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Zimbabwe's opposition accused have President Robert Mugabe of unleashing a campaign of violence since the March 29 elections and called on African states to intervene to prevent widespread bloodshed.The Movement for Democratic Change, which claims to have won the presidential and parliamentary polls, said Mugabe was trying to provoke a backlash as a pretext for declaring a state of emergency that could help him prolong his 28 years in power.

"I say to my brothers and sisters across the continent - don't wait for dead bodies in the streets of Harare. There is a constitutional and legal crisis in Zimbabwe," MDC Secretary-General Tendai Biti told a news conference.

He said the ruling ZANU-PF had launched a violent campaign against opposition supporters following a stalemate over the election results and was trying to rig the polls so Mugabe could contest a runoff against MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Election officials have yet to release the results of the presidential poll.

Tsvangirai says he won the vote outright and has demanded that Mugabe, whose critics accuse him of reducing a once prosperous nation to misery, step aside immediately to allow for the reconstruction of the economically devastated country.

Zimbabwe has inflation of more than 100,000 percent - the highest in the world - an unemployment rate above 80 percent and chronic shortages of food and fuel. Millions have fled abroad, most of them to South Africa.

ZANU-PF is pressing for a delay in issuing the presidential results pending a recount and is also alleging abuses by electoral officials in an attempt to overturn its first defeat in a parliamentary poll.

"Militias are being rearmed, ZANU-PF supporters are being rearmed... The long and short of it is that there has been a complete militarisation of Zimbabwean society since the 29th of March 2008," Biti added.

A farmers' union said independence war veterans, used as political shock troops by Mugabe, had evicted mostly white farmers from their land since the weekend.

"There is still a lot of trouble and lawlessness out there. Farmers are being forced out. In the last three days, we are looking at about 60 who have been evicted," said Trevor Gifford, president of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU).

Zimbabwe state television said Tuesday night war veterans had occupied 11 farms in the northeastern part of the country.

Gifford said the veterans forced the farmers to leave their homes with only the clothes they were wearing and that those evicted included at least one black farmer.

Police said they were not aware of the farm invasions.

The veterans have already spearheaded the eviction of most white farmers under a controversial Mugabe land redistribution programme designed to redress injustices dating back to the British colonial era.

Tsvangirai wrote in a newspaper article that Zimbabwe was on a "razor's edge" because of the 84-year-old Mugabe's efforts to cling to power.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu called on Mugabe on Tuesday to accept that he lost the presidential election and step down to ease tensions.

In a speech in San Francisco, the South African Nobel Peace Prize laureate said peacekeepers may be needed to help restore order in Zimbabwe and the country's shattered economy could benefit from a "mini-Marshall Plan" like the initiative which helped rebuild Europe after World War 2.

The opposition says Mugabe is delaying the presidential election result to give him more time to prepare for a runoff, and has asked the High Court to force the release of the outcome.

"ZANU-PF is trying to cook the election result in order to engineer and achieve a run-off," Biti said.

The High Court ruled on Tuesday it would treat the opposition's application as urgent and began hearing arguments in the case. It later adjourned until Wednesday.

Legal proceedings are already in their fourth day and could drag further, delaying the end of the stalemate.

Traders in neighbouring South Africa said the impasse was likely to weigh on the rand currency, briefly boosted last week when there was speculation Mugabe would stand down after his ZANU-PF party lost the parliamentary poll.

"Counting against the rand is the way in which the Zimbabwe elections are rapidly deteriorating into a farce," market analysts ETM said in a trading note.

South African ruling party leader Jacob Zuma on Tuesday criticised the election delay and said it was wrong to keep Zimbabweans and the international community in suspense. He made the remarks one day after meeting Tsvangirai in Johannesburg.

Tsvangirai has appealed for help from outside powers to end Mugabe's uninterrupted rule since independence in 1980.

Reuters

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Gen. David Petraeus told a Senate committee that when those forces have pulled out, there should be a 45-day period of consolidation and evaluation.
No more American troops should come home in the weeks after the final brigades from the past year's military buildup pull out in July, the top U.S. commander in Iraq told politicians in Washington on Tuesday.
Gen. David Petraeus told a Senate committee that when those forces have pulled out, there should be a 45-day "period of consolidation and evaluation."

"At the end of that period we will commence a process of assessment to examine the conditions on the ground, and, over time, determine when we can make recommendations for further reductions," he said.

"This approach does not allow establishment of a set withdrawal timetable."

With last year's surge, which sent 30,000 troops to Iraq, the U.S. has about 158,000 troops in Iraq. That number is expected to drop to 140,000 by summer.

"As we look to the future, our task together with our Iraqi partners will be to build on the progress achieved and to deal with the many challenges that remain," Petraeus said. "I do believe that we can do this while continuing the ongoing drawdown of the surge forces."
'Significant but uneven security progress'

But under questioning by Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Petraeus said he could not predict when troop reductions would be resumed or how many U.S. troops were likely to remain in Iraq by the end of this year

Speaking seven months after his last appearance, Petraeus said there has been "significant but uneven security progress in Iraq."

