Zimbabwe in the News

This page is about the turmoil in Zimbabwe, the heavy-handed rule of Robert Mugabe, the expulsion of white farmers because they were white, economic collapse, property seizures, and the suffering of the general population.  Somehow the situation hasn't received a lot of attention in the American news media.  Perhaps this is because Zimbabwe doesn't have a lot of oil, or perhaps the U.S. news media dare not criticize a black "leader" under any circumstances.

More probably, news about Zimbabwe is suppressed because it is politically incorrect to come out and say that the people of Zimbabwe were much better off under white colonial leadership, back when the country was called Rhodesia.  Mr. Mugabe is still considered a great leader — as good as any other — by many members of the United Nations.  That in itself tells us a lot about the U.N.

Why do I care?  This is what the idea of "reparations" for 19th-century injustices really means.  Mugabe's rounding up and imprisoning the white farmers is justified, in his view, by the whites having taken control of the country about 100 years ago.  Black "leaders" like Louis Farrakhan seem to be delighted by what's happening there.  But it also shows what uncontrolled land grabs and property seizures can do to a country.

The story of Zimbabwe's miserable situation is the story of a power-crazed communist dictator who has single-handedly wrecked one of the strongest and most prosperous countries in Africa.  It is the story of a black racist government that has violently driven out white farmers just because they are white.  It is the story of a country that now endures mind-boggling rates of inflation — where a loaf of bread costs billions of dollars.  In spite of all the above, it is a story that is all but completely ignored by the American press, primarily — in my opinion — because the villain is black.

This page is mostly about current events.  The situation in Zimbabwe has been headed in the same direction for well over a decade.  More about Zimbabwe's history over the last 50 years can be found here.


Recap and overview:

These articles sum up the current situation and the roots of Zimbabwe's troubles.

Zimbabwe is in the throes of an 'economic meltdown'.  Zimbabwe's relations with the West became strained after Mugabe's government launched controversial land reforms in 2000, seizing farms from white commercial farmers for redistribution to landless blacks.  Ties worsened when the United States and the European Union imposed targeted sanctions on Mugabe and members of his inner circle following the country's 2002 presidential election dismissed by the opposition as a fraud.  The country is now operating a budget deficit largely financed by the printing of money.

Alone again.  Isolated by the West and the world, Robert Mugabe maintains his grip on a desperate and fearful nation.

From Rhodesia to Zimbabwe.  As President Jimmy Carter's emissary to Africa, [Andrew] Young played a pivotal role — along with Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, and other Carter administration officials — in enthroning Mugabe's terror regime and turning much of the Dark Continent into the nightmarish slaughterhouse of chaos and terror it has become.

Published in May, 2000:
 Self-imposed starvation.  What's going on in Zimbabwe is part of what has been a general pattern in Africa and elsewhere:  The most productive people are forced to flee.  Not only do white Africans flee, but the most productive black Africans flee, as well.  Black Africans do well when they come to the United States and Europe, while their brethren at home perish.

The great paradox about Zimbabwe's Mugabe:  You may not believe this.  Of all the Heads of State in office today, Mugabe almost certainly is the most educated.  He has seven university degrees.  They are not honorary ones.  They are all earned.  Which brings me to the great paradox about the man.  He is not a simpleton like Idi Amin, nor like Jean-Bedel Bokassa, or Samuel Doe.  So what went wrong?

Botswana and Zimbabwe:  A Tale of Two Countries.  Since gaining independence, one has become a success while the other has become a dismal failure. ... Zimbabwe suffers from an 80 percent unemployment rate and, according to the International Monetary Fund, an inflation rate exceeding 150,000 percent.  Since 1994, the average life expectancy for women in Zimbabwe has fallen from 57 years to 34 years; among men it has dropped from 54 years to 37 years.  Some 3,500 Zimbabweans die every week from the combined effects of HIV/AIDS, poverty, and malnutrition.  Half a million Zimbabweans may have died since 2000, while some 3 million fled to South Africa alone.

Zimbabwe and the Liberal Mind:  Robert Mugabe:  exalted oppressor of the Zimbabwean people, jailer of opponents, suppressor of every human right known to man and then some.  Robert Mugabe, all-round tyrant, despot and jerk, as well as unwitting generator of a certain nostalgia for the bad old days of topees and gin and tonics.  Maybe, after all, we think, watching Zimbabwe's plunge into the Dark Ages, amid economic ruination and the shutdown of civil liberties, black isn't automatically the color of virtue, nor white the color of viciousness.  Maybe the old empires, which certainly had their demerits, had, as well, some good points.  For one thing, they'd allow you a fair trial.

A Heaping Bowl of Mush.  Conditions in the former British colony of Rhodesia could not be more horrific.  After nearly 30 years of independence, presided over by the Marxist tyrant and psychotic Robert Mugabe, the country, once the "breadbasket of Africa," has reverted to something resembling an atavistic state.  The economy is essentially dysfunctional, inflation has wiped out savings and capital, "food shortages" have given way to starvation, and the daily life of most Zimbabweans is a combination of grubbing for subsistence and avoiding the attention of Mugabe's armed thugs.

Mugabe Shuns Tents, Innocence Dies in Egeland's UN Aid Memoirs.  When Jan Egeland arrived in Zimbabwe as the United Nations's emergency-relief coordinator in December 2005, he offered tents to shelter thousands of slum dwellers whose homes President Robert Mugabe had ordered destroyed.  "Tents are for Arabs!" Mugabe said, rebuffing the offer.  "It was one of those situations when you do not know whether to cry, laugh, or shout," Egeland writes in "A Billion Lives," a book chronicling his more than three years as the head of UN efforts to help victims of civil wars, natural disasters and brutish governments.

How paradise turned to poverty.  Last year, Justine Shaw was forced to flee her beloved Zimbabwe.  Like millions of others, she had suffered years of threats, poverty and intimidation at the hands of Robert Mugabe's men.  Here, she recounts how paradise turned to poverty — and her fears for the elderly parents she left behind.


The latest:
 Mugabe's threat could end power-sharing negotiations.  Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, said he will name a new cabinet if opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai refuses to sign a power-sharing deal by Thursday, the state-owned newspaper reported on Thursday — a deal that both sides have confirmed would leave Mugabe himself in command.

Zimbabwe doctors' advice:  Don't get sick.  The advice of doctors to Zimbabweans is, don't get sick.  If you do, don't count on hospitals — they're short of drugs and functioning equipment.  As the economy collapses, the laboratory at a main 1,000-bed hospital has virtually shut down.  X-ray materials, injectable antibiotics and anticonvulsants have run out.

Zimbabwe travel ban lifted by Foreign Office.  The [British] Foreign Office lifted its ban on travel to Zimbabwe this week following a decrease in violence in the country, although warnings remain against visits to some areas.  The lifting of the ban was welcomed by African tour operators.

Okay, but...
 Who goes on holiday to Zimbabwe?  The Foreign Office warns against all but essential travel to Zimbabwe, but according to the country's tourism chiefs, thousands of people from overseas still head there every year.  So who are Zimbabwe's tourists and why do they go?

Boo and hiss as much as you like, Robert Mugabe's still in power.  Zimbabwe sailed into uncharted waters this week with only one thing certain:  President Mugabe's hand is still firmly on the rudder.  Although his ruling Zanu (PF) party lost the position of Speaker of Parliament on Monday for the first time since independence in 1980, talk of it being the endgame for the octogenarian's brutal rule is premature.

Zimbabwe swimmer gets cash prize.  Kirsty Coventry won all of Zimbabwe's four medals at the Beijing games, taking them to 38th in the medal table.  She was given the money, worth £54,890, in a suitcase by the governor of the central bank. ... It was rare praise for a white Zimbabwean, our correspondent notes:  Mr Mugabe has spent much of the last 10 years repossessing white owned farms and railing against Britain and the West.

Zimbabwe farmer victim of latest Mugabe land eviction.  Kobus Joubert, who is in his 70s, is a former president of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association, whose members used to earn 40 percent of the country's export earnings before Mr Mugabe destroyed commercial agriculture with the seizure of white-owned land.  He once farmed 1,200 acres, but he and his wife Maryanna have been left sleeping in a lorry, loaded with a few meagre possessions they have been able to salvage.

Impoverished Zimbabweans are killing elephants, claim activists.  Elephants in Zimbabwe are being shot and eaten as wildlife is decimated by the impact of the country's economic crisis, activists claimed today [8/14/2008].  Almost 2,000 elephants have been killed in and around the Hwange national park in north-west Zimbabwe this year, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force claimed, adding that the country's national parks department intended to authorise the shooting of 1,000 more by the end of the year.

Robert Mugabe 'strikes deal to exclude Morgan Tsvangirai'.  Robert Mugabe last night appeared to have ensured his political survival by splitting the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.  A senior member of Mr Mugabe's ruling Zanu (PF) party said that the 84-year-old dictator had agreed to set up a coalition government with Arthur Mutambara, the leader of a breakaway faction of the MDC with ten seats in Parliament.

Talks in Zimbabwe falter as Tsvangirai refuses to concede power to Mugabe.  Talks to end Zimbabwe's political crisis were bogged down yesterday [8/11/2008] as Morgan Tsvangirai resisted intense pressure to agree to Robert Mugabe retaining much of his power.  A second day of gruelling negotiations broke up last night without agreement and Mugabe gave a downbeat assessment, saying they were not making progress at present but that he hoped differences "will be overcome" when the talks resume today.

S. African President Arrives in Zimbabwe for Inter-Party Talks.  South African President Thabo Mbeki has arrived in Zimbabwe to meet with President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, in an effort to broker a power-sharing deal between them.  Mr. Mbeki arrived in the capital, Harare, Saturday amid reports that the two sides are close to an agreement.  The state-run Herald newspaper quotes a presidential spokesman as saying the talks represent a milestone in relations between the two parties.

