The Friday morning news...
-Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has brushed aside last minute calls for Friday's disputed presidential run-off election to be postponed or called off.
-A federal police commander has been shot dead in Mexico City, the latest in a long line of law enforcement personnel murdered in recent weeks. It is likely that he was targeted by drug cartels who are battling the authorities over a clamp down on their drug smuggling operations.
-Global markets have suffered heavy falls after a raft of bad news including a fresh record for the price of oil, which traded at more than $140 a barrel in New York on Thursday. Markets also reacted to signs that the global credit crunch was far from over.
-Hoping for a "change of tone" in relations, Russian and European Union leaders met Thursday in the Siberian city of Khanty-Mansiysk. It was the first such summit since Dmitry Medvedev became Russian president. The two-day summit is being held to launch negotiations on a new partnership and co-operation agreement.
