Saturday News: I love anything that uses the phrase "political gobbledygook."

Zimbabwe: Morgan Tsvangirai returned to Zimbabwe today to campaign for the June 27 runoff election. In a press conference shortly after his arrival in Harare, Tsvangirai accused Mugabe and ZANU-PF of trying to “decimate” the MDC, but said that he is confident of victory despite the absence of a free and fair electoral process. He also called on the SADC to deploy peacekeeping forces by June 1, to quell pre-election violence and intimidation by the Mugabe’s self-described “warlike” campaign strategy. Regional activists will commemorate tomorrow’s Africa Day--which marks the founding of the Organization of African Unity, now the African Union--with a “Stand Up for Zimbabwe” campaign.

ZA: Xenophobic violence has resulted in the displacement of 10,000 foreigners in Cape Town, with the continuation of the attacks prompting extensive finger-pointing and fueling debates on South Africa’s political and economic dilemmas. (Scroll down about half way for the discussion of “political gobbledygook.”) The New York Times editorial board took a harsh stance towards President Thabo Mbeki, for the current crisis as well as many other presidential insufficiencies and missteps, and postures that likely-presidential candidate Jacob Zuma will not provide the “enlightened leadership” the country and the continent desperately need.

Sudan: The head of the UN mission in Sudan said the town of Abyei is “totally devastated” following clashes between the Sudanese military and the SPLM. (See previous posts for background.) In Khartoum, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir presided over a ceremony proclaiming victory after last week’s attack by Darfur rebel group JEM. In a particularly gruesome attempt to save face after the surprise attack, “he strolled past a 200-yard-long photo gallery, a grotesque display of burned and dismembered bodies, allegedly those of the rebels. Each image was underlined with the same caption in Arabic: ‘summary of failure.’” (See previous posts for background on the attack.)

Haven’t had enough? Violence is on the rise (from an already-substantial level) in the Central African Republic, and the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia continues to deteriorate.