Mbeki in Zimbabwe for power-sharing talks.  Zimbabwe mediator South African President Thabo Mbeki arrived in Harare on Saturday for power-sharing talks amid growing optimism over an agreement, witnesses said.

Beijing sends Mugabe packing.  Zimbabwe's President, Robert Mugabe, has been forced to return home following intense political pressure from the Chinese Communist Party not to attend Friday night's opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games.

China pumps money into Zim.  China has further strengthened its ties with Zimbabwe after Chinese mining giant China Jiangxi Corporation for International and Technical Cooperation (CJIC) announced plans to form a joint venture company with the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) to mine chrome in Zimbabwe.  According to a report carried by The Zimbabwe Guardian on Wednesday [8/6/2008], CJIC has agreed to bankroll the development of two chrome mines.

Red Cross appeals for money to feed millions of Zimbabweans.  The Red Cross in Zimbabwe on Wednesday issued an emergency appeal to donors for 26.6 million dollars for food aid to Zimbabwe, saying millions in the politically and economically unstable country faced hunger. … The number of people in need could rise to up to 5.1 million, almost half the population, by the end of the year, the IFRC noted.

Risks of Inflation:  new Zimbabwe bank notes.  "One major commercial bank said its automated teller machines are not configured to dispense multi-zero withdrawals and freeze in what it called a "data overflow error."  Software writers are busy writing programs to try to overcome the problem."

Zimbabwe's Money Worth More As eBay Novelty Than As Actual Money.  Amid Zimbabwe's mind-boggling hyper inflation, a new 100 billion dollar bank note has more value as a novelty item on eBay than on the streets of the capital.  The note, launched this week, is worth enough to buy a loaf of bread — if you can find one on Zimbabwe's depleted store shelves.  Meanwhile on eBay, the bill was on offer for nearly US$80.

Mugabe's no Einstein.  With talks in South Africa set to resume this weekend on Zimbabwe's impasse, strongman Robert Mugabe has suddenly rediscovered his nation's disastrous economy.  Not that Mr. Mugabe has applied the right lessons.  On Wednesday [7/31/2008], the regime rolled out an old classic in government economic illiteracy — a new zim dollar that simply knocks 10 digits off the old currency's denomination.  So, a loaf of bread that previously cost Z$50 billion now costs either $50 billion of the old zim dollars, or $5 in new ones.

200 billion dollars for a loaf of bread.
 Obsolete coins cause chaos at Zimbabwe tills.  The central bank, overwhelmed by stratospheric inflation, this week cut 10 zeros from the currency and reintroduced coins made obsolete in 2002 when they became worthless.  A $1 coin now is worth 10 billion of the old dollars.  On Friday [8/1/2008], about 20 $1-coins — or 200 billion Zimbabwe dollars — could buy a loaf of scarce bread if it could be found in a downtown supermarket.  That's about $5 at the official rate and $2 at the black market rate that better reflects the value of the currency.

Zimbabwe to remove 'zeros' from currency.  Previous currency reforms have failed to tame Zimbabwe's inflation — officially pegged at 2.2 million percent a year but estimated by independent analysts to be closer to 12.5 million percent.  It also has become virtually impossible to get access to cash as the country's economic collapse worsens.

U.S. Must Give U.N. the Boot.  I've demanded it before, to no avail.  Now, the U.S. should again consider getting out of the U.N., and the U.N. out of the U.S.  What better timing than in a transitional election year?  Nothing of lasting importance ever happens at the U.N. Why throw good money after bad?  The straw that broke this camel's back has been the U.N. refusal (or inability) to do anything about the brutal dictatorship in Zimbabwe….

Zimbabwe army nearing collapse as recruits lack basic training.  President Robert Mugabe relies on the army to keep him in power and its generals are now believed to be the most powerful men in Zimbabwe.  While they have grown rich, hyperinflation now exceeding two million percent has impoverished their troops.

South Africa tells Robert Mugabe to surrender.  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 signs a deal to give up all effective power.

Robert Mugabe forced into talks with opposition.  Beijing put pressure on Mr Mugabe to begin talks because of fears that the continuing crisis in Zimbabwe risked overshadowing the Olympics, according to government and diplomatic sources.  China's leaders, who have have long enjoyed a close relationship with Zimbabwe's beleagured president, feared growing protests in the run-up to the Games and so leaned on Mr Mugabe to agree to the historic talks which began on Thursday.

Mugabe's power ploy:  [Scroll down]  The ruling elite are not troubled.  Some make good money out of Zimbabwe's ruin.  They are shifting their money overseas; sending the Zimbabwe dollar on down.  They can always bring a little foreign exchange back and buy a few trillion dollars to pay servants and purchase food and black-market fuel.

EU hits Zimbabwe with enhanced sanctions package.  The European Union stepped up sanctions against Zimbabwe yesterday [7/22/2008], in an effort to increase pressure on Robert Mugabe a day after he signed a pact to enter power-sharing talks with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Zimbabwean currency Army may go unpaid as sanctions dry up supply of paper for Zimbabwe banknotes.  The Zimbabwean government is struggling to find enough cash to pay its workers, and more importantly the military, after it was forced to cut back on printing money because sanctions have severed its supply of banknote paper from Europe.

The Editor says...
 That's a lot of zeros.  If inflation doesn't slow down, they may have to start using floating-point numbers!

Mugabe's thugs waved through Australian skies.  Air Zimbabwe is using Australian air space to ferry military officials and war veterans responsible for political violence in Robert Mugabe's repressive regime to China.  Flights from Harare, also carrying tonnes of illicit goods including ivory, gold and diamonds, pass directly through Australian air space en route to Singapore, before touching down in Beijing and southern China.

Threat of mass starvation looms in Zimbabwe after latest harvest fails.  Millions of Zimbabweans are threatened with starvation after the widespread failure of the latest harvest brought on by the government's disastrous mishandling of land redistribution, and food shortages in the shops caused by hyperinflation.  The United Nations says hundreds of thousands of people require food aid immediately because they have harvested little or nothing in recent weeks.

Zimbabwe Rivals Sign Agreement.  Zimbabwe's feuding political leaders appeared jointly for the first time in years on Monday to sign a preliminary agreement laying out terms for negotiations to wrest their land out of political chaos.

Zimbabwe leaders agree talks pact.  President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have signed a deal outlining a framework for talks on Zimbabwe's political crisis.  The pair — who shook hands after the signing — have been locked in a bitter dispute over this year's presidential elections.

Mugabe's Post-Election Media Blitz:  In the face of growing condemnation from the international community, President Robert Mugabe is appealing to the Zimbabwean public for support as he battles for legitimacy.  In what amounts to an after-the-fact election campaign, the state-owned media have gone into overdrive to try to salvage Mugabe's battered image after the second-round presidential election held on June 27.

Mugabe is, and remains illegitimate.  The Junta in Zimbabwe received a shot in the arm when its "look east" policy yielded the most rewarding political fruits at the United Nations meeting in New York last week.  A motion to impose international sanctions against Mugabe and 13 of his hardliners failed in the UN Security Council when it was opposed by China and Russia, permanent members with veto powers supported by South Africa and current Chair of the Council Vietnam.

Mugabe threatens to seize foreign firms.  Zimbabwe will transfer ownership of all foreign-owned firms that support Western sanctions against President Robert Mugabe's government to locals and investors from "friendly" countries, a state newspaper reported on Sunday [7/20/2008].  The southern African state is struggling with an economic crisis many blame on Mugabe's policies, which has left it with an inflation rate of over 2.2 million percent and chronic shortages of food and other basic needs.

Synopsis from DX Listening Digest.
 New Chinese Jamming Equipment for Zimbabwe?  The Harare Tribune says that the Zimbabwe government recently received another shipment of jamming equipment from China.  Landing records, shown to the newspaper's reporter at Harare International Airport by port authorities, confirmed that the government received the equipment on 17 May.  The newspaper says that both Studio 7 and SW Radio Africa have taken on to broadcasting on multiple frequencies in order to beat the jamming operation carried out by the CIO with the assistance of the Chinese attaches.

Inflation under-estimated at 2.2 million percent.  Economists believe the Central Statistics Office (CSO), which released the new figures, was conservative.  The real inflation in the country is around 10,500,000 percent.  Rising costs are forcing retailers to increase prices a number of times a day for goods purchased with billion dollar bank notes and the number of people falling into poverty is on the rise.

Zimbabwe releases $100 billion note.  Zimbabwe, grappling with record 2.2 million percent inflation, has introduced a new 100-billion-dollar bank note in a bid to tackle rampant cash shortages.  The new note will go into circulation on Monday [7/21/2008], the central bank said in a statement cited by state media.

Sharing power with Mugabe may be the only option.  Zimbabwe's beaten down opposition may end up being forced to accept what it swears is unacceptable — a power-sharing deal with President Robert Mugabe.

Come in Zimbabwe, are you there?  Zimbabwe has been having a lot of problems lately.  A sketchy election, violence and astronomical inflation.  Along with all that, it has become [nearly] impossible to get a call through to the country.  I've been trying to get someone in Zimbabwe on the line for our show and I keep running into a wall of busy signals!

Zimbabwe government puts inflation rate at record 2.2 million percent.  Zimbabwe's official inflation rate has escalated to 2.2 million percent, driving the cost of a loaf of bread to about one-third of a teacher's monthly salary.  But independent economists swiftly dismissed the government's figure, saying the true rate was several times higher and rising faster than ever.

We should never expect justice from the UN.  So, Russia and China have vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution to impose international sanctions on key members of Zimbabwe's government.  The British government's entire diplomatic strategy on Zimbabwe has thus ignominiously collapsed.  This is a particular humiliation for Gordon Brown after he thought he had persuaded all the G8 countries — including Russia — to back punitive measures against the Mugabe regime.

