This morning, facing too many deadlines, I found my brain blocked. I have been reading all three fat Mandela books, trying to find something to say for a commissioned article. In the midst of my writer's block I have been searching for a high by following the Obama campaign on the internet and ignoring our own political frenzy here in Kenya, for this time it has no grace.
British police have concluded that Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was killed by the force of a suicide bomb and not by an assassin's bullet, he New York Times reported in its Friday editions. The findings, if confirmed, would support the Pakistani government's explanation of Bhutto's death.
A Chinese journalist jailed while working for the New York Times was released on Saturday, ending a controversial prison term that highlighted the country's tough media controls. Zhao Yan, looking noticeably thinner, was greeted by a small group of family and friends, including his daughter and sister, when he emerged from prison.
Pakistan's new prime minister was sworn in by President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday as two senior United States envoys arrived for talks aimed at shoring up Islamabad's role in the "war on terror".
The list reads like the credit roll from a 1980s movie: Sylvester Stallone, Farrah Fawcett and Keith Carradine. Instead they are the standout names from a five-page list of witnesses released on Thursday by prosecutors at the start of the long-awaited trial of Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano.
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton slugged out a neck-and-neck Democratic feud and John McCain sought a chokehold on the Republican race on Super Tuesday, a coast-to-coast White House nominating clash unique in United States history. Super Tuesday embraces millions of voters from across racial, religious, social and income barriers.
Robert Mugabe's aides have told Zimbabwe's opposition leaders that he is prepared to give up power in return for guarantees, including immunity from prosecution for past crimes. But the aides have warned that if the Movement for Democratic Change does not agree then Mugabe is threatening to declare emergency rule.
Zimbabwean police have arrested a New York Times correspondent who was covering the country's election, the newspaper said on Thursday. "We do not know where he is being held, or what, if any, charges have been made against him," the newspaper's executive editor, Bill Keller, said in a statement.
