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HARARE: Zimbabwe's state media reported Monday that President Robert Mugabe described the US assistant secretary of state for African affairs as ``an idiot'' after an acrimonious meeting between the two at an African summit in Libya. The state Herald newspaper carried the remarks after a briefing Mugabe gave to Zimbabwean reporters at the end of last week's summit of the continentwide African Union. US Embassy officials in Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, where Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson is visiting, would not comment on the remarks. According to the Herald paper, Mugabe said nothing came out of those talks. ``You wouldn't...

Zimbabwe's Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, has said the new unity government is broke and can not meet trade union demands for higher wages. Mr Tsvangirai said no state worker, including President Robert Mugabe, was earning more than $100 (£67) a month. The unions have called for a monthly minimum of $450 and threatened to go on strike if their demand is not met. "This government is broke, and we are only able to pay the $100 allowance," Mr Tsvangirai told the crowds

The death of the child, Sean, comes less than a month after Mr Tsvangirai's wife Susan died in a car crash.

President Robert Mugabe in a published interview rejected demands that he should dismiss two discredited officials, while the Zimbabwean government on Thursday asked its neighbors for a $2 billion loan package to aid its collapsed economy. In the interview with the state Herald newspaper to mark his 85th birthday, Mugabe ... "It is important not to jump off the bridge before there is enough water under it,"

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe told reporters Thursday he doesn't see why the arrest of a longtime rival has made news around the world and strained relations with his new governing partners. "The issue of Roy Bennett is making headlines worldwide. I wonder why?" Mugabe said Thursday.

Zimbabwe's government has accused former colonial ruler Britain of using a cholera epidemic to rally Western support for an invasion of the collapsing southern African nation, a state-run newspaper said on Sunday. President Robert Mugabe is under mounting pressure from the international community, especially Western nations which accuse him of ruining the once prosperous country and exposing its people to famine and disease. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has branded Mugabe's government a "blood-stained regime" and said it was responsible for the cholera epidemic that has killed at least 575 people. The world must tell Mugabe "enough is enough," he...

With the beleaguered African state now in the grip of a cholera epidemic, the Prime Minister said the situation remands an international response. "This is now an international rather than a national emergency. International because disease crosses borders. International because the systems of government in Zimbabwe are now broken. There is no state capable or willing of protecting its people. He called for the establishment of a "command and control structure" in the capital, Harare, to co-ordinate the work of donors and NGOs to ensure that international aid reached the people who needed it most. ..."to give the Zimbabwean people...

ZIMBABWE has cut water supplies to the nation's capital Harare, state media reported today, leaving most of the city dry as authorities struggle to contain a cholera epidemic. "Most parts of Harare - including the city centre - did not get water yesterday amid claims by Zinwa staff that the authority had stopped pumping after it ran out of one of the essential chemicals,"

Gunfire has broken out in downtown Harare when rampaging, unpaid soldiers attacked money changers and clashed with police. Monday's violence is the second time in a week that soldiers have attacked money changers and stolen their cash in frustration after they have been unable to get their wages at banks.

Zimbabwe has refused to let Kofi Annan and two eminent colleagues visit the impoverished African country for a humanitarian mission, the three said Saturday. The former U.N. secretary-general, ex-U.S. President Jimmy Carter and rights advocate Graca Machel had planned to assess the country's needs. They are members of The Elders group, formed by former South African President Nelson Mandela to foster peace and tackle world conflicts.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter today said Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis was far worse than he could have imagined and expressed dismay that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his government refused to acknowledge the problem even existed. "The entire basic structure in education, healthcare, feeding people, social services and sanitation has broken down," Carter told a news conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. "These are all indications that the crisis in Zimbabwe is much greater, much worse than we had ever imagined." Carter was part of a delegation that was denied entry into Zimbabwe last week to assess the crisis. The delegation...

A leading Zimbabwean farmer working some of the country's last productive land has had his property invaded by allies of Robert Mugabe. Doug Taylor-Freeme is one of Africa's most respected farmers, a white Zimbabwean chosen by his mostly black peers to be their champion. Romsey has the only productive fields for miles around in the once-fertile Makonde South district, 90 miles north of Harare. Now it is under threat from a local strongman, Chief Nemakonde, a strong supporter of Mr Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party, whose land grab is being supported by local government officials. He has already taken over...

Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans lined up at banks Monday, desperate to take out their money after the government raised the limit on daily withdrawals. New rules went into affect Monday allowing withdrawals of up to 20,000 Zimbabwe dollars (US$35; euro25). The old 1,000 Zimbabwean-dollar limit was barely enough to buy a newspaper.

