ZIMBABWE: Officials in Zimbabwe say President Robert Mugabe will be inaugurated today (Sunday), after winning a one-man election observers say was neither free nor fair. An inauguration today would allow Mr. Mugabe to attend an African Union summit Monday in Egypt as Zimbabwe's newly confirmed leader. Zimbabwean television today (Sunday) showed the 84-year-old ruler on Saturday touting his overwhelming victory, but a team sent by the Pan African Parliament to observe the election has dismissed the vote. Mission head Marwick Khumalo called for a new round of "credible" elections, saying the most recent round of voting was neither free nor fair. Human rights groups also condemned the election.
ZIMBABWE REACT: South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Kenya's prime minister are separately calling for outside intervention in Zimbabwe. Archbishop Tutu says a "very good argument" could be made for sending in an international force to restore peace in Zimbabwe. In an interview today with the BBC, he also called on the African Union to send what he called a powerful signal by unanimously rejecting a new Mugabe administration. Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga says the African Union needs to deploy troops to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe. He also criticizes Zimbabwean President Mugabe for running against himself in what he calls "fake elections."
CAMBODIA-THAILAND: A court in Thailand has blocked the government from supporting Cambodia's bid to have a disputed Hindu temple declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Preah Vihear temple sits on the border of Thailand and Cambodia. In 1962, the International Court of Justice granted sovereignty to Cambodia, but many Thais argue the temple belongs to Thailand. UNESCO's World Heritage Committee meets next month and the Cambodian government is asking that it give the temple special status. Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej had endorsed the Cambodian bid.
MONGOLIA ELECTION: Mongolians have begun voting in parliamentary elections, with the two leading political parties promising to share the wealth from the country's vast mineral resources. Some voters arrived at polling stations today (Sunday) on horseback, many wearing traditional silk cloaks tied with colorful sashes, to vote for the 76-member parliament. A survey conducted in the days leading up to the election gave a slight edge to the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party over the Democratic Party. Both parties have promised cash payouts to every Mongolian from big mining projects, including a major copper deposit in the Gobi desert.
CHINA-US: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has praised China for its response to the massive earthquake that killed nearly 70-thousand people and left millions more homeless. Rice arrived in China today (Sunday) for talks with Chinese leaders, and toured the city of Dujiangyan in Sichuan province, near the epicenter of the May 12th quake. Rice praised China for reaching out to the international community for help, and said China's actions contrasted with Burma's response to Cyclone Nargis. Burma's military government has blocked governments and aid agencies from getting relief to victims of the cyclone, which pummeled the country's agricultural belt early last month.
Audio in Lao.
