The head of mission, Pierre Schori, said: “We are having a deterrent effect on the violence. We are of course concerned about the very disturbing reports of violence and the threats [but] we are not a foreign intervention force, we are observers.”Late yesterday, it emerged that out of 20,700 trained monitors – whose local knowledge and language skills will be crucial to policing the polls – only 4,600 would be accredited. In a rushed government gazette, it was announced that only one monitor would be allowed per polling station, against the international standard of four. The move leaves the monitors, some of whom will be operating in remote areas which foreign observers cannot reach, open to intimidation.The opposition Movement for Democratic Change, whose leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, last week criticised the foreign observers, claims the government is deliberately delaying the accreditation of election-watchers and monitors to prevent them recording violence.Yesterday, one of the founders with Robert Mugabe in 1963 of the Zimbabwe African National Union, Ndabaningi Sithole, condemned his former comrade as “a dictator, a thief, a liar, a man whose word can never be trusted”.And in Zimbabwe’s second city, Bulawayo, an MDC candidate, David Coltart, said violence and intimidation had increased since the beginning of the week – an indication that the presence of foreign observers is having little impact.There are about 300 observers in Zimbabwe, half of them from the EU and Norway. Forty observers from United States pro-democracy institutions have been refused accreditation. So, too, have 17 Nigerians and Kenyans attached to the Europeans, though they are continuing to work.There is resistance towards granting 150 people from foreign civil society groups permission to operate Britons have been barred..

Don Cruickshank, chairman of the London Stock Exchange, yesterday conceded that September’s shareholder vote on the iX merger could be delayed if there was a chance that some users’ concerns could be addressed quickly. Don Cruickshank, chairman of the London Stock Exchange, yesterday conceded that September’s shareholder vote on the iX merger could be delayed if there was a chance that some users’ concerns could be addressed quickly.
However, in an interview with The Independent yesterday he insisted that he would not call off the merger between the London and Frankfurt exchanges because of differences in regulatory regimes, which were not in the exchanges’ power to resolve.He was speaking after the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers (Apcims), the UK lobby, asked for a delay in the vote.Mr Cruickshank insisted that the merger was on track. A memorandum spelling out the terms of the deal will be sent to shareholders of both the London and Frankfurt exchanges next month, ahead of the September vote of LSE shareholders with a view to completing the merger in October.After spending the past few weeks meeting shareholders to discuss the deal, Mr Cruickshank said he had found broad support for the principle of the merger, “followed by a number of buts”. These included the issues highlighted by Apcims such as the central counterparty, settlement and harmonisation.The Financial Services Authority and its German counterpart, the EWA, are meeting to try and flesh out how they will co-operate on regulating the new big-cap market and the Nasdaq-Europe technology market.

Mr Cruickshank suggested that one way of reassuring the market would be for the two regulators to put out a document setting out how they would work together in practice.The exchanges were also, he said “putting in all the energy we can on the central counterparty and on settlement”.However, Mr Cruickshank said that users had to accept that there were some issues over which the exchange had no control, and many of which could not be resolved within the timescale of the merger.In his view this did not mean the merger should not go ahead: “To ask iX, a commercial organisation to play anything other than an influencing role is unrealistic To ask us to wait is also unrealistic. They [the outstanding issues] are more likely to be resolved because we have taken this initiative.”However, he accepted that the exchange would “have to think about what our shareholders want”.Concern has been raised in both the UK and Germany about the fact that while the big-cap market will be regulated by the FSA and the tech market by its German counterpart, companies listing on those exchanges will be continue to be regulated by their home country. This will mean companies operating under different regulatory regimes trading on the same markets.”By taking the commercial initiative we are beginning to oblige those people who hold responsibility for public policy to make the single market real.”The LSE chairman said following his discussions, he was convinced that the euro was no longer an issue. Nor did he find anyone raising objections to the fact that that iX will be split 50:50 between London and Frankfurt.

“All these things have gone away.” he said.On the other hand, smaller brokers were starting to realise that there as an advantage in being able to offer private clients the opportunity to deal in non-UK stocks at no greater cost. “Most of the benefits are going to be fall on private client brokers,” he said,. Eidos, the computer games company behind cyber babe Lara Croft, has received a takeover approach, the company revealed yesterday. Eidos, the computer games company behind cyber babe Lara Croft, has received a takeover approach, the company revealed yesterday.
The news gave a huge lift to Eidos shares, which closed up 28 per cent at 550p – although the stock was as high as 1273.25p in December. The company has since issued two profits warnings, in January and March, and last week reported a full-year operating loss of £26.8m, down from an operating profit of £39.2m previously.Eidos refused to name its potential suitor but analysts said the most likely candidates were Microsoft, the US software giant, and Infogrames, the acquisitive French games company.Other possible bidders include Havas Interactive, another French games house, a toy company or a media group.Eidos was forced to make a statement yesterday morning, following a sharp rise in its shares. It said: “The company is currently in the early stages of discussions which may or may not lead to an offer for the whole of issued share capital of Eidos.”Julian Morse, an analyst at Beeson Gregory, said the company was likely to fetch 700p-800p a share, or up to about £820m.”Five years down the line, the games market is going to be massive.

So companies will be looking to buy up the likes of Eidos while it’s cheap. Games are at the bottom of the cycle right now,” he said.Eidos has blamed product delays and weak consumer demand for its disappointing performance this year. It said that consumers were holding off on purchases while they waited for the next generation of consoles to become available.Later this year, Sony will launch PlayStation 2 in the US and Europe and next year will see the X-Box from Microsoft and Nintendo’s Dolphin.Mr Morse said that these new machines would take the games market to a new level, as it becomes integrated with television, set-top boxes and mobile phones. The new consoles will provide internet access and PlayStation 2 plays movies recorded on DVD disks.”Microsoft are looking to conquer the living room, in the way they have the office and home office. They will throw a lot of money at this and Eidos would provide them with content and publishing skills,” Mr Morse said.. British companies that bribe foreign officials to win contracts could be prosecuted here under rules proposed by the Government yesterday. British companies that bribe foreign officials to win contracts could be prosecuted here under rules proposed by the Government yesterday.
MPs involved in scandals such as accepting cash for questions could also be prosecuted under the recommended law against corruption.Announcing the move, Charles Clarke, a Home Office minister, said excessive hospitality could also be classed as corrupt, though that would be left up to the courts to judge.The law was not aimed at the activities of lobbying groups and the hospitality industry looked unlikely to be affected by the plans, he said.