Zimbabwe opposition calls for second mediator

Pretoria: Zimbabwe's opposition said on Tuesday it hopes a meeting this week between the South African president and a top African Union official will result in a second mediator joining efforts to resolve their nation's crisis. But South Africa's deputy foreign minister said the issue of a mediator besides President Thabo Mbeki was a "fake argument." That sharp difference of opinion on what Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has raised as a central issue does not bode well for Mbeki's efforts to guide Tsvangirai and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe toward ending a deadly political crisis and putting Zimbabwe's ravaged economy on the road to recovery. Tsvangirai has accused Mbeki of bias in favor of Mugabe. "There's no progress (in getting talks started) and there will not be any progress until there's an... [read full story]