CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Up to 2,700 Zimbabwean asylum seekers have set up a temporary "safety camp" in a rural South African town following attacks on their shacks in a dispute over jobs, a human rights group said Wednesday. South African police fired rubber bullets Tuesday to disperse a mob who attacked shacks belonging to hundreds of migrants following several days of tension. The attacks in De Doorns, a town 150 km (90 miles) from Cape Town, was reminiscent of 2008 riots in which foreigners... Read Full Story
Nestle says its Zimbabwe banking is back to normal just days after newspapers reported that the government froze their accounts and ordered an audit after the company stopped buying milk from a farm owned by President Robert Mugabe's wife. Nestle spokesman Ravi Pillay in neighboring South Africa said the company's Zimbabwe accounts were "operating as usual" Monday. Nestle's finance director Farai Munestsi said over the weekend that access to funds was blocked. Munestsi said Monday he could... Read Full Story
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe welcomed a high-level EU delegation "with open arms" on Saturday as Brussels and Harare began their first talks in seven years. "We welcome you with open arms. We hope our talks will be fruitful with a positive outcome," said Mugabe before entering his meeting with the European Union delegation aimed at easing diplomatic tensions. His comments come a day after he lashed out at the West for sanctions imposed against him and his allies, saying "we have not... Read Full Story
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe told the UN General Assembly on Friday that some unnamed Western countries were trying to divide his unity government. "Some of them are working strenuously to divide the parties in the inclusive government," he said. "If they will not assist the inclusive government in rehabilitating our economy, could they please stop their filthy clandestine divisive antics?" While praising his Southern African neighbours for extending financial and other help to Harare... Read Full Story
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday appealed to foreign investors to seize opportunities in the country's mining sector assuring them that the unity government was on track. Mugabe told 850 foreign investors attending a two-day mining conference in the capital Harare that the inclusive government programme formed in February with his rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, had made progress. "The inclusive government has registered satisfactory progress thus far as ensuring a... Read Full Story
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday appealed to foreign investors to seize opportunities in the country's mining sector assuring them that the unity government was on track. Mugabe told 850 foreign investors attending a two-day mining conference in the capital that the inclusive government programme formed in February with his former rival, Prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai, had made progress. "The inclusive government has registered satisfactory progress thus far as ensuring a... Read Full Story
It is a well known, but little talked about fact that Zimbabweans worldwide are among some of the most educated and respected people in their individual fields. The Zimbabwean education system was once the pride of Africa, and most certainly one of the highest standards throughout the modern world, so it is without surprise that you frequently hear of Zimbabweans making tracks in their own respective industries.
It is somewhat sad then to see how little regard is given to those Zimbabweans... Read Full Story
Zimbabwe's national carrier said Tuesday it will cut 500 jobs, one-third of its workforce, in a bid to prevent the embattled airline from going under. "We have no option other but to right-size or else we are dead," Air Zimbabwe chief executive Peter Chikumba told AFP. Nearly a decade of economic and political crisis has seen annual passenger numbers for the struggling airline drop from a peak of one million in 1996 to just 300,000 now, the company said. The state-owned airline formed in... Read Full Story
South Africa and the European Union started a summit on Friday expected to be dominated by calls from African nations for sanctions against Zimbabwe to be lifted. President Jacob Zuma was expected to press a call by southern African nations for the lifting of sanctions during meetings with EU representatives led by Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. Britain and other EU countries imposed sanctions on President Robert Mugabe over claims that he... Read Full Story
Zimbabwe's central bank governor Mr Gono has just admitted 'stealing' money from private accounts. Mr Gono admitted that he took money from the bank accounts of private businesses and foreign aid groups without permission to keep the country's ministries running. But how do we know Mr Gono used all the money he took to finance government activities? How do we know the money was not used to finance Zanu Pf activities or shopping sprees abroad by government officials, whilst the majority of... Read Full Story
