No image available
/ 28 May 2008

Firepower puts Force in a spin

The controversial fuel technology company Firepower, appears on the verge of collapse, with its offices abandoned in Perth and other parts of the world, and the company owing millions of dollars to rugby union players, the Western Force club, basketballers and other creditors.

No image available
/ 22 May 2008

Zimbabwean jailed for selling ‘urine’ cooking oil

A Zimbabwean man has been jailed for two years after he sold urine to residents in a mining town, claiming it was cooking oil, a state daily reported on Thursday. The <i>Herald</i> newspaper said Piccard Mudzingwa (28) approached one of the victims at a bus terminus in the southern mining town of Zvishavane, selling bottles containing a liquid he said was cooking oil.

No image available
/ 16 May 2008

Zimbabwe run-off poll set for June 27

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will return to Zimbabwe on Saturday after spending more than a month out of the country following disputed elections, a party spokesperson said. Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced on Friday that the run-off presidential election will take place on June 27.

No image available
/ 14 May 2008

SADC: Zim not yet ready for fair vote

Conditions are neither safe nor fair yet for a run-off election in Zimbabwe in which the opposition hopes to unseat President Robert Mugabe, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) said on Wednesday. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is to face Mugabe in the second round after failing to secure an absolute majority in a disputed poll.

No image available
/ 8 May 2008

We’re still the best, says Australia’s Clarke

Australian batsman Michael Clarke has scoffed at suggestions his team’s mantle as the world’s top cricketing nation is under threat after the retirement of players ranked among the all-time greats. Opponents have been hoping that the loss of players such as Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist will spell the end of Australia’s long dominance.

No image available
/ 26 April 2008

Zanu-PF struggles in partial vote recount

President Robert Mugabe appeared unlikely on Saturday to win back control of Parliament in a partial vote recount after a police crackdown on members of the opposition, which accuses him of stealing the poll. About 13 seats have been recounted so far. Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF must win nine of 10 remaining constituencies to take back control of Parliament.

No image available
/ 17 April 2008

Zim govt accuses Tsvangirai of treason

Zimbabwe’s government on Thursday accused opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai of treason, saying he had plotted with former colonial power Britain to bring about regime change. It cited alleged correspondence between British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Tsvangirai.

No image available
/ 16 April 2008

Dozens arrested in clampdown on Zim strike

President Robert Mugabe’s security forces clamped down hard on unrest during a general strike in Zimbabwe, arresting dozens of opposition supporters before the stoppage fizzled out on Wednesday. The security forces scaled back their presence in the capital as it became clear that the call for people to remain off work had failed.

No image available
/ 11 April 2008

Tsvangirai turns to Mbeki for help

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who says he won Zimbabwe’s election, has met South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki and pressed the key regional leader to use his influence to persuade President Robert Mugabe to step down, an opposition spokesperson said on Friday.

No image available
/ 2 April 2008

Mugabe’s party loses control of Parliament

President Robert Mugabe’s party lost control of Zimbabwe’s Parliament on Wednesday and the opposition said that he had been defeated for the first time in a presidential poll. Official results, which have trickled out slowly since Saturday’s election, showed that Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF could not outvote the combined opposition seats in Parliament.

No image available
/ 2 April 2008

Prospects grow for election run-off in Zim

Prospects for a run-off in Zimbabwe’s election appeared to increase on Wednesday after state media said President Robert Mugabe had failed to win a majority for the first time in nearly three decades. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, however, insisted on Tuesday that he would win an outright majority from last Saturday’s election.

No image available
/ 29 March 2008

Mugabe: ‘This is a time to fight’

To Robert Mugabe, Saturday’s presidential election in Zimbabwe is not so much a vote as war. From his campaign slogan — Get Behind the Fist — to speeches invoking the liberation war against white rule, the president of Zimbabwe has defined his campaign to extend his 28-year rule as the final struggle against British imperialism.

No image available
/ 28 March 2008

Final push for votes in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe state media predicted on Friday a crushing victory for President Robert Mugabe in weekend elections as his two main challengers made fresh allegations that the result may be rigged. Citing an eve of poll survey by university researchers, the Herald said Mugabe was set to win 57% of the votes.

No image available
/ 10 March 2008

Mugabe admits hunger exists in Zim

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has admitted for the first time that famine exists in his country. ”There is hunger in the country and a shortage of food,” he was quoted as saying in the Sunday Mail. Observers say the admission is unprecedented as Mugabe has previously dismissed reports of famine as ”Western propaganda”.

No image available
/ 5 March 2008

Mugabe: Makoni candidacy a UK ploy

Simba Makoni’s decision to enter the presidential race is a ploy by former colonial power Britain to divide Zimbabweans, a state-controlled newspaper reported President Robert Mugabe as saying on Wednesday. Mugabe told ruling Zanu-PF supporters at a rally that voters have to ”bury British regime-change schemes”, the Herald reported.

No image available
/ 22 February 2008

Zim told to conserve electricity

Zimbabwe could save up to 300MW of power daily if consumers become more responsible and switch off lights and other gadgets when not needed, the state-controlled Herald reported on Friday. ”Zimbabwe … is in the middle of a severe power crisis. On two occasions already this year, the entire nation was completely switched off,” the Herald said.

No image available
/ 21 February 2008

MDC factions agree on failure in Zim

In an unusual show of unity, the two secretary generals of the two factions of Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have described the dialogue that was meant to resolve the country’s meltdown as ”dead”, painting a dire scenario for Zimbabwe after its upcoming elections.

No image available
/ 20 February 2008

Zim police ban weapons ahead of polls

Zimbabwe police have banned the carrying of weapons in public in the capital and the southern town of Masvingo to prevent violence in the upcoming joint presidential and legislative polls. ”Police will use their discretion on any tool that people will be carrying such as walking sticks for the elderly, the blind and disabled, said Harare police commander Isaac Tayengwa.