Robert Mugabe's government has bowed to financial reality and legalised the use of foreign currency in Zimbabwe's shattered economy. It is the final humiliation for Zimbabwe's battered currency, which was worth more than the US greenback at independence in 1980. Even after two revaluations that have knocked a total of 13 zeros off it, it was trading on the black market on Wednesday at around 6,000 to the USD – or 60,000,000,000,000,000 to one in terms of the original Zimbabwe dollar. "These reforms are essentially a pragmatic response to the realities in the economy," he said. "We have watched and...

International pressure seems to have finally had an effect on South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki. The man who almost singlehandedly shielded Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe from regional and global efforts to oust him has finally told his crony that he has two choices — resign or face prosecution for a myriad of crimes. Mugabe must hand real power to his political enemy, Morgan Tsvangirai, or else face complete isolation:The president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, has been warned by Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, that he faces prosecution for the crimes he has committed during his 28 years in office unless he...

Britain and the US have condemned Russia and China for vetoing a draft UN Security Council resolution to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe's leaders. UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the veto was incomprehensible. The US said it brought into question Russia's reliability as a G8 partner. Zimbabwe and its main ally South Africa welcomed the result. Zimbabwe's Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu described the resolution as a Western plot and welcomed its rejecton.... There has been growing international criticism of Zibabwe since the re-election of Mr. Mugabe in a run-off boycotted by the opposition. The opposition's Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement...

The crisis in Zimbabwe is "infecting the whole of southern Africa, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said after visiting refugees. On a visit to Johannesburg, S Africa, he said victims of political repression were fleeing there in their thousands. He said it was now "imperative" that there was a new government in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe was declared the winner of a one-candidate run-off election, amid reports of the violent intimidation of his opponents. After meeting some of the 2,000 refugees who have taken refuge in the Central Methodist Church in downtown Johannesburg, Mr. Miliband said: "This is now...

Former President Bill Clinton called for Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe to step down immediately or form a power-sharing arrangement with his chief opponent. The former presidentcalled Mugabe "a puppet of the military establishment" and singled out a Washington Post story that exposed coercion, intimidation, beatings and profession killings by the ruling-party s militias. The crisis in Zimbabwe was the main focus of a public one-on-one interview tonight with Jane Wales, a former Clinton advisor and current Aspen Institute vice president of philanthropy and society, at the annual Aspen Ideas Festival.

A defiant President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe on Tuesday fended off an effort by African leaders to sanction him for his country's recent election violence, telling them that their claims to power were no more legitimate than his. President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal said Mugabe chastised another head of state during a closed-door session Tuesday night for having "worse elections than I did." A two-day summit of the 53-nation African Union that was dominated by talk of Zimbabwe's political crisis ended with leaders issuing no public rebuke. Instead, African leaders encouraged Mugabe to enter into dialogue and form a power-sharing...

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has rejected forming a unity government if he is not recognised as the winner of presidential elections. African leaders called for a unity government days after Robert Mugabe won a run-off boycotted by the opposition. Mr. Tsvangirai, who won the first-round vote, said the African Union should appoint another mediator to join South Africa's leader Thabo Mbeki. Earlier, a spokesman for Mr. Mugabe welcomed the AU call for dialogue....... Mr. Tsvangirai said the resolution did not acknowledge the illegitimacy of the 27 June run-off vote. "The resolution endorses the concept of a government of national...

ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe has been stripped of his honorary British knighthood as a "mark of revulsion" following recent pre-election violence, the Foreign Office in London said today. Queen Elizabeth II has approved the annulment of the honour - bestowed on Mugabe by the former colonial power 14 years ago - on the recommendation of Foreign Secretary David Miliband. "This action has been taken as a mark of revulsion at the abuse of human rights and abject disregard for the democratic process in Zimbabwe over which President Mugabe has presided," "We can no longer justify an individual who is responsible...

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he is pulling out of Friday's presidential run-off, handing victory to President Robert Mugabe. Mr. Tsvangrai said there was no point running when elections would not be free and fair and and "the outcome is determined by... Mugabe himself." He called on the global community to step in to protect Zimbabweans. The decision came after opposition supporters heading to a rally in the capital Harare came under attack. The MDC says at least 70 supporters have been killed in recent months. At a press conference Sunday, mr Tsvangirai said: "It is for the world...