So Popular and So Spineless.  Welcome to a world of too much Russian and Chinese power.  I am neither a Russia-basher nor a China-basher.  But there was something truly filthy about Russia's and China's vetoes of the American-led U.N. Security Council effort to impose targeted sanctions on Robert Mugabe's ruling clique in Zimbabwe.

Stop the press:  Mugabe out of Monopoly money.  It has come to this — Zimbabwe is about to run out of the paper to print money on.  Fidelity Printers & Refiners, the state-owned company that tirelessly churns out bank notes for the Mugabe regime, was thrown into a crisis early this month after a German company stopped supplying bank note paper because of concerns over Zimbabwe's recent violent presidential election, widely seen as fraudulent by international observers. … The highest denomination [of Zimbabwean currency] is now $50 billion (worth $US1 on the street).

Battered but not beaten, Zimbabwe farmers seek justice.  It was a frigid June night at Pickstone Mine in Zimbabwe when 67-year-old Angela Campbell — soaking wet, her arm broken and a gun to her head — signed a document vowing to give up the fight for her family's farm.  The kidnappers demanding her signature at gunpoint were "war veterans" from President Robert Mugabe's heyday as a liberation hero, and they made it clear that her refusal would mean more beatings.

Inventor Bayliss hits out at Mugabe's radio ban.  Inventor Trevor Bayliss has hit out at the "horrible cruelty" of Robert Mugabe in banning Zimbabweans from using his wind-up radio.  The man credited with changing the lives of thousands of Africans with the clockwork radio said he only found out about the Zimbabwean President's crackdown on independent media from a friend.  "I was absolutely shocked and appalled," said the 71-year-old from Twickenham.

Russia, China Veto UN Sanctions for Mugabe Regime.  Russia and China vetoed proposed sanctions on Zimbabwe on Friday [7/11/2008], rejecting U.S. efforts to step up punitive measures after the African nation's disputed presidential election.

The UN fails again.
 Zimbabwe says sanctions failure a victory over racism.  Zimbabwe on Saturday [7/12/2008] welcomed the failure of a Western-backed U.N. Security Council resolution to impose sanctions over its violent presidential elections, calling it a victory over racism and meddling in its affairs.  Russia and China on Friday vetoed the resolution, which would have imposed an arms embargo on the southern African country and financial and travel restrictions on President Robert Mugabe and 13 other officials.

Did someone mention The UN?

Support grows for UN sanctions against Zimbabwe.  A majority of U.N. Security Council member countries support a proposal to sanction Zimbabwe and freeze the assets of President Robert Mugabe, French and U.S. officials said Tuesday, but Russia warned it might veto the plan.  A vote on a U.S. draft resolution calling for sanctions over state-sanctioned election violence in Zimbabwe is expected later this week.

Zimbabwe sanctions could lead to civil war, Mbeki warns leaders.  South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, was given a fierce grilling by G8 leaders yesterday [7/7/2008] at a private meeting at which they told him that they did not believe his mediation efforts in Zimbabwe were succeeding.  They also rejected his suggestion that Robert Mugabe remain as titular head of Zimbabwe.

Tyrant thrives as world looks away.  The 30-year friendship between South African President Thabo Mbeki and [Robert] Mugabe is the reason Mbeki was the wrong person to be appointed to mediate Zimbabwe's conflict.  Mbeki has refused to criticise Mugabe throughout the Zimbabwean crisis, nor has South Africa seriously attempted to put economic pressure on Zimbabwe despite the obvious butchery of Mugabe's regime.  Mbeki's policy of "quiet diplomacy" is a synonym for inaction.

Robert Mugabe uses food as weapon as famine looms.  A crop assessment by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says that the country that once fed scores of famine-stricken African nations will harvest only 575,000 tonnes of maize, the national staple, from last summer's crop — only 28 percent of the grain needed to feed the country's estimated 11.8 million people.

Mugabe thugs raping teens:  aid staff.  Dozens of teenage girls have been made pregnant after being taken into the bush and raped in torture camps by President Robert Mugabe's youth militia operating near Mudzi, a town 160km northeast of Harare, human rights workers allege.  Amid the continuing chaos, there are as yet no clear statistics, but the sharp rise in teenage pregnancies seems almost certain to have been repeated elsewhere in rural districts.

Forbidden Voices From Zimbabwe.  From a back room in a London commuter town, a secret radio station is broadcasting the voice Robert Mugabe's government doesn't want his people to hear.

Mugabe pardons Zanu thugs.  With almost as much indecent haste as he inaugurated himself as president, against the wishes of the people of Zimbabwe, the leader of military junta, Robert Mugabe, has declared a blanket amnesty that will free hundreds of Zanu (PF) thugs who may have been convicted for state-sanctioned violence in the aftermath of the March 27 elections.

UN lines up big names for key role in pincer move to oust Mugabe.  Pressure was mounting last night for the key role of mediating an end to the crisis in Zimbabwe to be taken out of the hands of Thabo Mbeki, the President of South Africa, whose "softly softly" approach to Robert Mugabe has been condemned worldwide.  The UN's push for greater involvement came amid mounting frustration with the failure of current mediation efforts.

UN Security Council May Not Sanction Mugabe.  Long accused by critics of a timid approach to the crisis in Zimbabwe, the government of neighboring South Africa is now leading opposition in the U.N. Security Council to U.S.-led efforts to impose sanctions against Robert Mugabe's regime.

Robert Mugabe sails through summit unchallenged.  A defiant Robert Mugabe has sailed unchallenged through the first test of his presidency by his peers.  Freshly sworn in after a single candidate election, he received a leader's welcome when he strode into the African Union summit in Sharm el-Sheikh yesterday and emerged unfazed, his authority intact.

Iran 'respects' Zimbabwe poll result.  Iran today said it "respects" the outcome of Zimbabwe's one-man presidential election which saw veteran incumbent Robert Mugabe stay in power but was denounced as a farce by the West.  "We respect the will of the Zimbabwean people expressed in the second round of the presidential elections, whatever it is," foreign ministry Mohammad Ali Hosseini said.

Mugabe aide tells West:  'Go hang'.  A spokesman for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has rejected Western criticism of the country's disputed presidential run-off election.  At an African Union summit in Egypt, George Charamba said the West had no basis to speak about the situation — and can "go hang a thousand times".

Zimbabwe white farmers beaten up by Robert Mugabe's regime plead for help.  Ben Freeth and his parents-in-law Mike Campbell, 75, and Angela Campbell, 70, were set upon by a gang of thugs armed with hunting rifles and shotguns when they returned to their farm near Chegutu, 60 miles west of Harare on Sunday.  "As I was driving in they shot my vehicle," Mr Freeth said last night from a hospital in Harare.

The Editor says...
 This is the peculiar thing about press coverage from Zimbabwe:  Supposedly the last of the white farmers had been driven out weeks ago, yet the reporters keep finding more white farmers.

Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe 'a hero', say African leaders.  African leaders gathering for a summit have greeted President Robert Mugabe as a "hero", dashing hopes that Zimbabwe's regime would come under immediate international pressure.

Street Vendor Arrested For Listening To Voice Of America.  Police in Harare have charged a street vendor for listening to a special news programme on Zimbabwe broadcast by the Voice of America, as President Robert Mugabe's government tries hard to limit alternative information available to voters ahead of a run-off presidential election next week.  The vendor, Noel Tichawana, who was arrested about three weeks ago will appear in court on 15 July to answer to charges of committing criminal nuisance after he was caught listening to the programme, Studio 7, that broadcasts political, economic and general news on Zimbabwe.

If you own a satellite dish in Zimbabwe, you may have your home burned down.  Residents from the mining town of Kadoma awoke Friday morning [6/20/2008] to the sound of Zanu PF thugs demanding they pull down their satellite dishes or risk having their homes burnt down.

Zimbabwe Central Bank Seen Constrained In Money-Printing Operations.  The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's main monetary tool for years has been the printing press as it has churned out ever-higher-denomination notes reflecting hyperinflation that economists now estimate is running as high as 10 million percent a year.  But European pressures have cut the RBZ's off from its German banknote paper supplier, limiting its options.

Zimbabwe's Mugabe Says Opposition Must Accept Him as President.  Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe says the opposition must accept him as the country's leader if it wants to hold talks on ending Zimbabwe's political crisis.

Hidden Camera Footage Shows 'Vote-Rigging' in Zimbabwe.  A British newspaper says secret footage taken at a Zimbabwean prison shows how a supporter of President Robert Mugabe rigged the country's June 27 runoff election.  The Guardian newspaper says former prison guard Shepherd Yuda shot the film for the newspaper six days before the presidential run-off vote and smuggled it out of Zimbabwe.

Windup Radios Are Banned In Zimbabwe.  Authorities in Zimbabwe have banned wind-up receivers, a favourite among nongovernmental organisations seeking to promote access to information in rural areas.  Their presence has often spawned listening clubs accused of tuning in on "illegal" foreign news bulletins broadcast through shortwave or AM.  Instead of batteries, which are almost unavailable in Zimbabwe, the low-priced gadgets are powered by human muscle.

VOA Expands Coverage Of Zimbabwe's Run-Off Election.  The Voice of America (VOA) has expanded coverage of Zimbabwe's presidential run-off election to provide up-to-the-minute, multi-media news and information to millions in the country, which has experienced a surge in political violence.

Heads roll at ZBC.  A total of eight senior journalists have been suspended at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) amid accusations they are sympathetic to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). … Their suspension follows that of former chief executive Henry Muradzikwa who was fired last month for allegedly failing to ensure a victory for President Robert Mugabe who was trounced by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Pressure Ramped Up on Zimbabwean Media.  As President Robert Mugabe intensifies his crackdown on political dissent in the run-up to the second round of the presidential election, the media have become prime targets.  Journalists have been arrested, articles rejected by the state press, and a shipment of newspapers set alight in the government's attempts to silence voices critical of Mugabe.

