Zimbabwe’s blacklisted President Robert Mugabe is to be invited to a summit on European soil later this year – in the hope and expectation that he will refuse to turn up.

President Jacques Chirac is lobbying other heads of state to convene an emergency summit of UN Security Council members in search of a compromise on Iraq, his office said today.

A HUMAN rights protest marked the start of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s controversial visit to Paris for a Franco-African summit, and one activist filed a complaint to urge the African leader’s arrest on torture charges.

Several European Union nations today protested against French plans to invite Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe for an official visit.

FRANCE has confirmed it is inviting Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe to take part in a meeting of African leaders next month.