The men who pulled up in three white pickup trucks were looking for Patson Chipiro, head of the Zimbabwean opposition party in Mhondoro district. His wife, Dadirai, told them he was in Harare but would be back later in the day, and the men departed. An hour later they were back. They grabbed Mrs Chipiro and chopped off one of her hands and both her feet. Then they threw her into her hut, locked the door and threw a petrol bomb through the window. The killing last Friday – one of the most grotesque atrocities committed by Robert Mugabe’s regime...

Zimbabwe's army chief has told soliders they must leave the military if they do not vote for incumbent President Robert Mugabe in next month's run-off poll. Chief-of-staff Maj Gen Martin Chedondo said soldiers had signed up to protect Mr. Mugabe's principles of defending the revolution, state media reported. "If you have any other thoughts, then you should remove that uniform," he said. Gen Chedondo was speaking at a target-shooting competition outside Harare, the Herald newspaper reported. Zimbabwe's generals have in the past vowed never to support the main opposition candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, if he is elected in the 27 June...

In December 2000 Robert Mugabe opened a Zanu PF congress by urging his supporters to, ‘strike fear in the heart of the white man.’ Eight years down the line that policy is being employed to cover all opposition supporters and officials. The 84-year-old Zanu PF leader, smarting from an embarrassing March 29 election defeat, is allegedly paying ruling party thugs Z$10 billion for every murder of an MDC activist. The militants are also being paid Z$5 billion for every opposition home burnt down. According to The Zimbabwean newspaper a defector from the terror campaign has confirmed that ‘Operation Mavhotera Papi’...

The Archbishop of York is leading a day of fasting and prayer in support of the people of Zimbabwe. Dr. John Sentamu, one of the highest members of the Anglican church, is calling on people to join him in the action in York Minster. There has been a month of deadlock in Zimbabwe following disputed elections. In December, Dr. Sentamu cut up his clerical collar on television and said he would not replace it until President Robert Mugabe was out of office. Dr. Sentamu said: "I want as many people as possible to join me at the Minster to pray...

Independent election observers in Zimbabwe say police have raided their offices. At the same time, security forces descended on opposition headquarters. Police seized material on vote counting from both offices. Some 200 people were beaten, shoved and arrested in the raid on the opposition headquarters, according to party officials. Zimbabweans are still awaiting official results from the March 29 presidential election. The opposition says President Robert Mugabe is using violence and stealth to hold on to power. The opposition and the independent observers both claim the opposition won the vote, based on their own surveys of results posted at ballot...

Armed riot police have raided the headquarters of Zimbabwe's main opposition party in Harare and arrested scores of activists. Movement for Democratic Change spokesman Nelson Chamisa said those arrested had fled political violence. But police said the raid was to look for those responsible for arson attacks east of Harare. The MDC says it won last month's presidential election, the results of which have not yet been published.....

President Robert Mugabe devoted his first major speech since the unresolved election three weeks ago to denouncing whites and former colonial ruler Britain, an attempt to convince Zimbabweans their political and economic troubles stem from abroad. The scene at the official 28th Independence Day celebration Friday had all the pomp of old, with air force jets sweeping overhead and Mugabe, bedecked in sash and medals, striding past soldiers at attention. But any private observances by ordinary Zimbabweans were likely muted _ prices for food, gasoline and drinks have more than doubled just in the past week amid an economic meltdown...

At least 80 Zimbabwean opposition activists have been assualted by pro-government militants in different parts of the country, they say. The alleged assaults took place in the eastern province of Manicaland and Matabeleland in the west. This year's election has been relatively peaceful until now. Meanwhile, a judge has agreed to an opposition request that the results of last month's election be released, as an urgent matter. "The case should proceed," said Justice Tendai Uchena in Harare's High Court. The opposition says the violence is meant to intimidate rural voters ahead of a possible run-off poll...... President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF...

Zimbabwe's opposition says it will bring the government to its knees with Kenya-style mass protests if President Robert Mugabe carries out extensive plans to rig tomorrow's presidential and parliamentary elections. But Mugabe has vowed to use the army to crush any demonstrations and warned Zimbabweans not to waste their votes on opposition candidates who would never be allowed to take power. Mugabe, 84, would struggle to extend his 28-year rule in a clean election, amid widespread hunger, mass unemployment, 100,000% inflation and a currency that devalues so fast that the few people with jobs are paid in billions of Zimbabwe...

Mugabe will fall  Mar 27 2008 4:37PM Chris Muronzi  Harare - President Robert Mugabe will this weekend face his stiffest election challenge. He has failed to campaign meaningfully against a background characterised by hunger and rapid price increases that have left citizens living from hand to mouth. What Mugabe failed to realise is that this election is different. This particular poll is about the economy. By failing to realise that, Mugabe has dug his own political grave. Although he has vowed that opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who is attracting very large numbers to his rallies, will not rule in...

