive on pedophile priests, published in Latin in the 2001 Acts of the Apostolic See. The guidelines specify that Catholic clergy should report priests suspected of pedophilia to the Vatican, where priests would hear the case in secrecy. There is no instruction to inform police.

CHECHNYA
Towns Under Siege
Russian forces blockaded Chechnya's third-largest city, Argun, for five days, shelling houses where rebels sought refuge. Still, a group of rebels slipped out of the tightly sealed city, and Russian troops continued operations in other Chechen villages and towns. Moscow claims to have killed 92 rebels in a month-long crackdown by security forces southeast of the capital Grozny.

IRAN
Dissidents' Trial
Tehran's Revolutionary Court began a secret hearing in the trial of 15 dissidents accused of plotting to overthrow the Islamic state. Most of the accused are writers and university lecturers who supported the liberal Religious Nationalist Alliance. The case, conducted by the hard-line judiciary, contravenes Iran's Constitution, which requires political prisoners to be tried in open courts with a jury. Defense lawyers say they were refused permission to study the indictment or to meet with their clients. Six of the accused are being held in a military detention center.

NIGERIA
Scarce Resources
Fighting between villagers in central Nigeria and farmers in the east caused around 150 deaths as disputes over land and water rights turned violent. In central Nasarawa state, clashes over fishing access to a local lake left up to 100 dead and eight villages in ruins. On the Cameroon border, at least 50 people died following a dispute between indigenous farmers and settler tribesmen over grazing land. And in another incident of political feuding, a senior aide to Nigeria's top judge was found dead, two weeks after the unsolved murder of Justice Minister Bola Ige.

AFGHANISTAN
Detainees Airlifted
The first of more than 300 Afghan war prisoners began a 12,800-km journey from Kandahar airstrip to a U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, chained to their seats aboard a C-17 cargo plane. The operation was conducted amid heightened security after unknown attackers opened fire outside the airport perimeter fence as the first flight took off. The detainees included a handful of prominent al-Qaeda or Taliban leaders — but not those most sought by the U.S., or three former Taliban government officials who surrendered to the new Afghan government and were mysteriously released. Interim leader Hamid Karzai called for the formation of a national army to promote political and social stability.

KASHMIR
On a Knife Edge
India massed its forces along the border with Pakistan declaring it was ready for war, despite the arrest in Pakistan of more than 200 extremists. In a televised speech, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf condemned terrorism, banned some militant groups and announced stricter regulation of religious schools. But he said he would not hand over Pakistani citizens to India. India issued a list of demands, including the closure of alleged terrorist training camps.

COLOMBIA
Halt to Peace Talks
President Andrés Pastrana suspended peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), accusing the rebels of stonewalling negotiations. The group are demanding that the government lift its security cordon around the demilitarized zone ceded to the 16,000-strong guerrilla army in 1999 as a peace incentive. Calling the security measures "non-negotiable," Pastrana allowed time for last-ditch U.N. talks, after which he said he would order the farc to evacuate towns in the enclave.