MUGABE SHRUGS OFF BROWN BOYCOTT !

President Robert Mugabe will defy Prime Minister Gordon Brown's boycott threat if invited to attend an Europe-Africa summit, says Zimbabwe's UN Ambassador.
Boniface Chidyausiku said Mr Brown had "no right to dictate" who should be at the meeting in Portugal in December.
It follows Mr Brown's threat that he will not attend the summit of African and EU leaders if Mr Mugabe is there.
He claims Mr Mugabe's presence will "divert attention" from big issues such as poverty, climate change and health.
But Mr Chidyausiku accused Mr Brown of seeking to "multilateralise" an argument between the UK and Zimbabwe.
'Part of Africa'
In an interview with BBC2's Newsnight, Mr Chidyausiku said Mr Mugabe had a "sovereign right" to attend.
"Gordon Brown has no right to dictate who should come to Lisbon," he said.
"Definitely we are going if we are invited because we are part of Africa."
No invitation has yet been sent to Mr Mugabe, according to senior sources in the Portuguese government.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband told the BBC World Service that Mr Brown's view was the right one.
"An EU-Africa summit can only become a media circus if it's dominated by Robert Mugabe sitting next to Gordon Brown," he said.
"We don't think that it's right to be discussing good governance, human rights, economic development as if there isn't the tragedy unfolding in Zimbabwe that is unfolding at the moment, unfolding as a direct result of the policies being pursued by Mr Mugabe."
Further sanctions
EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel has also backed Mr Brown, demanding Mr Mugabe be banned from the summit.
In order to allow Mr Mugabe to attend the conference, EU member states would have to convene before the summit and agree to lift the travel ban currently imposed on him.
But the prime minister has indicated that Britain will call on the European Union "in the next few days" to extend travel and financial sanctions against Zimbabwe's ruling party.
"We are prepared to consider further sanctions," he told ITN. "The sanctions are an indication of the abhorrence of people in Europe about what's happening in Zimbabwe."
The BBC's Europe editor, Mark Mardell, said he understood diplomats were being "very active in trying to find a compromise".
This could involve inviting another Zimbabwean representative, such as a junior member of the government or a civil servant, so that Mr Brown could attend, our correspondent said.
Portugal, which holds the rotating EU presidency, is keen to invite every African leader to be at the summit on 8 and 9 December, but may let the African Union decide who should attend.

Mr Brown described the summit as a "serious opportunity" to forge stronger partnerships between Africa and the EU.
He said: "I applaud the prime minister of Portugal for what he is trying to do to build stronger relations between Europe and Africa. This is a summit that is necessary for Africa's sake.
"But of course it would be totally inappropriate for me to be there if President Mugabe [is]."
He went on: "Four million people have left the country. Four million people on food aid because of famine by Christmas, 80% unemployment, life expectancy at 37."
He said humanitarian aid was being stepped up and promised to press the UN Security Council for an envoy to "look and report on the situation".
BBC NEWS REPORT.