Cancel all those pole-vaulting bets, Bob Mugabe has been grounded...

[emad]

China finally turns on Mugabe and bars him from the Olympics



Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe will not attend the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics after Chinese officials are reported to have told him he is not welcome.

The disgraced 74-year-old leader had planned to attend Friday's showpiece opening alongside world leaders such as American President George Bush and French President Nicholas Sarkozy in a clear snub to his international critics.

But the Chinese authorities are said to have bowed to intense political lobbying from representatives of world leaders who will be there and Mugabe has agreed not to attend.

The Chinese decision is seen as a clear indication they want nothing to overshadow the opening and a "gesture" to critics of the Zimbabwean leader.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23526509-details/China+finally+turns+on+Mugabe+and+bars+him+from+the+Olympics/article.do