A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days

President Robert Mugabe's government on Thursday extended its crackdown on Zimbabwe's opposition with the arrest of a newspaper editor and a threat to arrest an opposition leader.

Davison Maruziva, editor of the Standard newspaper was arrested on Thursday on charges of publishing false statements prejudicial to the state and contempt of court. The charges arose from an article written by Arthur Mutambara, leader of the breakaway-wing of the Movement for Democratic Change that was published on April 20. Police said Mr Mutambara faced similar charges. The article was highly critical of President Mugabe, accusing him of intimidation and urging him to step down from the presidency.

Zimbabwe has been in limbo since disputed presidential and parliamentary elections in March. After weeks of delay - and amid claims that the ruling Zanu-PF were attempting to rig the vote - it was announced that the MDC had won the largest number of seats in parliament and that its leader Morgan Tsvangiral had won 47.9 per cent of the vote, with Mr Mugabe trailing on 43.2 per cent.

This had set the scene for a presidential run-off although the MDC has still to decide whether to contest. Reports of intimidation and violence against opposition supporters have lead many to suggest that a fair run-off would not be possible.

Mr Maruziva's arrest followed that of a South African-based Reuters photographer, Howard Burditt who has been in detention since Monday accused of using a satellite phone to transmit pictures. He had still to be charged yesterday.

The nightmare is widespread:

Robert Mugabe's supporters have been conducting a sustained and aggressive campaign of intimidation against up to 1.5m rural farm workers and their relatives to force them into voting for him in a prospective election run-off, according to an authoritative report published on Wednesday.

The report by Zimbabwe's Justice for Agriculture Trust (JAG) catalogues a "co-ordinated and centrally planned push" to remove the country's few remaining white farmers "and bully their workers" as "a backlash" against the defeat of the ruling Zanu-PF and the president in elections in March.

Read it all. If you can stomach it. And reflect on the fact that about a month and a half ago, people had reason to believe that Zimbabwe's nightmare may have been coming to an end.

So much for that hope, it seems.