Zimbabwe opposition leader arrested

It has been reported that the Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been arrested.

He had earlier threatened to boycott elections next year as church leaders launched an outspoken appeal for democracy in the mounting challenge to President Robert Mugabe.

As Mugabe prepared to leave for a hastily convened southern African summit to discuss the growing economic, political and social crisis, Mr Tsvangirai said he would boycott presidential elections scheduled for next year unless the balloting is carried out under a new democratic constitution that ensures the voting is free and fair.

“We will never go into an election that is predetermined,” Tsvangirai told a memorial service for an opposition activist shot dead by police on March 11.