Zimbabwe's government has tabled a constitutional amendment bill to speed up the acquisition of white-owned land

BBC News:

The proposals would nationalise all land and stop appeals to the courts.

Some 4,000 white farmers have been evicted from their land since 2000, but the government says legal battles are slowing up the transfer of ownership.

President Robert Mugabe's party gained the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed for constitutional change in March's disputed elections.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, who introduced the bill to parliament, told the AFP news agency that the legislation would "conclude the land question".

Other proposed constitutional amendments include the creation of an upper house of parliament, the senate and bringing all schools under state control.

Authorities would also be able to confiscate passports and impose travel bans on people thought to pose a risk to state interests.

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