Daily Media Update No. 57:  Enjoying a monopoly on the local news market again today, the government dailies, The Herald and Chronicle took the opportunity to distort the critical verdicts of all three African observer missions and downplay almost universal condemnation of Friday's presidential run-off, particularly by regional leaders attending the African Union summit in Egypt.  Instead, the papers continued to pervert any truthful interpretation by focusing on the few selective statements endorsing Robert Mugabe's return to the presidency.

Weekly Media Update #2008-16:  MMPZ condemns in the strongest terms the frightening transformation of the public media into becoming the purveyors of appalling hate messages against critics of the ruling party and its political opposition, the MDC, and particularly its presidential candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai.

Hopes fade for deal in Zimbabwe election crisis.  African efforts to encourage a deal between Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and his opponents showed no results Tuesday [7/1/2008], while Mugabe's spokesman defiantly said his boss has no plans to step down and told Western critics they can "go hang."

Canada condemns Zimbabwe polls, imposes sanctions.  Canada on Sunday condemned Zimbabwe's one-man election as "illegitimate" and announced a series of sanctions as President Robert Mugabe was sworn to a new term in Harare.

Mugabe sworn in as president for further five years (1st Lead).  Incumbent Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe was sworn as president for another five years Sunday [6/29/2008] at a ceremony in Harare after sweeping the polls in a go-it-alone presidential election run-off.  The BBC reported that Mugabe had been hastily sworn in after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) released the results.

Defiant Mugabe sworn in as president, again.  Once feted as a champion of democracy, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has been denounced around the world after an election in which he is accused of using brutal violence to maintain his hold on power.

Tsvangirai rejects invitation to Mugabe inauguration.  Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Sunday rejected a government invitation to the inauguration of President Robert Mugabe for a new term and called on Africa not to recognize his re-election.

Zimbabweans stuck dealing with the devil.  The farcical presidential election run-off in Zimbabwe has come and gone.  Predictably Zanu-PF used all sorts of intimidation tactics to force people to the polls so Robert Mugabe — the only candidate after last Sunday's withdrawal by Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai — will win by a wide margin.

Zimbabwe's last white farmer forced to quit.  Zimbabwe's once proud white farming community is facing extinction, as President Robert Mugabe steps up his campaign of violence and intimidation on all fronts.

Mugabe's British Enablers:  "We've done enough damage.  All we can do is send food," writes Simon Jenkins in The Guardian, regarding the crisis in Zimbabwe.  The "we" is not Robert Mugabe or his ZANU-PF thugocracy, as you might suspect, but the British.

Leftists are to blame for Robert Mugabe's blood-letting.  A few years ago, when the tyrant of Zimbabwe was moving from being wicked to being downright evil, I wrote that we should invade Harare, depose him, and supervise free elections.  Invited to appear on a BBC programme to defend this stance, I was assailed by an "Africa expert" who told me that diplomatic pressure on Mugabe was bound to work, that the idea of sending the Parachute Regiment in to sort the monster out was offensively colonialist, and that I was wrong.  White liberals like him are as much to blame for the terror, starvation, brutality and genocide that now scar this once-rich and stable country.

Mandela joins chorus against Mugabe.  Former South African president Nelson Mandela has broken his silence on Zimbabwe, blaming the country's crisis on a "tragic failure of leadership".  At a celebrity fundraising dinner in London to mark his 90th birthday, Mr Mandela referred to Zimbabwe as he detailed a string of problems faced by the world.

No Sir!
 Mugabe criticized by Mandela, loses knighthood.  Queen Elizabeth II stripped Robert Mugabe of his ceremonial knighthood on Wednesday [6/25/2008], revoking the honor amid new attempts to rebuke the president of Zimbabwe and express revulsion over human rights abuses in his country.

Mugabe rival quits election race.  Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he is pulling out of Friday's presidential run-off, handing victory to President Robert Mugabe.  Mr Tsvangirai said there was no point running when elections would not be free and fair and "the outcome is determined by... Mugabe himself".

Tsvangirai calls for international intervention in Zimbabwe.  Zimbabwe's Presidential run-off poll is in tatters after the chief challenger to dictator Robert Mugabe pulled out of the race in a move to protect the people of Zimbabwe from escalating violence.

Zimbabwe opposition leader pulling out of election.  Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of Zimbabwe's violence-wracked presidential runoff Sunday [6/22/2008], declaring that the election was no longer credible and the loss of life among his supporters was simply too high.

Zimbabwe's collapse is no longer question of if, but when.  For a man who has battled for nearly a decade to become President of Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai's decision to pull out of the race against Robert Mugabe only days before polling must have been the toughest of his career.  The former union boss has suffered arrest and beatings at the hands of his rival.  His supporters have been murdered, arrested and tortured.  Many wanted him to continue the fight until election day on Friday, but he reached the conclusion that staying in the presidential race would only lead to more bloodshed.

We're eating Zimbabwe's food... as its people starve.  Supermarkets have been condemned for selling produce from Zimbabwe at a time when many in the stricken country are going hungry.  Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose and others are selling vegetables and fish exported amid the violence.  Foreign currency from such deals is understood to be propping up Robert Mugabe's regime.

Thabo Mbeki tries to stop Zimbabwe poll.  South African President Thabo Mbeki has sought to cancel Zimbabwe's presidential runoff next week in favour of talks on forming a unity government.  Mr Mbeki, appointed mediator for Zimbabwe's crisis by the 14-nation Southern African Development Community, visited the neighbouring country on Wednesday [6/18/2008], holding separate talks with President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Africa turns up heat on Zimbabwe.  African states monitoring Zimbabwe's election campaign have added their voice to growing international pressure over the presidential run-off vote.  The head of a troika of observer states told the BBC violence could make a free vote impossible but his concerns were dismissed by the ruling Zanu-PF party.

'Only God' will oust Mugabe.  Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe said today [6/21/2008] "only God" could remove him from office, in comments ahead of next week's presidential runoff election.  "The MDC will never be allowed to rule this country — never ever," President Mugabe said in a meeting with local business people.

Zimbabwe's voters told: choose Mugabe or you face a bullet.  The soldiers and ruling party militiamen herded the people of Rusape to an open field at the back of the local sports club and made their point crystal clear.  "Your vote is your bullet," a soldier told the terrified crowd.  Everyone knew what he meant.

War crimes warning to Robert Mugabe as terror grows.  With just a week to go before Zimbabwe's run-off elections — and with the body count growing — President Mugabe has been warned that he could be hauled before the International Criminal Court in The Hague over the atrocities inflicted on his opponents.  A key Western diplomat, speaking yesterday on condition of anonymity, said:  "He needs to know he is moments away from an ICC indictment."

Robert Mugabe lashes out at aid agencies.  President Robert Mugabe has accused foreign aid agencies of using food as a weapon to try to remove him from power, state media has reported.  Mr Mugabe, whose government ordered aid agencies to stop work on June 4, has himself been accused by Western countries and human rights groups of using food as a political tool ahead a June 27 presidential election re-run.

Mugabe rules out change of power in his lifetime.  With less than two weeks to go before an election run-off for the highest office in the land, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe on Saturday [6/14/2008] ruled out a change of power in his lifetime.  Mugabe dismissed the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, saying:  "These pathetic puppets taking over this country?  Let's see.  That is not going to happen."

Mugabe says war vets ready to fight.  Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe said on Friday liberation war veterans would take up arms if he loses a June 27 presidential run-off vote.  Mugabe told youth members of his ruling ZANU-PF party in Harare that the veterans had told him they would launch a new bush war if the election was won by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, whom he accuses of being a puppet of the West.

Mugabe Readies For War Against His Own People.  With only a fortnight until the runoff election, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is vowing to go to war if his countrymen vote him out of office.  In an interview with a government newspaper, Mugabe said, "It will never happen that this land which we fought for should be taken by the MDC so that they can give it back to our former oppressors, the whites."

Thabo Mbeki blocks UN Zimbabwe agenda.  The horrors of Zimbabwe's political violence will not feature on the agenda of the UN Security Council meeting overnight after South African President Thabo Mbeki blocked an attempt to put the crisis on the program.  The Security Council will now discuss only the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe, separating it from the ongoing political violence in the lead-up to the presidential runoff.

Treason charge for Zimbabwe opposition No. 2.  President Robert Mugabe's regime struck at his rivals Thursday only two weeks before Zimbabwe's presidential runoff, twice detaining his challenger and jailing the No. 2 opposition leader to face treason charges.  The U.S. ambassador, meanwhile, said 20 tons of American food aid heading to impoverished Zimbabwean children had been seized by authorities last week and given to Mugabe supporters at a rally.

Mugabe stripped of US degree.  The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees has revoked an honorary degree awarded two decades ago to Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe. … The university has never before rescinded an honorary degree.

Where's the outcry over Mugabe's murderous turn in Zimbabwe?  Zimbabwe … has spiraled downward into disaster.  Thirty years ago, the nation was stable and productive, a net exporter of food blessed with a small class of educated black professionals ready to form its governmental bureaucracy.  Now Zimbabwe is beset by a thuggish regime that has ushered in starvation, hyperinflation, rampant unemployment, political oppression and corruption.  Yet the tyranny of Zimbabwe's black president, Robert Mugabe, has met with little reaction from America's black elite.

Barclays accused of giving Robert Mugabe 'financial lifeline'.  Barclays Bank is being accused of giving Robert Mugabe's government a "financial lifeline" in the run-up to Zimbabwe's presidential election, it emerged yesterday [6/13/2008].  Barclays' Zimbabwean subsidiary lent the Mugabe regime $46.4 million (£23 million) last year through its purchase of government and municipal bonds and is one of the main contributors to a government-run loan scheme for farm improvements, the Agricultural Sector Productivity Enhancement Facility.

