Arrest of Mugabe rival threatens Zimbabwe's unity government

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's police forces detained Roy Bennett, an aide to his chief rival, and coalition partner, Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday, roiling the unity government that has helped stabilize Zimbabwe. Roy Bennett, a white former coffee farmer whose land was confiscated by the Mugabe government, is the treasurer for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and a top aid to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the party's leader and Mugabe's chief domestic rival. On Wednesday he was ordered to prison to face trial on eight-month old charges of terrorism, insurgency, sabotage and banditry. A guilty verdict would carry a life sentence. No trial date has been set.