Zimbabwe's moment

The second-round of Zimbabwe's presidential elections, scheduled for a week from now, will be a pivotal moment for the country. Mark Ashurst of the Africa Research Institute, and Gugulethu Moyo of the International Bar Association survey the situation (New Statesman). William Gumede looks at opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai (New Statesman). Stephen Castle and Alan Cowell in the NY Times demonstrate how little leverage European leaders have. Colum Lynch looks at Condi Rice's latest criticism of Mugabe (Wash Post). Also unlikely to have much direct effect, but western pressure may be one reason southern African leaders are finally stating the obvious, that the elections won't be free or fair (NY Times). London's Times reports on noises coming from the International Criminal Court about possible indictments - though with Mugabe's continuing status as liberation hero, that seems an unlikely path.