Zimbabwe Police Raid Christian Offices.  Police raided Zimbabwe Christian Alliance offices on Monday [6/9/2008] and arrested five staff members for interrogation, the group reported. ... The raid was performed by Zimbabwe's riot police, which are well-known loyalist to President Robert Mugabe.  ZCA claims that at least one of its staffs was assaulted before its workers were taken to the Harare Central Police station for questioning.

Opposition councillor's son burnt alive by Mugabe militia.  For a wad of worthless Zimbabwean banknotes, President Robert Mugabe's militias burnt six-year-old Nyasha Mashoko to death.  The target of the ZANU-PF thugs had been the boy's father, Brian Mamhova.

Mugabe officials 'steal' Tsvangirai's armoured BMW.  Zimbabwe's ruling party has been accused of car theft after an armoured BMW, confiscated by police last week from the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, was spotted being driven by its officials.  A spokesman for the Movement for Democratic Change, Nqobizitha Mlilo, said the BMW X5 was impounded by police on 6 June when Mr Tsvangirai was detained for several hours at Esigodini police station in south-western Zimbabwe.

Robert Mugabe's militia burn opponent's wife alive.  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.

Mugabe no longer in charge.  The campaign of terror sweeping Zimbabwe is being run by a junta who took over the country after Robert Mugabe's shock election defeat in March.  Details of the organised violence are contained in a report released yesterday by Human Rights Watch and corroborated by senior Western diplomats, who describe the situation in Zimbabwe as a "military coup by stealth", The Australian reports.

State-sponsored explosion of violence in Zimbabwe to stop a fair vote.  Human Rights Watch allege the militia struck a deal to help Mugabe win the next election through violence and intimidation.  The violence which has been sweeping Zimbabwe since the controversial election win for Robert Mugabe in March is the result of an organised military coup, according to a human rights group.

Has Robert Mugabe effectively been replaced in a military coup?  The Zimbabwean government's campaign of terror against opponents is being run by a military junta that seized power in a secret coup, according to new claims today.  So if Robert Mugabe is not in control, exactly who is?  There has been a military coup by stealth, according to the Times today, and the Telegraph and the Independent on Friday [6/6/2008].

Zimbabwe's Stark Choice:  Vote for Mugabe or Starve.  [U.S. Ambassador James] McGee told reporters during a videoconference from the capital, Harare, this morning [6/6/2008] that his embassy has solid evidence that in order to receive food aid from the government, Zimbabweans must first show their party registration cards.  If they have a card from Mugabe's ruling party they can have access to food, but if they only have opposition cards they must turn over their national identification cards in order to receive the food they need.

Zimbabwe bans rallies by political opponents.  The opposition said today that its rallies had been banned indefinitely three weeks before the presidential runoff, while the U.S. ambassador accused President Robert Mugabe's regime of using food as a weapon to stay in power.  U.S. Ambassador James McGee said the regime is distributing food mostly to its supporters and that opposition supporters are offered food only if they hand in identification that would allow them to vote.

Cops slash tyres on visiting diplomats' cars.  Zimbabwean police detained US and British diplomats for several hours today, slashing the tyres of their cars after they visited victims of political violence ahead of a presidential vote, the US embassy said.  The US ambassador blamed the attack on President Robert Mugabe's government, which it accuses of trying to intimidate opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's supporters ahead of the June 27 run-off election.

Mugabe, Ahmadinejad excluded from UN dinner.  The Italian and UN hosts of a UN crisis summit on rising food prices excluded the leaders of Zimbabwe and Iran from the opening dinner today [6/3/2008].  Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe is able to attend the meeting only because an EU travel ban on him does not apply to UN forums.

Zimbabwean Police Detain Tsvangirai for the Second Time This Week.  Zimbabwean police have detained opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai for the second time this week, after blocking him from reaching a campaign rally.  Officials for the Movement for Democratic Change party say Mr. Tsvangirai was taken to a police station Friday in the village of Esigodini, in southern Zimbabwe.

Opposition Leaders Gloomy on Run-off Election.  Zimbabwean opposition leaders have expressed deep pessimism over the potential of the June 27 presidential election run-off to end the country's political crisis.  Speaking at a session of the World Economic Forum on Africa, they differed, however, on suggestions that the elections should be postponed and a government of national unity formed.

White farming couple beaten and kicked off land.  William Rogers and his wife, Annette, were threatened by three Robert Mugabe supporters, who told them:  "We are like hungry lions."  Dozens of Zimbabwe's last white farmers have suffered similar ordeals since Mr Mugabe lost the presidential election's first round in March.  Scores of black opposition supporters have been murdered and thousands beaten, abducted or tortured.

Report:  Zimbabwe releases opposition leader.  Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been released after a short police detention as he campaigned, his spokesman said Wednesday [6/4/2008].  Tsvangirai and a group of about 14 officials with his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had been held at a police station in Lupane.

No action on Mugabe knighthood.  British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Wednesday he was against "immediate action" to strip Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe of an honorary knighthood awarded in the early 1990s.  He was "less interested in the symbols than the substance," Brown said in parliament, in response to a call by Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg to rescind the title.

Mugabe's presence 'obscene'.  The presence of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe at a United Nations summit on food security in Rome is "obscene", Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said on Monday [6/2/2008].  Mugabe, who has presided over the collapse of his country's agriculture, arrived in Rome on Sunday for a summit of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Mugabe the Obscene.  Yes, a dictator who uses starvation to scatter and kill his own people making an appearance at an international conference devoted to raising food and feeding the hungry is an obscenity — though I add, without cynicism, that the situation isn't all that unusual.  Petty tyrants, terrorist enablers and tribal killers cluster about the wine and cheese smorgasbords of international community fetes and summits.

Mugabe unwelcome at global food summit.  Western leaders attacked Zimbabwe's president for participating in this week's U.N. summit on the global food crisis while his people are going hungry.  Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said it was "obscene" that the man "who has presided over the starvation of his people" would be attending the three-day conference.

Outrage over Mugabe and Ahmadinejad's presence in Rome.  Western leaders expressed outrage today as Robert Mugabe flew into Rome in defiance of an EU travel ban to attend a United Nations world food summit while millions of people are starving under his brutal rule in Zimbabwe.  A spokesman for Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, said: "We think it's particularly unfortunate that he has decided to attend this meeting given what he has done in relation to contributing to difficulties on food supply in Zimbabwe."

Zimbabwe's Mugabe in Rome for food summit.  The Italian and U.N. hosts of a U.N. crisis summit on rising food prices on Monday left the presidents of Zimbabwe and Iran off the guest list of a ceremonial dinner for the leaders attending the meeting.  Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is able to take part in the conference only because an EU travel ban on him does not apply to U.N. forums.

Murdered by Mugabe's mob:  Tonderai Ndira will not be campaigning when Zimbabwe votes again.  He will not rally his neighbourhood, as he did two months ago, for one last push against an unwanted regime.  Instead, he is buried in an unmarked grave in the Warren Hills cemetery in Harare.  A week on from his funeral, only his brother knows for sure which of the mounds is his.  He will not leave a marker because he believes state agents are still not finished with the murdered activist.  They would like to dig up his brother's remains to remove the incriminating evidence.

Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Zimbabwe.  [President Bush is extending] for one year the national emergency with respect to the actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Zimbabwe and other persons to undermine Zimbabwe's democratic processes or institutions.

The Editor says...
 I can see how the situation in Zimbabwe should be of great concern to our elected officials, but how does it qualify as a national emergency in this country?

Vote for Mugabe or quit the military:  General.  A top Zimbabwe army general called on the nation's soldiers to vote for Robert Mugabe in a presidential runoff or quit the military, the official media reported Saturday [5/31/2008].  Army Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Martin Chedondo told troops at a target-shooting competition to leave the military if they did not support Mugabe, the state Herald newspaper reported.

Z$1bn note highlights a foe that Robert Mugabe cannot threaten with violence.  President Mugabe has so far seen off his foes with a combination of violence, bribery and treachery.  But there is one problem that is impervious to his usual strongarm tactics:  Zimbabwe's decrepit economy.  The currency crashed unstoppably through a new low this week, passing 1 billion Zimbabwean dollars to £1, after the weekly Zimbabwe Independent quoted officials in the government statistics department as saying that inflation for the first three weeks in May was 1,700,000 percent.

Mugabe will never step aside for Tsvangirai:  wife.  Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will never vacate his office for opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai even if he loses a run-off election next month, his wife said.  Grace Mugabe told followers of her husband's ZANU-PF party that Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would not be allowed to take power under any circumstances.

The United States Must Increase the Pressure on Zimbabwe.  Mounting state-sponsored political violence leads even Mugabe's staunchest supporters to question whether elections held under current conditions could produce a result with even a modicum of legitimacy.  With the United Kingdom serving as the current President of the United Nations Security Council and the United States poised to take over in June, these countries should use their position on the Council to bring increased U.N. pressure and attention to Zimbabwe.

Regime coup threat if Mugabe loses poll.  Zimbabwe hangs in dangerous political limbo:  the ruling clique clings to power amid rumours of a coup if the incumbent, Robert Mugabe, loses the presidential run-off.  His opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai, far from facing down military hardliners, has returned to Harare after weeks of self-imposed exile, fearing assassination.  As regional leaders dither, a new wave of systematic abductions and killings of top opposition activists suggests a regime unwilling to leave office, even if it loses the second round, scheduled for June 27.

Zimbabwe's Mugabe threatens to expel US ambassador.  Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is threatening to expel the U.S. ambassador, criticizing him for advice he has given Mugabe's opponent in a presidential runoff.  Mugabe says Ambassador James McGee publicly urged opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to return to Zimbabwe to lead his embattled supporters.  Tsvangirai returned Saturday after more than six weeks abroad.  Mugabe says that if McGee continues offering advice to Tsvangirai, he will kick McGee out of the country.  Mugabe, speaking Sunday [5/25/2008] at the formal launch of his election campaign, also ridiculed claims the opposition leader was the target of a military assassination plot.

