Robert Mugabe has returned to Zimbabwe after a trip to Singapore fuelled rumours of his ailing health, reviving concerns about who would succeed him.
Southern African leaders are due to meet to lay out a plan to guide Zimbabwe toward elections, which could settle a debate within Zanu-PF.
Watson Chimbira mingles with mourners at the Chitungwiza cemetery outside Zimbabwe’s capital, where he digs graves and paints epitaphs.
Zimbabwe’s shaky unity government on Friday marks two years in power, but President Robert Mugabe’s call for early polls has sparked fears violence.
For ordinary Zimbabweans this Christmas will bring a mixture of pleasure and pain, with once-empty shops full of food but most unable to pay for it.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s party was on Saturday set to back his push for elections in the country early next year.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe will use his party’s annual conference on Friday to demand new elections, despite warnings against this.
Erratic power supplies have long been an accepted part of life in Zimbabwe, but football fans had hoped the World Cup in SA would provide respite.
A stray cat paws through a heap of refuse between blocks of flats in Harare’s upmarket Avenues area, sending rats squealing and scurrying for cover.
The stone prized by designers is found in one of Zimbabwe’s poorest districts, where residents look with envy on the granite.
President Robert Mugabe’s grip on power was pried open one year ago on Thursday, but mistrust and bickering are hampering Zimbabwe’s recovery.
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/ 7 February 2010
"No disruption to learning" touts a newspaper ad for a new private Zimbabwean school, one of many springing up in living rooms across Zimbabwe.
Diplomatic ties between Zimbabwe and the United States came under further strain on Wednesday when authorities in Harare accused Washington’s envoy to South Africa of sneaking into the country. An unnamed government official said he was "interested" in discovering the reason for the visit.
Zimbabwe’s opposition reacted furiously on Thursday to the prospect of a run-off poll being delayed until the end of July, accusing authorities of flouting the law to help President Robert Mugabe cling to power. The Movement for Democratic Change feared the delay would be used to intensify a campaign of violence and intimidation.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s government intensified a crackdown against its political opponents on Monday, as the leader of the opposition prepared to return home to contest a run-off election. Journalists, union leaders and hundreds of political activists have been arrested since general elections in March.
Twenty-eight Zimbabwean activists were charged on Monday over post-election violence as Britain condemned a ballot recount as an attempt by President Robert Mugabe to "steal" the vote. The hearing at the Harare Magistrates’ Court came as Mugabe’s government rejected allegations that it was arming groups of vigilantes.
A new equity law passed by President Robert Mugabe to ensure the population gets a majority stake in public-owned firms will plunge Zimbabwe into deeper economic woes, analysts predicted on Monday. "It will entail the destruction of the economy," Harare-based economist Godfrey Kanyenze said.
Accompanied by a village choir, waving fists and miniature ruling party flags, the crowd of several thousand thunders out four words in a constant refrain: "Long live comrade Mugabe." A poet punctuates his recital with long pauses before chanting a string of praises for Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.
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/ 10 February 2008
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who only days ago looked assured of re-election next month as a result of splits in the opposition, now has to contend with a growing mutiny within his own ranks. Analysts who had regarded Mugabe as a shoo-in at national polls are revising their forecasts.
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/ 1 November 2007
A failed British bid to exclude Robert Mugabe from an upcoming European summit played straight into the hands of the Zimbabwean president, who gained instinctive support from his African peers, analysts said. Portugal said on Wednesday that invitations would be issued to all African states who would be free to decide themselves on the composition of their delegation.
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/ 18 September 2007
Zimbabwe’s main opposition party reached an agreement on Tuesday with the government on the adoption of a Bill that paves the way for joint presidential and legislative elections next year. In a surprise move announced in Parliament, senior members of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said they would not try to block legislation to amend the Constitution.
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/ 13 September 2006
Opponents of veteran Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe abandoned plans on Wednesday for a series of anti-government protests after the organisers were arrested in a police crackdown. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions had hoped thousands of protesters would take to the streets in nationwide rallies to denounce fuel and food shortages.
Zimbabweans struggled to dispose of their soon-to-be worthless cash Monday as shops and businesses refused to accept old bank notes ahead of a deadline to convert to a new currency. In a move aimed at fighting runaway inflation, Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank slashed three zeros from its currency on July 31 and set a 21-day ultimatum for old notes to be handed in.
As Zimbabwe reels under a world-record inflation of 1Â 042,9%, many are forsaking meals and walking or cycling for scores of kilometres to work every day in a tortuous battle to survive. Zimbabwe is going through the seventh year of economic recession characterised by four-digit inflation, shortages of basic foodstuffs while at least 80% of the population lives below the poverty threshold.