Last modification: 12/02/09
 -  cholera - Robert Mugabe - Zimbabwe
 
A catalogue of disasters
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Zimbabwe’s economy is in freefall with inflation soaring at record levels. Since August 2008, the country has struggled to cope with the outbreak of cholera. Zimbabwe’s economic, political and social situation is deteriorating each day.
Embroiled in a major political crisis since the widely condemned general elections in March 2008, Zimbabwe is now struggling to tackle the cholera epidemic. Thousands of Zimbabweans have been forced to flee to neighbouring South Africa. Pretoria declared its northern frontier as a disaster zone on Dec.11 in a bid to contain the exodus. According to the latest figures released by the United Nations on Dec. 23, Harare has been unable to control the epidemic. At least 1174 people have died due to cholera, a disease that is normally easily treatable. Meanwhile, neighbouring South Africa has strongly opposed the UN’s interference in Zimbabwe’s internal situation and has condemned calls for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to resign.

  • MUGABE
    'Zimbabwe is mine,' Mugabe tells ruling party
    President Robert Mugabe told his ruling party's annual conference that "Zimbabwe is mine," adding that he was not intimidated by increasing calls for him to step down amid a raging cholera epidemic and runaway inflation.
    (3) comments
  • SPECIAL REPORTS
    Reporter's notebook from Zimbabwe
    FRANCE 24 South Africa correspondent Alex Duval Smith is one of the only international journalists to regularly cross the border into Zimbabwe. She brings us these reports from the heart of the political and humanitarian turmoil.
  • ZIMBABWE
    Survival is a challenge where food aid does not reach
    Amid the political chaos that has gripped Zimbabwe since March, villagers just a few kilometres from Harare live with neither water nor electricity. Here, international food aid does not reach the dust and desolation.
    (1) comment
  • ZIMBABWE
    Cash-strapped Zimbabweans vent frustration at banks
    While demonstrations struggled to draw huge crowds in Zimbabwe, labour activists hoped Zimbabweans would descend en masse on the country's banks on Dec. 3 to protest against crippling government-imposed withdrawal limits.

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  • THE WEEK IN AFRICA
    Hope as unity government takes office in Zimbabwe
    In this edition: Hope among Zimbabweans as the power-sharing government is finally sworn in, though the road ahead remains long; tracking down LRA rebels in Uganda; and homophobia on the rise in Senegal.
    (1) comment
  • WEB NEWS
    Tsvangirai sworn in as PM, the Web reacts
    Today on the Web: bloggers react to the swearing-in of Morgan Tsvangirai as Zimbabwean prime minister. But also: creationists and evolutionists cross virtual swords on the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth.
  • ZIMBABWE
    Cholera epidemic claims over 2,000 lives
    More than 2,000 people have died from the epidemic since August and another 40,000 have been diagnosed with the disease, said a damning report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday.
    (1) comment
  • ZIMBABWE - CHOLERA
    Epidemic death toll tops 1,700
    Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic is picking up speed, with a total of 1,732 deaths so far out of 34,306 cases, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said. The United Nations has warned the number of cases could top 60,000.
    (1) comment
  • ZIMBABWE
    Ignoring deal with MDC, Mugabe moves to form new government
    Defying a power-sharing deal signed on September 15 with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe seems intent on forming a new government giving the opposition a minor role only.
  • ZIMBABWE - HEALTH
    Cholera has claimed over 1,500 lives, says WHO
    The cholera epidemic that swept through Zimbabwe has killed 1,564 people since August, the World Health Organisation said on Monday, while a further 29,131 suspected cases have been reported.
  • ZIMBABWE
    Rights activist Mukoko appears in court on plot charges
    Human rights campaigner Jestina Mukoko and nine other activists have been charged with plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe. Mukoko, who appeared in court on Wednesday, was last seen on Dec. 3 when she was abducted at gunpoint in Harare.
    (1) comment
  • ZIMBABWE
    US says unity unlikely with Mugabe in power
    The top US envoy for Africa said Sunday that Robert Mugabe's presidency did not bode well for a power-sharing deal in the politically divided nation. The envoy described Mugabe as "completely discredited."
  • MUGABE
    'Zimbabwe is mine,' Mugabe tells ruling party
    President Robert Mugabe told his ruling party's annual conference that "Zimbabwe is mine," adding that he was not intimidated by increasing calls for him to step down amid a raging cholera epidemic and runaway inflation.
    (3) comments
  • ZIMBABWE
    Mugabe refuses 'political death' as party congress closes
    President Robert Mugabe urged his party members at their annual conference to remain united, vowing he would "never surrender." The veteran president told the conference: "It doesn't matter what happens, Zimbabwe is my country."
  • ZIMBABWE
    Opposition will quit talks unless abductions cease
    Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) says his Movement for Democratic Change will cease power-sharing talks with the ruling party unless abductions that have seen 42 opposition members go missing end.
  • ZIMBABWE
    Cholera death toll passes one thousand, UN says
    The death toll in a cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe has reached more than 1,000, according to the latest United Nations figures. The world body warns the epidemic is likely to spread, with another 20,581 cases suspected.
  • TOP STORY
    Cholera: a knife in Zimbabwe's wound
    On top of political repression and staggering inflation in Zimbabwe, an outbreak of cholera is spreading in the hapless country. What does this bode for the ailing regime of President Robert Mugabe?
    (1) comment
  • ZIMBABWE
    South African opposition blocks UN condemnation of Mugabe
    Hours after the United Nations reported that the cholera death toll in Zimbabwe had reached 978, the UN security Council failed to issue a resolution on the humanitarian crisis due to South Africa's opposition.
  • ZIMBABWE
    West pushes to censure Mugabe as cholera spreads
    FRANCE 24 reports from Zimbabwe as Western countries look to increase international pressure on President Robert Mugabe, amid worldwide fears that the country's government can't stop a deadly cholera epidemic
  • TOP STORY
    Zimbabwe: the end of reconciliation?
    After weeks of fruitless talks, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said fresh elections may be needed to break a deadlock in power-sharing negotiations to form a new cabinet.

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