Tsvangirai:  I'm going back home.  Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said on Thursday [5/22/2008] that he would return home this weekend after nearly a month and a half out of the country despite fears of an assassination plot.

A loaf of bread costs 200,000,000 Zimbabwe dollars.
 Zim inflation a million percent.  Weary Zimbabweans are facing a new wave of massive price increases that put many basic goods out of their reach.  Independent finance houses said in an assessment Tuesday that annual inflation rose this month to 1,063,572% based on prices of a basket of basic foodstuffs.  As stores opened for business Wednesday, a small pack of locally produced coffee beans cost just short of 1 billion Zimbabwe dollars.  A decade ago, that sum would have bought 60 new cars.

Arms ship destination a mystery.  The location or future destination of a Chinese ship carrying arms and ammunition destined for Zimbabwe was unknown, the International Transport Workers Federation (ITWF) said on Thursday.  ITWF spokesperson in Durban, Sprite Zungu, said:  "We are not 100% sure where the ship is going.  We know that it left Luanda on May 4.  That's all."

'Snipers primed' in Zimbabwe plot.  Zimbabwe's opposition has alleged the military is plotting to assassinate its presidential candidate using snipers. … "We know there are 18 snipers, and the military intelligence directorate is in charge of this," MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti told reporters in Nairobi.

South Africa seeks to end anti-foreigner attacks.  Clashes pitting the poorest of the poor against one another have killed 22 people in South Africa and underscored bitter frustration with the government's failure to deliver enough jobs, housing and schools.

New unrest as black South Africa vents its anger on immigrants.  Some three million Zimbabweans have fled to South Africa from the political and economic terror waged by president Robert Mugabe.  They have been joined by an estimated one to two million economic migrants from Mozambique and Malawi.  In a country with 40 percent unemployment, ordinary black South Africans have accused the foreigners of stealing their jobs, houses and women.

Zimbabwe's half-a-billion dollar note:  Zimbabwe has introduced a new half-a-billion dollar bank note in a bid to tackle cash shortages fed by rampant inflation, the central bank said today [5/15/2008].  "Introducing the new 500,000,000 bearer cheque for your convenience," read a Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe full-page advert in the state daily, The Herald, displaying specimens of the new note.  The note, comes into circulation 10 days after the introduction of a quarter-of-a-billion one early this month.

Mobs kill 7 in anti-foreigner violence in South Africa.  Mobs rampaged through poor suburbs of Johannesburg in a frenzy of anti-foreigner violence over the weekend, killing at least seven people, injuring dozens and forcing hundreds to seek refuge at police stations.  The attacks capped a week of mounting violence that started in the sprawling township of Alexandra.  Angry residents there accused foreigners — many of them Zimbabweans who fled their own country's economic collapse — of taking scarce jobs and housing.

Zimbabwe's Rulers Unleash Police on Anglicans.  The parishioners were lined up for Holy Communion on Sunday when the riot police stormed the stately St. Francis Anglican Church in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital.  Helmeted, black-booted officers banged on the pews with their batons as terrified members of the congregation stampeded for the doors, witnesses said.

Definition of terrorism
This is the definition of "terrorism" found on page 1346 of
Funk & Wagnall's Standard Dictionary of the English Language (1949).

Mugabe rejects election observers.  Zimbabwe will not invite election observers from Western countries to monitor a presidential run-off unless they remove sanctions, state media said today, rejecting Opposition demands.  Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said Zimbabwe would not bow to pressure to invite election monitors from Western countries and the United Nations.

Zimbabwe farm workers 'forced to flee'.  Around 40,000 Zimbabwean farm workers have had to flee as a result of the violence inflicted by Robert Mugabe's mobs since the country's general election in March, a union leader has said.  Farm workers, whose livelihoods have been destroyed since Mr Mugabe began his assault on white-owned land in 2000, are often supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Mbeki, Mugabe meet in Zim.  SA President Thabo Mbeki on Friday [5/9/2008] held intensive talks with veteran counterpart Robert Mugabe over Zimbabwe's post-election crisis as doctors reported a dramatic rise in violence.  Mbeki, the southern African region's chief mediator on Zimbabwe, went straight into talks with Mugabe after arriving in Harare for his first visit since the announcement of presidential election results.

Zimbabwe Youths Kill Opposition Activists.  Gangs of youths loyal to Zimbabwe's ruling party beat to death 11 opposition activists in a remote town this week in an escalation of post-election violence, opposition party officials and witnesses said Wednesday [5/8/2008].

South Africa Plays Ball with Dictators.  Friends of Zimbabwe have long hoped for a peaceful transfer of power in that country.  But in spite of losing the March 29 elections to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the regime of Robert Mugabe is clinging to power.

Zimbabwe announces poll results.  The long-awaited results of Zimbabwe's presidential poll have been announced, with the opposition's Morgan Tsvangirai winning 47.9%, forcing a second round.  Election officials say Mr Tsvangirai beat President Robert Mugabe's 43.2%, but neither candidate passed the 50% threshold for an outright win.  A spokesman for 84-year-old Mr Mugabe says he will stand in a run-off vote.  But Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said the result was "scandalous daylight robbery".

Zimbabwe's MDC Vows to Boycott Runoff With Mugabe.  Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will boycott a second-round presidential election, his party said, after the Electoral Commission ruled he lacked the majority needed to defeat incumbent Robert Mugabe.  The decision to hold a runoff, rather than declare Tsvangirai the winner of the March 29 vote, is "theft," Tendai Biti, secretary general of the Movement for Democratic Change, told reporters at a news conference in Johannesburg, in neighboring South Africa.

Zimbabwe releases $250m bank note.  Zimbabwe's central bank, grappling with record-breaking inflation, has introduced a 250,000,000 dollar note.  "The reserve bank of Zimbabwe's governor Gideon Gono has unveiled a new 100 million and 250 million dollar ... note and this will be in circulation starting (Tuesday)," reported state television.  The report said the new note was for "the convenience of the banking public and the corporate sector".

Arms Ship Waits Off Luanda, Say Unionists.  The Chinese ship carrying weapons for Zimbabwe is anchored off Luanda and shows no sign of returning to China, says the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF).  In a statement issued on Thursday [5/1/2008], the ITF general secretary, David Cockroft, said the federation trusted that the vessel, the An Yue Jiang, was waiting only to refuel and "that no attempt will be made to land any of its cargo of arms."

Zimbabwe postpones poll count.  Zimbabwe's election commission extended the reign of Robert Mugabe yesterday [4/30/2008] when it again postponed the verification of results from the March presidential elections.

Mugabe invents coup plot as poll chaos continues.  [Scroll down] The purported authors of the documents say they are forgeries, and not very good ones.  The signature on the Downing St letterhead printed in the Herald newspaper bears no resemblance to Brown's.  But that has not stopped Mugabe's government from presenting the documents to regional leaders as "evidence" that the MDC is trying to rig the election.  The first appeared in the Herald a few days after the election, once Mugabe got over the shock of defeat and decided to fight on.

South Africa shields Robert Mugabe at UN.  South Africa led efforts to block the dispatch of a UN envoy to Zimbabwe yesterday [4/29/2008] as the UN Security Council met on the election stand-off for the first time.

Babies seized by Robert Mugabe's forces as Zimbabwe hounds voters.  Scores of children and babies have been locked up in filthy prison cells in Harare as Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president, sinks to new depths in his campaign to force the opposition into exile before an expected run-off in presidential elections.  Twenty-four babies and 40 children under the age of six were among the 250 people rounded up in a raid on Friday [4/25/2008], according to Nelson Chamisa, spokesman for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).  Yesterday they were crammed into cells in Southerton police station in central Harare.

Mugabe parliament loss confirmed.  The party of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has failed to regain its parliamentary majority after a partial recount of votes from polls last month.  Zimbabwe's Electoral Commission said results were unchanged in 18 of 23 seats where recounts had taken place.  Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF needed to win nine seats to regain its majority, lost for the first time since 1980.  The opposition MDC says it also won presidential polls, although those results remain unreleased.

Angola to allow arms ship to dock.  Angola's government has authorised a Chinese ship carrying arms destined for Zimbabwe to dock, although it says it will not be allowed to unload weapons.  In a statement, the government said the vessel would only be allowed to deliver goods intended for Angola.  On Thursday [4/24/2008], the Chinese authorities said they would recall the ship to China after port workers in South Africa refused to unload the weapons.

Huge arrest tally as Zimbabwe police round up opposition.  Heavily armed police raided opposition headquarters in Harare today, arresting scores of people, said officials.  Independent election observers were also reported to have been hit.  Police seized material on vote counting from both offices.  Some 200 people were arrested in the raid on opposition headquarters, according to party officials.

Excuses ring hollow as the world idly waits for Mugabe's disaster.  A decade ago I travelled through Zimbabwe, where I befriended a family with whom I have stayed in contact until this day.  Zimbabwe was a very different place then to the country that now stands on the precipice of a major humanitarian disaster. … Tourism, of course, no longer exists in the Zimbabwe of today.  The place is in economic ruins, with agricultural production having almost completely halted, inflation running at more than 165,000 percent, and widespread food shortages.  My friends no longer live in Zimbabwe.  They fled the country, like a third of the population have, a few years ago.

Arms ship exposes Robert Mugabe's link to Chinese firm.  The boycott of a Chinese ship laden with weapons for Zimbabwe has cast new light on the connections between the African country's president, Robert Mugabe, and a secretive Chinese arms-trading firm with a controversial track record from the Congo to Darfur.  The ship steamed towards China last week after dock workers in Durban refused to unload it and a South African court blocked the transit of its cargo of mortar and small arms ammunition.

