The president and general-secretary of Zimbabwe’s largest trade union were arrested along with 51 supporters today as they marched through the capital Harare in protest at rising prices and high taxes.

The outcome of Germany's election is still not known as Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his conservative challenger Edmund Stoiber ran neck-and-neck tonight in one of the country's closest post-war elections.

Motorola has confirmed plans to close its Bathgate plant in West Lothian, where more than 3,000 workers make mobile phones.