Commonwealth probe "needed in Zimbabwe"

Britain has called for a Commonwealth fact-finding mission to investigate the situation in Zimbabwe.

The Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, said he had watched with growing concern as the Zimbabwean government put pressure on judges and journalists.

He and the Commonwealth secretary-general, Don McKinnon, agreed that a fact-finding team should report in a month's time -- if it's allowed into Zimbabwe.

In the country itself, President Robert Mugabe has spoken of dealing with the dire economic circumstances by rekindling the spirit of the war against white rule.

He also said black ownership should be extended to the mining and industrial sectors.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service