Tsvangirai won clear victory in Zimbabwe:  US envoy.  The United States government called time on Robert Mugabe's 28 years as leader of Zimbabwe Wednesday [4/23/2008], saying he had clearly lost an election last month and his opponent should now head a new government.  After talks with officials in neighbouring South Africa, Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer said the people of Zimbabwe had voted for a change on March 29 even though results have still to be announced.

Zimbabwe's church leaders warn the world: intervene to avert genocide.  Zimbabwe is a deeply religious country.  Daily discussions of the country's crisis end with Zimbabweans, black and white, saying:  "We can only pray."  So when the leaders of Zimbabwe's churches unanimously warn that the country faces "genocide" unless the international community intervenes, it is an important moment.

Robert Mugabe's men seek coalition to run country until new poll.  Zimbabwe's state-run media floated the idea yesterday that Robert Mugabe would annul last month's presidential election and stay as President of a national unity government while preparations for a new poll are made.  The proposal was put forward in an opinion piece in the Herald newspaper, regarded as a mouthpiece for and barometer of opinion in Mr Mugabe's ruling Zanu (PF) party.

Thousands flee Robert Mugabe's terror mobs.  Mobs loyal to President Robert Mugabe have forced about 3,000 refugees to flee their homes as a national terror campaign gathers pace across Zimbabwe.  Gangs from the ruling Zanu-PF party are ranging across rural Zimbabwe, hunting down supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).  Their victims are fleeing into the capital, Harare, seeking safety and treatment.

US trying to stop Chinese arms ship docking in Zimbabwe.  The Bush administration is intervening with governments in southern Africa to prevent a Chinese ship carrying weapons for Zimbabwe's security forces from unloading its cargo, The Associated Press has learned.  At the same time, the State Department's top Africa hand, Jendayi Frazer, plans to visit the region this week to underscore US concerns about the shipment.

Chinese Supply of Weapons to Zimbabwe Blocked.  A small arms-laden cargo ship making its way around the southern tip of Africa after several countries refused it permission to dock has become a symbol of China's willingness to arm some of Africa's most questionable regimes.

Neighbouring states show impatience with Robert Mugabe.  The leader of South Africa's ruling party called yesterday for a new African initiative to solve Zimbabwe's crisis as neighbouring states showed increasing impatience with President Mugabe.  In what analysts said was unprecedented action towards Mr Mugabe by his neighbours, maritime states around landlocked Zimbabwe all refused to allow a Chinese ship carrying arms to the country to unload.

China may recall Zimbabwe weapons.  The ship carrying weapons to Zimbabwe may return to China after being prevented from unloading in South Africa, a Chinese official has said.  Zambia's president has called on other African countries not to let the ship enter their waters, in case the arms escalate post-election tensions.

Chinese ship flees with arms for Mugabe.  A Chinese ship carrying weapons for the Zimbabwean government has fled South African waters before a sequestration order could be placed on its cargo.  Germany's Central Bank sought the cargo of the An Yue Jiang as compensation for non-repayment of a £30 million loan made in 2000 to shore up the collapsing state-owned Zimbabwe Iron & Steel Corp, the Johannesburg-based Sunday Times reported yesterday [4/20/2008].

Zimbabwe arms ship heads for Angola, Mozambique says.  A Chinese ship carrying arms to Zimbabwe which was turned away from South Africa is heading to Angola in hopes of docking there, the transport minister of Mozambique said on Saturday [4/19/2008].  The ship left South African waters on Friday after a court refused to allow the weapons to be transported across South Africa, SAPA news agency said.

Zimbabwe Opposition:  10 People Killed in Violence Since Election.  Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change says 10 people have been killed in political violence since last month's disputed elections.  A spokesperson for the opposition party reported the deaths Sunday [4/20/2008].

It's Mugabe or death, voters told.  Zimbabwe's Health Minister armed himself with a Kalashnikov and threatened to kill opposition supporters forced to attend a political meeting unless they voted for Robert Mugabe in a second round of the presidential election, witnesses say.

Zimbabwe opposition turns to UN.  Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has urged the United Nations and African Union to intervene in the crisis over his country's elections.  He told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that he felt African efforts to obtain the release of results had made "no progress", a UN statement says.

Zimbabwe Opposition Meets With UN Secretary-Genera.  Zimbabwe's opposition leader has appealed to the U.N. secretary-general for the United Nations and the African Union to intervene in his country's post-election crisis.  Morgan Tsvangirai held talks with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for half an hour on the sidelines of a U.N. development conference in Ghana Monday [4/21/2008].

Zimbabwe:  Ballot Recount Discovers Cases of Fraud in Election.  Zimbabwe's deepening political crisis is far from over after a partial recount of votes in last month's general elections unearthed far reaching irregularities including claims that ballot boxes were tampered with.  There is growing impatience over the Zimbabwean authorities' seeming reluctance to conclude the electoral process, which initially indicated that beleaguered President Robert Mugabe's 28 year old rule had finally ended.

Chinese troops are on the streets of Zimbabwean city, witnesses say.  Chinese troops have been seen on the streets of Zimbabwe's third largest city, Mutare, according to local witnesses.  They were seen patrolling with Zimbabwean soldiers before and during Tuesday's ill-fated general strike called by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).  Earlier, 10 Chinese soldiers armed with pistols checked in at the city's Holiday Inn along with 70 Zimbabwean troops.

The Editor says...
 If it costs 15 million Zimbabwe dollars to buy a hamburger, imagine what it costs for a night in the Holiday Inn.

Zim arms ship seeks port.  There were conflicting reports on Saturday [4/19/2008] about the destination of a Chinese ship carrying weapons destined for Zimbabwe, after it left South African waters. An independent human rights group monitoring the vessel warned that any country that allows the arms to be transferred to Zimbabwe would be in violation of international law.

Chinese weapons head to Zimbabwe.  A Chinese cargo ship believed to be carrying 77 tonnes of small arms, including more than 3 million rounds of ammunition, AK47 assault rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, has docked in the South African port of Durban for the transport of the weapons to Zimbabwe, the South African Government has confirmed.  It claimed it was powerless to intervene as long as the ship's papers were in order.

Robert Mugabe 'mobilising command centres for national terror campaign'.  Hundreds of "command centres" led by war veterans in police uniforms are being established across Zimbabwe to wage a national terror campaign, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.  These centres are responsible for keeping President Robert Mugabe in power through intimidation, violence and ballot-rigging.

Defiant Robert Mugabe says Britain is trying to 'steal our country'.  President Mugabe launched a bitter attack on Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler Britain today in his first major speech since disputed elections last month.  The 84-year-old strongman told a crowd of 15,000 cheering supporters marking Independence Day that London was paying the population to turn against him.  "Down with the British.  Down with thieves who want to steal our country," he said.

South African union refuses to unload Chinese arms destined for Zimbabwe.  A South African union has refused to unload arms from a Chinese ship destined for Zimbabwe, in a politically charged move challenging President Thabo Mbeki's handling of relations with the neighboring state.  Unions have been highly critical of Mbeki for not taking a tougher line against President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, who is locked in an election stalemate with the opposition over the delay of results from a March 29 election that has raised fears of violence.

Mugabe had come close to handing over power, says Tsvangirai.  Zimbabwe was close to a smooth hand-over of power from Robert Mugabe to Morgan Tsvangirai before talks collapsed, the opposition leader claimed last night.  Morgan Tsvangirai said his Movement for Democratic Change party was approached by Mr Mugabe's envoys about forming a unity government that would include members of the ruling Zanu-PF party, only a day after the disputed March 29 election.

South Africa's Support for Zimbabwe Seems to Wane.  This morning's urging from abroad for President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe contained familiar words almost three weeks after an election — "release the results as a matter of urgency" — but the sender this time was South Africa, his neighbor to the south.

South Africa steps up pressure on Zimbabwe.  South Africa appeared to have markedly toughened its stance on Zimbabwe today [4/17/2008] when a government spokesman urged Robert Mugabe to release the results of last month's presidential elections as soon as possible.

Zimbabwe strike flops.  An opposition general strike to demand the release of Zimbabwe's delayed election result flopped on Tuesday [4/15/2008] and the ruling party in neighbouring South Africa called the situation "dire".  Fears of a crackdown by President Robert Mugabe's government and the desperate need of many Zimbabweans to make enough money to survive in a collapsing economy undermined the strike.

Mugabe's judges reject poll petition.  Zimbabwe's High Court last night predictably dismissed a petition by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change to order the immediate release of results from the March 29 presidential election.  The court, stacked with appointees of Robert Mugabe, awarded costs against the MDC, a decision likely to appeal to the Zimbabwean despot, who now has even more time to rig the poll in which MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai claimed victory a week ago.

Mugabe opponent beaten to death.  The ex-soldiers came for Tapiwa Mbwada late on Saturday.  Mr Mbwada was the organising secretary for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Hurungwe East, northern Zimbabwe.  The attackers beat Mr Mbwada to death, according to the party's secretary for welfare, Kerry Kay.

Zimbabwe to pursue partial vote recount.  Zimbabwean authorities said Sunday they would recount the votes from nearly two dozen parliamentary races as the ruling party sought to overturn election results that cost it control of the legislature for the first time in the nation's history.  As Zimbabwe's election crisis headed into a third week — with the results of the presidential vote still not released — southern African leaders held an emergency summit in neighboring Zambia and called for the swift verification of the results in the presence of all parties.

Regional peers avoid call for Mugabe to resign.  Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa had called the emergency summit with 48 hours' notice.  Afterward, his foreign affairs minister told reporters there was no crisis in Zimbabwe, echoing statements made by South African President Thabo Mbeki.

Southern frican Leaders Press Zimbabwe.  After a marathon session to address Zimbabwe's political impasse, southern Africa's political leaders on Sunday [4/13/2008] urged the government of President Robert Mugabe to permit representatives of the opposition to be present when vote tabulations are verified, handing the opposition a substantial victory.  Zimbabwean election officials have yet to announce the winner of the presidential election held two weeks ago, spawning widespread suspicions that Mr. Mugabe was refusing to accept his own defeat.

