Sadc

·         On August 15, 2008 Botswana announced that its President Seretse Khama Ian Khama will boycott a summit of regional leaders (Southern African Development Community (Sadc) summit_ because Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe has been invited.

·         The country has said that Mugabe should not attend such gatherings until a power-sharing deal has been reached.

·         South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating in the Zimbabwean talks, is hosting the the 14-member Southern African Development Community (Sadc) summit

·         Tsvangirai won the first presidential round in March, before pulling out of a June run-off citing a campaign of violence against his supporters.

·         Basic foodstuffs, including maize meal and bread, are often in short supply in Zimbabwe, which was once one of Africa's leading agricultural producers.

·         About 80% of the country's 12.3m people are unemployed and many depend on food aid.

·         In Zimbabwe's economic crisis, hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans have fled the worsening political and economic situation, many crossing over the borders into neighbouring South Africa, Zambia and Botswana.