UN Security Council briefed on Zimbabwe report

A Mail & Guardian Online report says nations were divided, however, on whether the report should have been presented to the council. Of the 15-member council, nine voted in favour and five against, with one abstention, to approve the British request for the briefing. China and Russia joined three African countries – Algeria, Benin and Tanzania – in voting against. China\'s UN delegate Zhang Yishan said: ‘The Security Council only deals with situations that threaten world peace and security.’ The campaign of demolitions in Harare has left 700 000 Zimbabweans homeless and destitute, and affected a further 2.4 million, according to the report. Britain\'s UN envoy Emyr Jones Parry said after the briefing that Zimbabwe should heed the recommendations in the Tibaijuka report as well as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan\'s call for an end to the demolition drive. Full report on Mail & Guardian Online site

Zimbabwe claims its ‘operation restore order’ has ended. An IoL report says Vice-President Joyce Mujuru was quoted by the state media as saying the campaign was over, although this was not the first time a senior government official had declared the destruction over. Mujuru, acting president while President Robert Mugabe is visiting China, told state media the campaign was finished and asked the international community, including the UN, to help Harare build new housing for thousands of homeless. Harare says the campaign was to provide decent accommodation for the slum-dwellers, but the opposition Movement for Democratic Change accuses the government of targeting the party\'s urban strongholds. Full report on IoL site