Consider the source.
 Zimbabwe 'vote rig document found'.  Zimbabwe's state television reported today [4/13/2008] that it had unearthed a secret document written by the opposition detailing plans to rig the March 29 elections.  The document, allegedly written by Tendai Biti — second only in the Movement of Democratic Change (MDC) to opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai — "had clear details on how to rig the elections", the report said.  The document stated that a number of teachers employed by the electoral commission as election officials had "agreed to overstate the vote" for a payment, Zimbabwe Television reported. … Zimbabwe Television is a mouthpiece for President Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF.

Zimbabwe bans political rallies.  The decision came amid confusion over whether President Robert Mugabe would attend a regional summit on the crisis, in Zambia at the weekend.  The results of the election, held 13 days ago, have yet to be released.  The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has called for a strike starting on Tuesday [4/15/2008] to pressure the authorities.

Zimbabwe opposition opts out of runoff.  The Movement for Democratic Change says its candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, won the March 29 vote outright, and has accused Mugabe of delaying the results to give ruling party militants time to intimidate voters and ensure he wins a second round.  On Thursday [4/10/2008], the opposition leadership met and resolved not to participate in any runoff presidential vote.

Mugabe To Explain Himself To Neighbors.  The opposition Movement for Democratic Change says its candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, won the March 29 vote outright, and accused Mugabe of delaying the results so he can orchestrate a runoff and give ruling party militants time to intimidate voters and ensure he wins a second election.  With no resolution in sight, Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa called an emergency summit of the Southern African Development Community for Saturday to discuss the crisis.

Zimbabwe crisis deepens with arrests.  Zimbabwe's opposition has accused President Robert Mugabe of unleashing a campaign of violence since the March 29 elections and called on African states to intervene to prevent widespread bloodshed.  The Movement for Democratic Change, which claims to have won the presidential and parliamentary polls, said Mugabe was trying to provoke a backlash as a pretext for declaring a state of emergency that could help him prolong his 28 years in power.

Inside Zimbabwe, the backlash begins.  The patients at Louisa Guidotti hospital said there were eight men, one carrying a shotgun, another with an AK-47, others with pistols, and they went from bed to bed forcing out anyone who could walk.  Nurses were dragged away from the sick.  Motorists driving by the hospital, 87 miles north-east of Harare, were stopped and taken from their cars.  About 70 people were gathered in the grounds.  Then the lecture began.  "This is your last chance," said one of the armed men.  "You messed up when you voted.  Next time you vote you must get it right or you will die."

Mugabe's recipe for power:  rob whites, bash blacks, rig rules.  To guarantee his survival, Mugabe will now rob the whites, beat the blacks and rig the rules in his favour.  These methods saved him from oblivion after he lost a referendum in 2000.  Everything indicates that Mugabe is now resorting to them once again.

Old Anger Over Land Is Mugabe's Weapon.  Analysts are divided on whether the scare tactics will work.  Short of simply faking results, Mugabe can't dramatically better his performance without reclaiming the ruling party's traditional strongholds, many of which voted for the opposition in the first round.  The date of the second round has not yet been set, nor have the official results been announced, though both sides agree that Tsvangirai got more votes than Mugabe in the first ballot.

In Zimbabwe, Hope Has Turned To Silent Terror.  By late in the afternoon on 30 March — the day after the election — the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, an independent body charged with overseeing the poll, was in a position to make a cautious estimate of the result.  It judged that Morgan Tsvangirai had secured almost 60 percent of the vote, more than double that of Robert Mugabe with 27 percent.  Sources say that when this news was brought to the President his first reaction was genuine incredulity.  He is now so out of touch, and so used to winning elections, that he had felt confident of a comfortable majority.  Incredulity swiftly turned to anger, and Mugabe grimly ordered the Electoral Commission to declare him the victor.

War veterans lay siege again to Zimbabwe white farmers.  They arrived in the dead of Monday night — around 100 of them — outside a white-owned tobacco farm near the Zimbabwean capital Harare, kicking at the gate and singing Chimurenga (liberation war) songs.  The farmer, who cannot be identified for security reasons, knew four of their leaders.  They were local men, he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa by telephone.

Zimbabwe court could force release of election results.  Zimbabwe's High Court ruled Monday [4/7/2008] that it can force the country's electoral commission to release the results of the March 29 presidential election, but it is still unclear if the court will do so.  The court is expected to announce Tuesday morning if the matter is urgent, or whether the petition will be added to the long list of other matters on the court's docket.

Mass murder — what mass murder?, asks Robert Mugabe.  In a rare interview, Robert Mugabe reveals just how unrepentant, cut off and menacing he is.

Zimbabwe's war veterans set their sights on white farms.  Militant supporters of Robert Mugabe descended on some of Zimbabwe's last white-owned farms yesterday in an orchestrated campaign of intimidation designed to keep him in power.  The invasions, which sparked memories of the farm seizures that ultimately brought the economy to its knees, got under way as the ruling party and the Opposition both launched legal battles over the release of election results.

Zimbabwe Ruling Party Prepares Runoff.  A week after Morgan Tsvangirai's opposition party made a strong showing at the polls, it was clear the 84-year-old Mugabe still had at his disposal the feared veterans of the bush war that helped end white minority rule, as well as the backing of the equally feared security forces.  Offices of the main opposition party were ransacked Thursday [4/3/2008] and police detained foreign journalists.

Mugabe Won't Quit, Will Compete in Runoff, Party Says.  President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe won't quit and will compete in a runoff if official results show that no candidate won a majority in the March 29 election, a ruling party official said.

Zimbabwe's ruling party demands recount.  President Robert Mugabe's ruling party demanded a vote recount and a further delay in the release of presidential election results, the state Sunday Mail newspaper reported, prompting outrage from the opposition party.

Police block Zimbabwe's opposition from entering court.  Police blocked the entrance to Zimbabwe's High Court building in Harare on Saturday [4/5/2008], preventing lawyers for the country's main opposition party from entering and pressing for the publication of presidential election results. … The Movement for Democratic Change party wants the court to force Zimbabwe's electoral commission to publish the tally of the March 29 presidential vote.

Robert Mugabe emerges as Zimbabwe 'crackdown' begins.  Robert Mugabe has appeared in public for the first time since Zimbabwe's bitterly fought weekend election as his party said it was confident of him winning a second round in the presidential contest.  In a sign of growing confidence that the 84-year-old leader could yet cling on to power, his Zanu-PF party said it was ready to fight on despite losing control of parliament.

'Crackdown' in Zimbabwe as Police Raid Hotels.  Raids on opposition party offices and the rounding up of foreign journalists are threatening to push Zimbabwe further toward confrontation between current President Robert Mugabe and the apparent winner of national elections.

This sounds to me like an admission of guilt.
 Mugabe:  I will quit, as long as I do not face prosecution.  Robert Mugabe's aides have told Zimbabwe's opposition leaders that he is prepared to give up power in return for guarantees, including immunity from prosecution for past crimes.  But the aides have warned that if the Movement for Democratic Change does not agree then Mugabe is threatening to declare emergency rule and force another presidential election in 90 days, according to senior opposition sources.

NYT journo arrested in Zim.  A New York Times correspondent who has been covering Zimbabwe's elections was among two foreign journalists arrested on Thursday [4/3/2008] for operating without accreditation, police and the newspaper said.

Riot police raid Zim hotels.  Several journalists, including an American reporter, have been detained in Zimbabwe during a police search for journalists covering the country's elections without accreditation, media and diplomatic sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.  The York Lodge, a hotel popular with Western journalists, was raided on Thursday evening by police, the hotel confirmed.

Opposition offices raided in Zimbabwe.  Intruders ransacked offices of the main opposition party and police detained foreign journalists Thursday in an ominous sign that President Robert Mugabe might turn to intimidation and violence in trying to stave off an electoral threat to his 28-year rule.

Britain's $2.2bn Zimbabwe rescue.  Britain is working on an unprecedented £1 billion-a-year ($2.2 billion) international emergency aid and development package to rescue the ruined Zimbabwean economy, reports said yesterday.  The scale of the program — nearly triple the aid presently going to Zimbabwe — means it will be co-ordinated by the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, European Union and UN, London's Guardian newspaper said yesterday [4/3/2008].

The Editor says...
 Is it too late for re-colonization?

Mugabe to go down fighting — experts.  Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is likely to resist pressure to make a graceful exit and go down fighting in an election runoff with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, analysts said on Wednesday.  "Mugabe is a high stakes political gambler, and I think he is going to go for it with everything he can marshall.  But I don't think he can reverse his fortunes," said Brian Kagoro, a lawyer and political commentator.

Mugabe's Ruling Party Loses Parliamentary Majority.  President Robert Mugabe's ruling party lost its parliamentary majority in Zimbabwe, election officials announced, as reports that he may relinquish his 28- year grip on power swept the country.  The opposition Movement for Democratic Change, which won the most seats in parliament, said that its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, 56, had also beaten Mugabe, 84, in the presidential race.

Zimbabwe election may go to runoff.  Signs continued to point Monday to either a runoff or outright defeat for longtime ruler Robert Mugabe in the weekend presidential election, but no final overall count was released for a second straight day.

Mugabe, from 'wise' to wastrel.  In September 1983, President Reagan hosted Zimbabwean Prime Minister Robert Mugabe at the White House, praising the three-year-old southern African country as a bulwark against Soviet influence and praising his guest for his "wise leadership in healing the wounds of civil war."  A quarter-century later, the 84-year-old Mr. Mugabe, now the country's president, is fighting for his political life.

Zimbabwe on a knife edge as fears deepen that result is being rigged.  From the deserted streets of Bulawayo to the fetid slums of Mbare, Zimbabwe was waiting on tenterhooks last night to discover the fate of President Mugabe as he appeared to be heading towar