Zimbabwe minister accuses US, Britain

The Zimbabwean foreign minister, Stan Mudenge, has accused the United States and Britain of trying to destabilise the country before parliamentary elections later this month.

He said both countries suppored opposition parties in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in the region.

President Mugabe has already accused Britain of supporting the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations committee in the United States approved a bill to suspend bilateral American assistance to Zimbabwe until democracy and the rule of law was restored. The bill, which still must be approved by the full senate, would help opposition groups mount possible legal challenges to election results.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service