EU: The EU has extended sanctions against Zimbabwe for another 12 months in a bid to tighten pressure on the government of President Robert Mugabe.
A decision to renew the sanctions, which include a ban on Mr Mugabe and 71 of his associates from entering EU territory, was adopted by EU Finance Ministers following agreement by its ambassadors last week.
Under EU rules, decisions by the ambassadors must be agreed at the next available ministerial meeting. The EU has shelved an early April summit with African leaders in Lisbon after failing to secure guarantees that Mr Mugabe would not attend.
However, France has been allowed to invite the Zimbabwean leader to a Franco-African summit in Paris tomorrow and Friday, after receiving a waiver to the visa ban in return for supporting the renewal of the sanctions. He will arrive in France today.
There has been criticism of France's decision to allow Mr Mugabe attend the summit.
Zimbabwe's main opposition, Movement for Democratic Change, has condemned the French move. It said it was "like inviting Saddam Hussein to the G8 summit" of top industrialised nations.
Yesterday, British MEP Ms Glenys Kinnock condemned the French government for agreeing to meet Mr Mugabe in France.
At the launch of a document outlining the current political, economic and social situation in Zimbabwe, she said there was nothing to be gained from dialogue with the country's leader.
Instead, she said Britain, the EU and the international community needed to take urgent action to halt the "increasing crisis and disaster" in Zimbabwe. She said pressure should also include forcing Mr Mugabe and his government to stand down, both for the benefit of the country and the southern African region as a whole