Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday blasted what he called a ”coalition of evil” as he accused powerful countries of using humanitarian intervention to meddle in the affairs of small and weak nations. He was speaking at the summit of world leaders at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

In a country where plaster Madonnas weep blood, it is only to be expected that the supernatural should be on everyone’s minds. But even miracle-hardened Italians have been taken aback by the affair of the medium and the body in the lake. The body was found in her car in Lake Como in precisely the area indicated by a medium.

As a leading Taliban commander — so senior he once dined with Osama bin Laden — Mullah Abdul Salam Rocketi was famed for his ability to annihilate enemies with a carefully aimed missile. Hence his name. But now he is a candidate in next Sunday’s Afghan parliamentary election.

The United States administration has embarked on a series of face-to-face meetings with world leaders at the United Nations World Summit to try to isolate Iran diplomatically over Iran’s push to expand its nuclear programme. In support of Bush’s diplomatic drive, US officials have delivered hour-long PowerPoint briefings.