ZIMBABWE will have zero percent population growth next year, mainly because of the Aids pandemic which is ravaging the country, state television has reported. Health minister Timothy Stamps told state television late on Saturday that last year alone there were 100 000 Aids-related deaths in the southern African country. “It is hitting us where it hurts most,” Stamps said, adding that Aids was robbing the nation of skilled and productive young people. Zimbabwe has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world with one in four people believed to be living with the virus. At least 2 000 people die in the country every week from Aids related illnesses, according to official statistics. – AFP