But this was probably the most comfortable flight of my life because

But this was probably the most comfortable flight of my life, because I did not see the take-off, the one hour and 20 minutes of flight, or the landing. I slept, because of the stress draining away and because I had not slept properly for four nights. The man next to me joked that he had enjoyed the honour of sharing a seat with a “rock star” but unfortunately had not had the opportunity to have an autograph signed nor share a discussion.Now, though reunited with my family, we feel for those we have left behind in Zimbabwe My parents and sister are still there I am worried for them, and my fellow Zimbabweans I hope things will improve.. Zimbabwe’s independent media monitoring watchdog warned yesterday of the dangers of newspapers playing into the hands of Robert Mugabe’s state-controlled press after The Independent’s Harare correspondent, Basildon Peta, had to flee the country fearing for his life. The government was also on a collision course with the European Union after threatening to expel the Swedish head of the EU’s monitoring mission for presidential elections next month.

Harassment of international media representatives and the rejection of the chief monitor, who has been told he is only a “tourist”, may trigger EU sanctions at a ministerial meeting on Monday.The Media Monitoring Project said gloating in relentless state media attacks about “alleged exaggeration” by Mr Peta of his imprisonment was misplaced. “The magnitude of their own fabricated stories and persistently systematic manipulation of the news is an intolerable abuse.”Such behaviour by President Mugabe’s state-controlled print, radio and television media “poses a far greater threat to the nation’s access to information than the relatively trivial offences committed by the privately owned press” It called on “all media organisations to desist … from publishing or broadcasting unsub- stantiated allegations”.Zimbabwe television led bulletins with an attack based on an erroneous front-page article in The Times in London, which said Mr Peta, secretary general of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists, had admitted he fabricated an account of his stay in police custody. At issue was Mr Peta’s account in The Independent, which omitted saying that he was allowed to pick up medicine in the middle of the night.

He was denounced as a liar as a result.The state media this week also seized on an Australian “documentary” that purported to show the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai arranging to have Mr Mugabe “eliminated” in an assassination.. Domino’s Pizza yesterday moved to consolidate its position as the UK’s largest deliverer of pizzas with aggressive expansion plans as it posted a 21 per cent surge in full-year sales. The Milton Keynes-based group went on an advertising offensive last year, introducing television adverts as well as continuing with its sponsorship of the cartoon series The Simpsons on Sky One.Stephen Hemsley, chief executive of Domino’s, said the company would boost its brand recognition further this year by increasing its advertising budget from £4m to £5m.Several interactive television deals will kick in this year. These include a presence on Sky Digital as a pizza delivery service which is accessible through a special button on customers’ remote controls and even the possibility that a person’s order could be memorised and delivered at the touch of a button. Mr Hemsley said: “We refitted our stores to handle more business and backed that up with more TV advertising, which meant our like-for-like sales increased by more than 20 per cent, which was way above our expectations.”The opening of 24 new outlets helped to boost pre-tax profits at Domino’s, which rose 31 per cent to £3.9m in the 12 months to 30 December More than 30 new stores are planned for this year. Most of the new stores will be in the North of England, where the chain is under represented compared to southern England and Scotland.Domino’s said trading since the start of 2002 continued to be strong, with like-for-like sales ahead 20 per cent on last year.Its shares, listed on Aim, fell 4.5p to 73p, as investors took profits after the price hit an all-time high on Thursday..