In Zimbabwe, militant supporters of President Robert Mugabe have disrupted a meeting at which a new constitution was to be discussed.

If the constitution were to be accepted, the hope is that fresh elections could take place within two years. But the militants, who were led by the nephew of Mr Mugabe, disrupted the meeting by singing patriotic songs and calling out slogans such as "Zimbabwe was won by the gun, not by a law." Police eventually cleared the hall where the meeting was taking place.

The action typifies, according to observers, the current unstable political situation in the country. Mr Mugabe's ZANU-PF party has, since the beginning of the year, been participating in a collation government with the MDC. The MDC is led by former opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who is prime minister. In practice, say observers, the two parties are working against each other.