Petraeus noted that levels of violence and civilian deaths have been "reduced substantially," extremists have been dealt serious blows and Iraqi security forces have improved.

But he warned that the situation in certain areas is still unsatisfactory, noting that the progress made since last spring is fragile and reversible.

"Still, security in Iraq is better than it was when [U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan] Crocker and I reported to you last September," he said. "And it is significantly better than it was 15 months ago when Iraq was on the brink of civil war and the decision was made to deploy additional forces to Iraq."

The three presidential contenders took time off the campaign trail to appear in Washington Tuesday to question Petraeus, who appeared with Crocker, about Iraq.

Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama all sit on committees that are to receive status reports.

McCain, the senior Republican on the armed services panel and Republican presidential hopeful, supports the war and the surge and has repeatedly praised Petraeus. Both Obama and Clinton have made withdrawing troops from Iraq as soon as possible key planks of their campaigns.

At the Senate hearing, McCain said the U.S. is "no longer staring into the abyss of defeat and can look ahead to the genuine prospect of success."

Withdrawing troops before adequate security is established would create a "defeat that is terrible and long-lasting," he said.
Orderly withdrawal: Clinton

But Clinton said it's time to "begin an orderly process of withdrawing our troops."

There has not been sufficient progress in Iraq, she said, and the conditions Petraeus has proposed for further troop reductions lack specificity.

"How are we to judge, General Petraeus, what the conditions are or should be and the action you and the administration would recommend pursuing based on them?" she asked.

Petraeus said there are a number of factors to consider when making recommendations for further reduction of troops.

He said these factors are fairly clear and include the state of enemy forces, the strength of Iraqi forces and the local government, and the economic and political situations.

It's not a precise mathematical exercise he warned, and involves commanders sitting down with their Iraqi counterparts and assessing whether forces can be reduced.

During Petraeus's testimony last September, Clinton said his reports about the progress in Iraq "require the willing suspension of disbelief."
Obama calls for 'measured pressure'

Clinton's rival Obama, who spoke during the afternoon session, said Iraqi leaders need to feel "measured pressure," including a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal and increased diplomatic action in the region that includes Iran.

"If [Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri] al-Maliki can tolerate Iran, then we should be talking to [Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] as well," said Obama. "I do not believe we're going to stabilize the situation without him."

Obama also questioned whether aiming for a stable, democratic Iraq that's free from al-Qaeda and Iranian influence is an unreasonable expectation, considering the cost of the war in money and lives.

"If our criteria is the messy, sloppy status quo, with no huge outbreaks of violence, an Iran that is not an al-Qaeda base and no threats to its neighbours, that seems like a measurable timeframe," said Obama.

Crocker responded that while he didn't want to sound like a broken record, that the situation in Iraq is "hard and complicated."

Associated Press

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Rabbi Elior Chen is alleged to have encouraged followers to burn and beat their children with hammers.
Israeli authorities have begun extradition proceedings against a rabbi who fled to Canada after becoming a suspect in a case involving alleged physical abuse of the children of one of his followers.

Israeli investigators said Elior Chen fled to Canada last month, but they're not sure precisely where he is.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfield said Chen, who is in his mid- to late 20s, was "one of the main suspects" in the alleged abuse, although he has not been charged with a specific crime.

Two children, aged three and four, were burned and severely beaten with hammers, knives and other instruments, Rosenfeld said. The three-year-old suffered permanent brain damage, he added.

Several suspects are in custody in Israel. The children's mother, whose name has been withheld, was charged with abuse last week and remains in jail.

The case has garnered massive attention in Israel, where media have published horrific details of the spiritual leader's alleged encouragement of parents abusing children as a form of discipline, the CBC's Peter Armstrong reported Tuesday from Jerusalem.
Journals detailed abuse, police say

Journals purportedly belonging to Chen that were discovered by police after a raid allegedly lay out in explicit detail how the mother should systematically abuse the children to force out their demons, Armstrong said.

The alleged abuse included burning the children, locking them in a suitcase for prolonged periods of time and forcing them to eat feces.

The Canadian Jewish Congress is urging Chen to turn himself in.

Rabbi Reuven Bulka told CBC News that the CJC is willing to assist in Chen's surrender if he is in Canada "to send a message out that there's no escaping from justice."

Bulka said the group was making the public appeal "if on the off-chance he thinks that he's going to be manhandled by police, which we know wouldn't happen, but if there's a fear of this, to let him know that the Canadian Jewish Congress would use its good offices to handle this."

It was not clear what connection the rabbi has with Canada, nor whether he holds Canadian citizenship or residency. The Canadian Embassy in Israel did not call after messages were left, seeking comment.

In Ottawa, Chris Girouard, a spokesman for Canada's Department of Justice, said he could not confirm or deny whether there have been requests for extradition, citing confidentiality of state-to-state communications.

