Here in the United States, much media bandwidth is consumed by our own troubles: the economy, corrupt financiers, the unfolding drama of President Obama's Cabinet appointments. Abroad, we are continually bombarded with stories about the Middle East, Russia, China, another battle in the perpetual Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, and the G-20, all valid contemporary concerns for Americans. Something that has fallen off the radar is what is happening in Zimbabwe.

Despite the obvious suspicions that are raining down on the incident, Morgan Tsvangirai, Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, is asserting that the car accident that killed his wife on Friday was an accident.

News agencies are confirming that the wife of the prime minister of Zimbabwe Susan Tsvangirai has been in a fatal car accident while driving with her husband Morgan Tsvangirai.

Talks between Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai have failed to reach an agreement on who will be in the unity cabinet.

So much for the optimism of a deal struck between Mugabe and Tsvangirai. I had warned that it was premature and that Mugabe would not willingly give up power.

As the Presidency stated on 28 June 2008, the EU deeply regrets that the Zimbabwean people were unable to vote freely in the run-off presidential elections, which the UN Secretary-General had asked to be deferred. It reiterates the unacceptability of the campaign of violence which the UN Security Council condemned on 23 June and which turned the election into a denial of democracy.

Western politicians are making furious attempts to keep up the appearance that with declarations and sanctions they are able to exert at least a little influence on Robert Mugabe. But deep in their hearts they all know they're powerless against Zimbabwe's dictator. When the votes have been counted, Mr Mugabe will declare himself president again and the world will look on in impotence.

"I'll be leaving within a day or two," said Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai from the Dutch embassy in Harare. On Sunday, the Movement for Democratic Change leader fled to the Dutch embassy after receiving serious threats from ZANU-PF supporters loyal to President Robert Mugabe.

Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations, has said that the elections in Zimbabwe should be postponed due to the fact that Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Zimbabwe's main opposition party, has said that he will pull out of the race to become the president of Zimbabwe.

South African President Thabo Mbeki is meeting in Bulawayo with Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe before runoff presidential elections next week. VOA's Delia Robertson reports from our southern Africa bureau in Johannesburg, the meeting backdrop is a deepening political, social and economic crisis in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe's central bank, currently grappling with record-breaking inflation, has introduced a new high-denomination bank note of a quarter of a billion dollars,state television have said.