Human rights groups today accused Robert Mugabe's government of harassing and intimidating opposition supporters before Saturday's national elections. Amnesty International cited a case on March 7, when three members of the Morgan Tsvangirai-led faction of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) were ordered by intelligence officers to take down election posters. According to Amnesty, the officials forced the opposition supporters to chew the posters and swallow them. "We continue to receive reports of intimidation, harassment and violence against perceived supporters of opposition candidates - with many in rural regions fearful that there will be retribution after the elections,"... The US,...

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has vowed that Zimbabwe's main opposition party will never rule during his lifetime and threatened to expel companies from Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler Britain ... Britain, which has led international criticism of Mugabe for violating political and human rights in his country and plunging it into a disastrous economic crisis, says only 40 British firms remain operating in the country. Mugabe's relations deteriorated with Western nations after he embarked in 2000 on a controversial land reform scheme that saw about 4000 white-owned farms seized... Mugabe also urged Zimbabweans yesterday to help acquire a majority stake in mining...

Zimbabwe has the highest proportion of elderly voters in the world, according to the voters' roll being used for elections next week. A glance at one page of the roll yesterday for a ward in the Mount Pleasant suburb of Harare turned up a Fodias Kunyepa, who was born in 1901. Over the page was Rebecca Armstrong, born 1900. Somewhat younger was Desmond Lardner-Burke, born 1909, who was the notorious Minister for Justice in the rebel Rhodesian Government and responsible for the harassment, arrest and detention without trial of tens of thousands of black nationalists, including President Mugabe, fighting against...

Zimbabwe's main opposition party has gone to court after President Robert Mugabe changed an election law less than two weeks before polls. On Monday, he issued a decree to allow police officers into polling stations - just two months after they were banned to ensure voting would be secret. Mr Mugabe said the police could be allowed to help disabled people vote. But a Movement for Democratic Change spokesman said the police could be used to make people vote for Mr Mugabe. there are far fewer polling stations in urban areas, seen as pro-opposition, than in rural areas, where support...

On Thursday, Robert Mugabe’s 84th birthday, state radio announced that the fundraising committee for his celebratory bash had raised over Z$3 trillion. While most Zimbabweans cannot afford to pay for transport to go to work, the man responsible for this economic disaster will be feted at a lavish affair in Beitbridge on Saturday. This clearly shows the attitude of those in power in Zimbabwe today towards ordinary people. It was Mugabe who once said; “….let them eat potatoes.” the monthly inflation rate between December and January was 120%. This means prices for basic commodities more than doubled in one month....

The central bank of the southern African country has a issued a 10million Zimbabwe dollar note. The move increases the denomination of the nation's highest bank note more than tenfold. Even so, a hamburger in an ordinary cafe in Zimbabwe costs 15 million Zimbabwe dollars. Zimbabwe faces the world's highest official inflation of an estimated 25,000 per cent. Independent financial institutions say real inflation is closer to 150,000 per cent. He said special arrangements were being made to pay soldiers, police and other uniformed services "because it is not desirable to see them queuing for cash".

Zimbabweans can expect to spend more time in the dark after the Mozambique power utility company...suspended supplies to Zimbabwe over an outstanding debt of US$26 million. This development was confirmed in a report in the state run Herald newspaper. Zimbabwe’s power imports have been falling for various reasons. South Africa’s Eskom has stopped supplies claiming "some operational hitches" at its power-generating plants. The Democratic Republic of Congo has also stopped power supplies to Zimbabwe because of ‘problems with it’s transmission network.’ Analysts say the real reason these countries have cut Zimbabwe off is because of unpaid debts. Critics say the...

Banks in Zimbabwe failed to open on Christmas Day, despite earlier pledges from the central bank governor. Instead, long lines of Zimbabweans desperate for local currency queued at the few machines dispensing cash. On top of rampant inflation, mass unemployment and shortages of fuel and basic goods the country is now suffering shortages of bank notes. The shortage remains despite the introduction of higher-denomination notes last week. Mr Gono blames the currency shortages on foreign-exchange currency dealers, the so-called "cash barons", and Zimbabweans are being urged to report anyone flouting currency exchange laws. Zimbabwe has the highest level of inflation...

Hunched and inscrutable, President Robert Mugabe was forced to listen as Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, took him to task for "damaging Africa's image" around the world. The Zimbabwean leader faced the attack during the opening session of a European Union summit with African leaders in Lisbon.

