adminEDITORIAL COMMENT: Give deterrent sentences to veld fire offenders
Zimbabwe continues to lose human and animal lives as well as property running into millions of dollars to veld fires every year despite spirited campaigns against starting veld fires by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA).
Bosso wary of Gunners’ ammo
Sports Reporter
CHAMPIONSHIP favourites Highlanders FC who clash with relegation haunted Gunners in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday, are preparing for a bruising encounter and are not taking their opponents lightly.
Kombi crew in trouble for trying to defraud petrol attendant
Court Reporter
A commuter omnibus crew in Bulawayo has landed itself in trouble with the law for trying to defraud a petrol attendant by buying diesel using fake notes.
Bindura Nickel extends rights issue
Business Reporter
MWANA Africa says its subsidiary, Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC), has extended to the end of the month the deadline for the $21 million rights issue to restart the Trojan Nickel Mine.
Amangwe delegation to attend KZN fete
Bongani Ndlovu
Gumbo laments Zifa bungling
Harare Bureau
WARRIOR’S coach Rahman Gumbo says he would have wanted to assess players during the Fifa date set for international friendlies on Wednesday but a blunder from Zifa misled the team.Two children perish in veld fire
Midlands Correspondent
TWO children of members of the Johane Masowe Apostolic Church in Gweru were burnt to death when a veld fire broke out during an open air church service commonly known as masowe, police confirmed.
Chief bemoans land degradation
Midlands Correspondent
Chief Mapanzure of Zvishavane has raised concern at the high levels of land degradation in his area allegedly brought about by rampant chrome mining activities.
Politburo concludes draft audit
Takunda Maodza Senior Reporter
ZANU-PF yesterday concluded its audit of the draft Constitution against the national report after the Politburo met for the fourth time in as many weeks.
The amended document, which sources say explicitly outlaws homosexuality and same-sex marriages among other things, will now be handed over to the principals to the Global Political Agreement for guidance on the way forward.
‘‘These (changes to the draft Constitution) are not arbitrary or self-serving amendments, but are in keeping with what the people said during the outreach,’’ said a source close to developments.
Zanu-PF national spokesman Cde Rugare Gumbo said the Politburo had concluded the work that was before it.
“We say no to the issues of running mates and want Vice Presidents to be appointed.”
Section 5.5 (2) of the draft Constitution stipulates that ‘‘Every candidate for election as President must nominate two persons to stand for election jointly with him or her as his or her Vice-Presidents, and must designate one of those persons as his or her candidate for first Vice-President and the other as his or her candidate for second Vice-President.’’
Zanu-PF rejected attempts by some forces to dilute the powers of the Attorney-General’s Office through the creation of a national prosecuting authority.
“The office of the AG has to be retained and we say no to the national prosecuting authority,” Cde Gumbo said.
The party also rejected dual citizenship.
Britain faces diplomatic spat over Assange
THE British government has come under fire after threatening to storm the Ecuadorian embassy in London to seize WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange who was granted asylum there.
Embassies are deemed sovereign territories in terms of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
They enjoy extraterritorial status and are afforded special privileges such as immunity from most local laws, as such the host country may not enter the representing country’s embassy without permission.
Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said Ecuador’s Ambassador to London, Ana Alban, was notified that British authorities “could assault” the embassy, if Assange “was not handed over”.
The British government had said it was “determined” to extradite Assange to Sweden to face charges of sexual assault.
“The UK has a legal obligation to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden . . . and we remain determined to fulfil this obligation,” said a Foreign Office spokesman.
In Quito, Patino called Britain’s threat a “hostile and unfriendly act” that violates “clear international norms.” “We are not a British colony,” he added.
Patino said the Ecuadorian government would keep “loyal to its tradition to protect those who seek refuge with us at our diplomatic missions”.
He said the decision was made after Britain, Sweden and the United States refused to guarantee that Assange would not be extradited to the United States for trial over his release of a mass of classified US documents.
Patino said Ecuador was worried, if Assange was extradited to the United States, he would not receive a fair trial, adding it was a “sovereign decision” protected by international law.