Zimbabwe: a state of confusion

Last Modified: 02 Apr 2008
By: Newsroom blogger

Inside the morning meeting...

We have a team on the ground who report that officials on both sides are denying any talks or deal-making is going on, despite many loud rumours to the opposite.

"It's neck and neck out there."

"A re-run is the most likely outcome, but a re-run is the last thing Mugabe wants".

"Mugabe has to appear soon just to remind everyone he is still president, otherwise the whole election might become irrelevant anyway."

The question of a Mugabe obituary piece arose - is it too early to run a piece detailing the life and times of President Mugabe? Should it be second tonight? Do we run the risk of pointing the story one way, and then it all changing tomorrow?

On a slightly more oddball note, the foreign desk pointed out our African team have a five hour road trip to make and there's a genuine fear they might hit a cow on the way and fail to file from the field - so a reserve story might be useful...

Finally, what future for Zimbabwe itself?

"How do you repair a basket case like Zimbabwe? And is Tsvangirai the guy to do it?"

Elsewhere, the meeting turns to Diana, First Direct and the macabre story of the woman's head found in a plastic bag.

The Diana jury are due out today, and they've got eight months of evidence to chew through. But it must be considered what will happen if they make their decision suddenly and return with a verdict today. Various knowledgeable chins were rubbed as which guests would be 'good to get' to talk about Diana and conspiracies...

First Direct's decision to stop accepting mortgages is a temporary measure according to them. Opinion was divided on the matter:

"It's an indication of how tight the mortgage market is" "It could just be a bureaucratic decision to clear the back log of applications they've got" "Shall we try and get a mortgage today and see what we can get?"

Nick Martin is on his way to Scotland to learn more about the horrific discovery by two small girls of a woman's decapitated head and hand in separate plastic bags on a beach.

Apparently both head and hand are not too badly decomposed, which could indicate they haven't been in the water long and as a result may not have drifted too far to get to the beach and police are working on identifying the woman.

Finally, T5's 'bag mountain' is being distributed to Milan and other centres in an effort to reunite them with their owners. This isn't as outlandish as it seems as Milan is the specialist distributing centre for Europe. Problems might occur however when bags finally reach their destined hotels only to find the guests have returned home. To Heathrow.

If you're still one of the unfortunates waiting to be reunited with one of the tens of thousands of lost luggage, do get in touch with us - we'd like to hear your story: news@channel4.com