Whether Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, can help Zimbabwe escape the yoke of Robert Mugabe’s rule is not yet clear. The two bitter rivals have signed a power-sharing deal, a complicated arrangement that leaves Mr Mugabe as President and makes Mr Tsvangirai Prime Minister. The army stays under Mr Mugabe’s control, while Mr Tsvangirai apparently has the job of fixing the devastated economy.

For political fringe-dwellers like the Greens, there was no threat to Australia’s national security to warrant the 2005 anti-terrorism laws. The legislation was, they said, all a ruse to hide the government’s real agenda, ramming the new industrial relations laws through parliament during that first week in November 2005.

The killing of Ingushetiya.ru owner Magomed Yevloyev could incite tensions in the province of Ingushetia west of Chechnya, which has been the site of frequent attacks on police and other officials. Police arrested Yevloyev today, taking him off a plane that had just landed in Ingushetia province near Chechnya, said the site’s deputy editor.

With the introduction of temporary protection visas, the Tampa incident and the excision of Australian territory from our migration zone, refugees were treated increasingly inhumanely. They were demonised by policies and practices that were largely - and shamefully - supported by both sides of parliament.

Authorities yesterday arrested a separatist leader, Yasin Malik, hours after detaining two others, Sayed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq. Meanwhile, three protesters were killed in clashes with police across the Kashmir Valley, and another 80 protesters defying the Government-imposed curfew in towns across the valley were injured.

Judicial authorities in East Timor are investigating more than 40 allegations that armed forces have used violence, intimidation, and death threats against civilians. A United Nations report documents a litany of human rights abuses by local police and army officers in the course of their work.

The Forum chairman, Niue’s premier Toke Talagi, told reporters that leaders had decided that a group of foreign ministers will monitor the situation in Fiji and would report before the end of the year. The leaders said in a communique today that the decision by Commodore Bainimarama, Fiji’s self-appointed prime minister, not to come to the summit to explain his broken promise to hold democratic elections in the country was “unacceptable”.

Former president Pervez Musharraf removed more than 60 judges under an emergency order on November 3 last year, just as the Supreme Court was set to rule against his election for a second presidential term. The announcement was expected to be made after a meeting of ruling coalition leaders last night.

A clear majority of voters believe freedom of speech should not extend to groups that are sympathetic to terrorists (56.8 per cent agreed with this proposition and only 23.2 per cent disagreed). A smaller majority also said police should be allowed to search the houses of these people without a court order (50.5 per cent in favour versus 33.2 per cent opposed).

New Zealand had previously said it would allow Commodore Frank Bainimarama, Fiji’s self-appointed prime minister, and his delegation a transit visa to go to Niue via Auckland, but stopped short of allowing the Fiji group to visit New Zealand after the regional meeting.