Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai...

Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was released on bail after being formally charged with treason over an alleged plot to assassinate President Robert Mugabe.Tsvangirai could face the death penalty if convicted.
The charge, which comes a day after the Commonwealth suspended Zimbabwe, destroys any immediate prospect of reconciliation between the government and the opposition.Tsvangirai maintains the charges - based on a "secret" videotape which allegedly shows Tsvangirai discussing Mugabe's assassination with a political consultant - are fabricated. But the government has defended its actions and has also charged three other opposition politicians with treason.
"The allegations of plotting to assassinate a head of state are very serious, very serious. Britain takes them seriously, America takes them seriously. We are not a banana republic, we also take them very seriously," Zimbabwe Information Minister Jonathan Moyo said.Commonwealth leaders had hoped Zimbabwe's suspension would encourage Mugabe to comply with democratic practices and speed up the process of reconciliation.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said, "The further detention of Morgan Tsvangirai on these treason charges suggests that this message has still yet to get across."In Washington, the charges were condemned on Wednesday by the State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher, who said Mugabe's Government was conducting a campaign against democracy in the wake of a fraudulent victory. He described it as the latest example of retaliation against the opposition that had been underway in the aftermath of the election.