BBC news with Blerry Gogan



The governing ZANU-PF party in Zimbabwe has endorsed the candidacy of President Robert Mugabe for a possible second round of the presidential election, if the electoral commission declares that there was no clear winner in last Saturday's poll. Mr. Mugabe would face the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, whose supporters say won the vote. His spokesman said the Zimbabwean court will hear an application on Saturday morning by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change to force the electoral commission to publish the election result. Peter Biles reports from Johannesburg.



Nearly a week after Zimbabweans went to the polls, there's still no official word on the outcome of the presidential election. The MDC opposition has filed an urgent court application to force the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to release the results immediately. International pressure has also been growing. But it has become clear the government believes there will have to be a second round of voting, perhaps within three weeks. ZANU-PF's politburo has confirmed that President Mugabe will go to a run-off if there’s no clear winner this time. The opposition fears the government will unleash a wave of violence and intimidation to influence the outcome.



An Argentine couple have been jailed for illegally adopting a baby girl born thirty years ago to parents who were kidnapped by the military government. The landmark case was brought by the adopted woman whose real parents were among the 30 000 people who were killed during the years of military rule. From Buenos Aires, Daniel Schweimler



Maria Eugenia Sampallo Barragan was calling for her adoptive parents to be sentenced to 25 years in prison, the maximum allowed. The court found them guilty of falsifying documents and hiding their adopted daughter's identity. But the court gave them lower sentences---the mother Maria Cristina Gomez Pinto seven years and the father Svaldo Rivas eight. The former captain, Enrique Berthier found guilty of taking the baby and giving it to the couple was sentenced to ten years in jail. Human rights groups outside the court expressed mixed emotions: pleased the three were found guilty, but disappointed at the reduced sentences.



The former American President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary have revealed how much money they have made over the past seven years. Their combined earnings came to 109 million dollars. They also paid 33 million dollars in taxes and gave 10 million to charity. Jack Izzard reports from Washington.



Ever since Barack Obama published his tax returns, Hillary Clinton has been under pressure to do the same. Both candidates are keen to show they have nothing to hide from voters as they fight for the Democratic Party's nomination. Many Americans will pore over these figures which show just how much the Clintons are worth. Since Bill Clinton stood down as president, he has earned 80 million dollars from making speeches and the sales of his books. Together with his wife, they have made 109 million dollars.



This is Blerry Gogan with the latest international news from the BBC.



The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says violence against civilians in Darfur may be worsening. Mr. Ban said the situation in the Sudanese region is at least as bad as it was when the Security Council began to discuss the crisis four years ago. He said violence against women and children continued at alarming levels with no accountability or end in sight. Peacekeepers from the African Union and the UN are being sent to Darfur. But so far only 9000 of the planned 26 000 are on the ground.



The UN convention to protect the rights of people with disabilities will come into force next month after Ecuador became the 20th country to ratify the treaty. The convention outlaws all forms of discrimination on the basis of disability and says countries should combat stereotypes and prejudices while promoting awareness of the capabilities of people with disabilities.



The French authorities say pirates have boarded a luxury French yacht in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia and taken its 30 crew hostage. The yacht, the Ponant, is an 850-ton, three-masted vessel. Our Africa reporter Paddy Clarke has the story.



The hijacked yacht is designed for cruising in some style. Eighty-eight meters long, it has four decks, two restaurants and indoor and outdoor luxury lounges. The boat was sailing back from the Seychelles without any passengers in preparation for a Mediterranean cruise later this month. The French government has launched, what it calls, a piracy alert plan. French and American forces are in the area, and are said to be monitoring the situation. Somali coastal waters are among the most notorious in the world for piracy and shipping is generally advised to steer well clear.



Hundreds of people have braved heavy rain in the American city of Memphis to celebrate the legacy of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King. It's 40 years since Doctor King was assassinated on the balcony of a motel there. The crowd huddled beneath umbrellas as wreaths were laid in Doctor King's memory. Among the dignitaries was the Republican Presidential candidate John McCain.



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