CBC

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The Olympic torch reaches San Francisco today and although pro-Tibet protests made laps in London and Paris chaotic, Olympics chief Jacques Rogge said there are no plans to cut short a global relay.
Hundreds of security officers deployed across San Francisco for the flame's only US stop. Activists fuelled by anger about Beijing's policies in Tibet and its reaction to deadly rioting in the Himalayan region last month were gathering for demonstrations.

Several hundred paraded through the city's streets on the eve of the torch procession, many carrying Tibetan flags and signs and chanting "Shame on China".

This morning some 700 security officers deployed in the West Coast city and airspace restrictions were imposed. Barricades were set up outside the Chinese consulate.

Coast Guard boats were to patrol the waterfront route of the torch.

The fierce protests in London and Paris in recent days -- efforts that succeeded even in extinguishing the flame for brief periods -- have put city officials on edge.

"It's getting a little scarier," said retired State Appellate Court Judge Harry Low, a prominent figure in the city's Chinese-American community. "The intensity of the opposition to the torch and to China seems to be increasing."

The official route takes the torch from near the city's baseball stadium along its scenic waterfront to the Fisherman's Wharf area favoured by tourists. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said he expected tens of thousands to attend and hundreds of police to patrol the route.

Authorities were stepping up patrols on the Golden Gate Bridge after three protesters scaled its cables on Monday to hang pro-Tibet banners.

China's crackdown on anti-government protests in Tibet in March, which it says were orchestrated by Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has drawn sharp international criticism and clouded preparations for the Beijing Olympics in August.

Hours before the San Francisco torch relay, President George W. Bush urged China to open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama.

He said he agreed at a meeting with Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong "that it would stand the Chinese government in good stead if they would begin a dialogue with the representatives of the Dalai Lama."

Rogge told the Wall Street Journal that reports the International Olympic Committee executive board would consider scrapping the torch relay outside China, to avoid more ugly scenes, were "based on a misunderstanding".

"I am saddened that such a beautiful symbol of the torch, which unites people of different religions, different ethnic origin, different political systems, cultures and languages, has been attacked," Rogge said of the disruptions.

OLYMPIC FLAME

Rogge met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao for about an hour on Wednesday. "It was a good meeting where a range of Games topics were discussed between both parties," said an IOC statement.

Wen told Rogge the Olympic flame was a symbol of "peace, friendship, advancement and brightness".

"We firmly believe that the Olympic flame, which belongs to all mankind, will never be extinguished," the Foreign Ministry's Web site paraphrased Wen as saying.

The troubled torch procession has kept Tibet in the headlines, and become a magnet for other groups unhappy about a range of China-related issues, including its involvement in Sudan's Darfur region.

Beijing fiercely condemns the protests, and they have stirred up patriotic resentment among many ordinary Chinese who feel they politicise a sporting event that should be a celebration of 30 years of economic development and opening to the outside world.

Western leaders are facing a delicate balancing act as calls mount for them to boycott the opening ceremony.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said in a speech to Chinese students that it was important to recognise there were "significant human rights problems" in Tibet, although he did not back calls for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics.

"I believe the Olympics are important for China's continuing engagement with the world," Rudd said, according to a transcript of the speech made on Wednesday.

China blames the Dalai Lama and his associates for orchestrating monk-led protests which later turned violent as part of a campaign for independence. The Dalai Lama denies the claims.

-Reuters

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Police warned neighbours of Shannon Matthews not to take the law into their own hands after her mother was remanded in custody in connection with her disappearance.

Officers in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, handed out leaflets urging people to show restraint after reports said residents were angry about the family's alleged role in the case.

The windows and doors of the girl's family home were boarded up with metal grilles, while police stood outside.

The leaflets said: "It is important that the community does not jump to any conclusions about people who may be involved in this inquiry.

"Please do not take the law into your own hands and leave the police to do their job."

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said there had been no specific threats and the leaflets were a precautionary measure.

"We've been putting them out since day one," he said. "They are a means of communicating with the local people."

Karen Matthews, 32, appeared before Dewsbury magistrates charged with perverting the course of justice and child neglect. She will next appear in court on April 16.

Her nine-year-old daughter disappeared after a school swimming trip in February, sparking a massive police hunt.

She was found safe and well in the base of a bed about a mile from her home 24 days later.

Matthews was arrested on Sunday, becoming the fourth member of the girl's extended family to be held in connection with her disappearance.

Matthews' partner Craig Meehan, 22, has been remanded in custody on charges of possessing indecent images of children.

Michael Donovan, the 39-year-old uncle of Meehan, has been charged with abduction and imprisonment in the case.

He was taken to hospital on Sunday after a case of "serious self harm", a Ministry of Justice source said, but has since returned to Leeds prison.

Two other family members were released on police bail on Saturday pending further investigations.

Media reports identified the pair as Amanda Hyett, 25, and Alice Meehan, 48, the sister and mother of Craig Meehan.

Hyett was held on suspicion of assisting an offender while Meehan was arrested on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Shannon Matthews has not returned home since her rescue and remains in the care of social services.

Reuters

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