Harare - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe expressed "deep sorrow and shock" at the death of his Zambian counterpart and outspoken critic Levy Mwanawasa, calling him "a brother and colleague" in a statement sent to the Zambian capital Lusaka on Thursday.

Mwanawasa, 59, died on Tuesday in a French hospital after suffering a stroke in June on the eve of an African Union summit.

Mugabe sent the message of condolence to Zambia and the Mwanawasa family through Zambia's acting president Rupiah Banda.

Harare - Striking hospital doctors in Zimbabwe vowed to stay off the job until government acceded to their demands for better pay conditions to help cushion them against the effects of 11.3 million per cent inflation.

The nationwide strike began Wednesday over the doctors demands to be paid in foreign currency instead of the nearly worthless Zimbabwe dollar.

Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (HDA) chairman Amon Siveregi told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa the doctors would continue the industrial action until government came to the table.

Nairobi  - The leader of Zimbabwe's opposition, Morgan Tsvangirai, said on Thursday that if parliament was convened next week it would be a violation of the rules governing ongoing power- sharing talks.

"If he (President Robert Mugabe) convenes parliament, it is a violation of the conditions of the talks," Tsvangirai told journalists during a short visit to the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

A July 21 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which set down rules for the tripartite talks, orders parties not to convene parliament or form a new government except by consensus.

"A violation of the MOU would be up to mediators to deal with," he added.

Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF on T

London, Aug. 20 : Zimbabwe''s official inflation rate has soared to more than 11.2 million per cent.

The Telegraph quoted Zimbabwe’s Central Statistical Office in Harare as saying that inflation in the year to June stood at 11,268,758.9 per cent, a rise of 9,035,045.5 per cent from May.

The monthly inflation rate stood at 839.3 per cent, it added.

The paper quoted John Robertson, an independent economist based in Harare, as saying: "The 11 million per cent they are suggesting seems rather low."

Harare  - Zimbabwe's government on Tuesday called the death of Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, a vocal critic of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, "a tragedy."

"It's a real tragedy for the entire continent," Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Mugabe would issue a statement later Tuesday after a weekly cabinet meeting, he said.