Governments must act aggressively to house two billion more people who will be living in cities in 25 years, according to estimates in a UN report released yesterday.

China is objecting to a US and British demand for a Security Council briefing on a United Nations report condemning Zimbabwe’s slum clearance.

A United Nations envoy sent to investigate shack demolitions in Zimbabwe held talks with President Robert Mugabe as the government campaign continued, with police setting fire to a settlement outside Harare.