Zimbabwe's High Court acquitted the opposition leader...

Zimbabwe's High Court acquitted the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on charges of plotting to assassinate President Robert Mugabe, saying the state had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
"The evidence led has not shown beyond reasonable doubt that there was such a request [to overthrow Mr Mugabe]," Judge President Paddington Garwe said.
The charges stemmed from accusations that Mr Tsvangirai, 52, plotted to kill Mr Mugabe with the help of a Canada-based political consultant.
He had pleaded not guilty to a treason charge of planning to kill Mr Mugabe and seize power ahead of presidential elections in 2002.
The charges were based on a grainy four-and-a-half hour video recorded by hidden cameras during a meeting between Mr Tsvangirai and Ari Ben Menashe, a political consultant, in Montreal on Dec 4, 2001.
During his year-long trial, which ended in February, Mr Tsvangirai's defence barristers said the tape had been doctored to implicate him in a plot to murder Mr Mugabe and stage a military coup to seize power.
Mr Tsvangirai denied involvement in any plot, but conceded he mentioned the "elimination" during discussions with Mr Ben Menashe in reference only to Mr Mugabe's possible defeat in the presidential polls and the possible formation of a new government.
State prosecutors themselves withdrew allegations earlier in the trial that Tsvangirai had spoken of the "murder" and "assassination" of Mr Mugabe after the words could not be found on the tape.
George Bizos, for the defence, had submitted evidence that Mr Ben Menashe was already working for the Zimbabwe government's security agency on an operation to discredit the burgeoning opposition in the country when Mr Tsvangirai visited him in Montreal.