- Newsnight
- 2 Apr 08, 06:04 PM
President Robert Mugabe's party has lost its majority in parliament, official results show.
Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has so far taken 94 of the 210 seats, while opposition parties have won 105, the Zimbabwe Election Commission says.
Earlier, the opposition MDC said its leader Morgan Tsvangirai had won the presidential election. Zanu-PF said this was "wishful thinking".
The official presidential election results have not yet been declared.
Tonight Newsnight will have the latest from inside the country - but if you just can't wait, here is a list of the best websites and blogs covering the situation in Zimbabwe.
Election result sites:
Main newspapers :
(government-owned)
(owned by Zimbabwean investors)
(a business weekly)
BLOGS:
- Newsnight
- 2 Apr 08, 05:42 PM
Jeremy is presenting tonight's programme.
Zimbabwe
The Opposition Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe now claims to have . It says it took 50.3% of the vote. Meanwhile the official Electoral Commission have announced that the MDC did win the Parliamentary election - but have yet to rule on the Presidential results. Meanwhile, Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party have remained quiet. We'll have the latest tonight.
Bertie bows out
He was known as the - because of his ability to dodge mud-slinging and allegations of sleaze, but the Irish Premier Bertie Ahern announced today that he's stepping down after 11 years. His predecessor in the role once called him: "The most skilful, the most devious, the most cunning of them all." He's been dogged by allegations of financial irregularities over the years - but will also be remembered for playing a key role in the Northern Ireland peace process. We'll look back at his career highs and lows.
"Brain Gym"
You might not have heard of it, but your children could well be experts. Brain Gym is a programme used in hundreds of schools across Britain - backed by the government. It鈥檚 a series of daily physical exercises that are supposed to aid learning - by stimulating the vital organs. Many teachers - and many pupils - are convinced it works. But scientists are worried - believing that it amounts to "pseudo-science" and is misleading young children about the workings of the human body. The American founder of Brain Gym will be on the programme.
Ben Elton
Yesterday it was Kevin Spacey... today it's Ben Elton's turn to attack the 大象传媒. He's told a Christian paper that comedy commissioners are too scared to allow jokes about Islam. Even an inauspicious gag about "Mohammed coming to the mountain" was vetoed, he claims. We'll debate whether he's right.
- Newsnight
- 2 Apr 08, 11:15 AM
Liz Gibbons is today's programme producer. Here is her early email to the team.
Hi all,
It could all happen in Zimbabwe today - in which case we can go Zim-tastic. So let's talk about the best possible running order in those circumstances.
If not much has moved on - is there an alternative lead?
What else do you fancy doing? Zero-carbon phone line? Nato on Afghanistan? Global food prices? New coins?
We should watch Harman/Hague at PMQs obv.
We also have a film about a govt-endorsed technique called Brain Gym (basically a series of physical exercises) which is used in schools to aid the learning of pupils. Some scientists are far from convinced that it does what it says on the tin. We can speak to the brains behind Brain Gym who's based near LA.
Liz