$1 Million Note On the Way As Cash Crisis Worsens Zimbabwe Independent (Harare) NEWS 16 November 2007 By Paul Nyakazeya CASH shortages worsened this week amid speculation that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe was working on plans to introduce higher denominations of bearers' cheques. Business digest understands that the central bank is finalising the introduction of $500 000 and $1 million notes. The new bearer's cheque notes are likely to be introduced early next month. The denominations below $10 000 will be scrapped, sources said. "From the discussions and preparation we have had so far I would say the new...

ZIMBABWE's currency has fallen to record levels, with one million Zimbabwean dollars buying a single US dollar ($1.12) and inflation reaching 8000 per cent. The data was announced as people in the capital, Harare, struggled to cope without electricity for the third day. "We closed our business today (Saturday)," said a woman who helps to run a major petrol supplier. "We just can't operate like this." The National Blood Transfusion Service said it had been unable to test blood since Tuesday. At independence in 1980, the Zimbabwean dollar held parity with the US dollar but has suffered from the economic...

Harare admits land reform has failed as the deadline passes for the last white farmers to leave their land. Zimbabwe's bakeries have shut and supermarkets have warned there will be no bread for the foreseeable future as the government admitted that wheat production had collapsed following the seizure of white-owned farms. The agricultural ministry announcement that the wheat harvest is only about a third of what is required, and that imports are held up by lack of hard currency, came as a deadline passed today for the last white farmers to leave their land or face prosecution for trespass. The...

Those who say Zimbabwe's president was once a hero are fooling themselves. As Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, presides over what might be the most rapid disintegration yet of a modern nation-state, it has become de rigueur for journalists, politicians and academics to offer what has become a near-universal analysis: Mugabe, who has ruled his country uninterrupted for 27 years, was a promising leader who became corrupted over time by power. This meme was popularized not long ...the New York Times ...Archbishop Desmond Tutu ... The characterization of Mugabe as a good man gone wrong extends to popular culture as well....

China has bowed to economic reality and political expediency by calling a halt to aid to Zimbabwe. One of the few remaining friends to President Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s embattled leader, China has been quietly allowing the relationship to cool over the past few months. But Li Guijin, China’s special envoy for Africa, confirmed yesterday that Beijing had halted development aid. “China’s assistance is mainly humanitarian. In terms of development assistance, we have some difficulties,” he said. “China in the past provided substantial development assistance but owing to the dramatic currency revaluations and rapid deterioration of economic conditions, the economic outcomes of...

Animals Being Slaughtered For Meat Or Abandoned By Owners. Conditions have become so desperate in Zimbabwe that people are said to be eating their pets. Animal welfare groups said it's come to that, with animals being slaughtered for meat or abandoned by owners who can no longer feed them. The African nation's National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it can't feed pets who've been turned in or find new homes for them. It's been trying to destroy them humanely but veterinarians are running out of drugs for that purpose. One activist called the situation "too ghastly...

Business execs arrested for refusing to cut prices By Angus Shaw ASSOCIATED PRESS July 9, 2007 HARARE, Zimbabwe – Police arrested 16 more business leaders in a crackdown on those suspected of violating the government's order to slash prices by 50 percent, the official media reported yesterday. The mandated price cuts ordered more than two weeks ago are a desperate attempt to confront inflation that has spun out of control during Zimbabwe's economic crisis. The falling prices have caused stampedes, panic buying and near-riots. Among those arrested in the latest sweep were the directors of Edgars, a leading clothing and...

JOHANNESBURG, June 22 — As Zimbabwe’s disintegration gathers potentially unstoppable momentum, a swelling tide of migrants is moving into neighboring South Africa, driven into exile by oppression, unemployment and inflation so relentless that many goods now double in price weekly. South Africa is deporting an average of 3,900 illegal Zimbabwean migrants every week, the International Organization for Migration says. That is up more than 40 percent from the second half of 2006, and six times the number South African officials said they were expelling in late 2003. And that reflects only those who are captured. Many more Zimbabweans slip into...

Zimbabwe won approval last night to head a key United Nations body charged with promoting economic progress and environmental protection despite protests from the U.S., European nations and human rights organizations. The approval was voted 26-21 with three abstentions by the 53-member U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development despite the fact that the government of President Robert Mugabe presides over one of the world's worst-performing economies. The post of chairman traditionally rotates among the regions of the world and it is Africa's turn this year. The government of Zimbabwe nominated Francis Nhema, the minister of environment, to chair the commission. Mr....