Paper Shortage Deepens Crisis in Zimbabwe

Steer clear of these dangerous locales

(NEWSER) - If you're jonesing for a trip on the wild side, well, you'd probably still better steer clear of the 10 worst places in the world. Gadling.com rounds up these impoverished and war-stricken locales, and advises avoiding them in 2012:

• Harare, Zimbabwe: This city spiraled into turmoil when inflation surged, eventually hitting 231,150,000% per year in 2008. Unemployment hit 80%, services collapsed, and now most of Harare is in ruins.

CEBR gives Eurozone 99% failure rate over 10 years

(NEWSER) - Welcome to the year that the Eurozone begins its breakup and slides into certain doom—or so says one economic think tank in Europe. There is a 60% chance that "at least one country (and probably more) will leave" the euro in 2012, the head of the Centre for Economics and Business Research says. He adds that Greece's departure seems "pretty certain" and Italy will "more likely than not" follow suit, the Telegraph reports. More»

Leaders also discuss North Korea

(NEWSER) - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda met with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing today, and emerged with a number of deals—including one that will marginalize the US dollar in Asia. The countries agreed to promote direct yuan-yen trades, the Wall Street Journal reports; until now, the money has usually been converted to dollars first. Japan will also hold yuan in its typically dollar-dominated foreign-exchange reserves. More»

Police say women using victims' semen for magic

(NEWSER) - A nationwide syndicate of suspected witches is operating in Zimbabwe, kidnapping men and raping them to use their semen in magic rituals—or at least that's what the Zimbabwe police apparently believe, reports the BBC . After a year-long investigation, three women are going on trial today on 17 counts of aggravated assault (there are no provisions in Zimbabwe law for women raping men), after police found them driving around with 31 used condoms in their car. More»

Polymer notes last longer, are harder to counterfeit

(NEWSER) - Starting this week, you can pay with plastic in Canada—without incurring any credit card debt. The Bank of Canada put a new $100 bill made out of polymer into circulation, the Globe and Mail reports, and banks stopped issuing the old paper notes Monday afternoon. Polymer $50 bills are coming in March, followed by $20, $10, and $5 bills in 2013. The notes, made of multiple layers of plastic and almost impossible to tear, will be more difficult to counterfeit and will last longer than paper money. They’re also recyclable, USA Today notes. More»