He admitted being paid $600000 £355000 for work as a political consultant to the government money Mr Bizos argues

He admitted being paid $600,000 (£355,000) for work as a political consultant to the government, money Mr Bizos argues was for framing Mr Tsvangirai.The trial coincides with worsening political and economic crises in Zimbabwe, with inflation now at nearly 500 per cent. He points out the words “assassination”, “kill”, or “murder” are never used.Mr Ben-Menashe, the prosecution’s main witness who was once dismissed by the Jerusalem Post as “delusional and a chronic liar”, has already finished giving his evidence, in which he claimed Britain backed the plot. The evidence against the MDC leader centres on a grainy video of a meeting he held in Montreal with a Canadian-based Israeli political consultant, Ari Ben-Menashe, at which the alleged plot was discussed. But George Bizos, Mr Tsvangirai’s lawyer, argues that the tape was blatantly tampered with to frame his client.”There is no indication in the transcript as to how the assassination would take place and by whom,” said Mr Bizos, a prominent South African lawyer who represented Nelson Mandela at his treason trial 40 years ago. This will be the first time that he has been in the dock since his arrest in February last year.Many have dismissed the charges as trumped up by Mr Mugabe’s regime to destroy the staunchest opponent it has faced since independence from Britain in 1980. We’re getting the job done despite the desperate act of a dying regime of criminals.”. Tensions are rising in Zimbabwe as the country’s main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, prepares to fight a possible death penalty for treason in an alleged plot to kill President Robert Mugabe.

“We are getting the job done.” Wolfowitz paid tribute to “the Americans who are doing this job, civilian as well as military.” “They are heroes, and I want to express our profound sympathy to the victims of this attack,” he said. Speaking to reporters, Wolfowitz described the Sunday attack as a “terrorist act” that “will not deter us from our mission.” “We’re bringing in additional international support and most important of all, we have a steadily growing number of Iraqis fighting alongside us for a free Iraq. Wolfowitz left the northern city of Tikrit on Saturday about six hours before a US Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed and came under fire from rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire The US military said at least one crewman was wounded. He said the US-led coalition was achieving success in stabilising Iraq despite actions of “criminals who are trying to destabilise this country.” He described them as “a few who refuse to accept the reality” of the new Iraq “We are taking this fight to the enemy,” he said. Wolfowitz said that danger persisted in Iraq “as long as there are criminals out there staging hit and run attacks”. US troops prevented reporters from reaching the scene, located in a heavily guarded area near coalition headquarters. Wolfowitz, one of the architects of the war that ousted Saddam Hussein, arrived in Iraq on Friday for a three-day visit.

Missiles today struck a Baghdad hotel used as a barracks by US military and civilian personnel. The US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was staying there but escaped unharmed. It was feared one American may have dead in the attack and several were injured. Sheikhs who were formerly friendly to US commanders say their lives are now in danger.Even in the Sunni district favoured by the former Iraqi regime there were many who, at the time, were relieved by the fall of Saddam. Saddam Hussein was born near Tikrit, and enjoyed strong support in the region.

The so-called Sunni Triangle, where US troops frequently come under attack, has extended further north in the past month, with an increasing number of incidents in and around Mosul and Kirkuk.Earlier yesterday Paul Wolfowitz, the US Deputy Defence Secretary, visited soldiers in Tikrit, and praised Iraqis who were joining the defence forces. He said: “These young Iraqis are stepping forward to fight for their country along with us. It is a wonderful success story.”But people in the Sunni area show antipathy towards the occupation. In towns such as Hawaija, west of Kirkuk, and Baiji further south, walls are covered with pro-Saddam slogans. RPGs and roadside bombs are commonly used by guerrillas in attacks on US patrols and convoys.US forces said a civilian convoy was hit by a roadside bomb and raked by small arms and RPG fire near Fallujah yesterday, killing three civilians and wounding two. A wounded American engineer working for European Landmine Solutions, a British-based private contractor, was taken to the local hospital, where doctors said an Iraqi female translator and a security guard died in the attack.Resistance to the US occupation is centred on the Sunni Muslim towns and cities on the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, north of Baghdad. The helicopter stayed airborne, then crashed into a field where it burst into flames.