Zimbabwe's Prisons Are 'Hell on Earth'

Prez spends lavishly as Zimbabwean economy implodes

(NEWSER) - While his country battles massive inflation, unemployment and cholera, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has secretly bought a $5.8 million residence in Hong Kong, the Times of London reports. His wife recently spent some $80,000 on Vietnamese statues and $12,500 on a bag. When she recently discussed a venture to have Zimbabwean diamonds cut in Hong Kong, her aides paid one hotel bill with a bag of cash containing $15,000. More»

(NEWSER) - Robert Mugabe has backtracked on his denial of the Zimbabwean cholera crisis, AFP reports. “He is acknowledging there is a problem,” said a UNICEF official who met with him today. “He recognizes there is a problem with the water and the sewer systems.” The admission comes as opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai returned to the country, Voice of America reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Pressure from nonprofits and watchdogs is mounting on the UN to intercede in Zimbabwe’s humanitarian crisis, GlobalPost reports. Physicians for Human Rights asserts that Robert Mugabe intentionally dismantled the country’s health and sanitation infrastructure, and is directly responsible for the cholera outbreak that has claimed 1,800 lives. The group urges a UN tribunal or the International Criminal Court to charge the president with crimes against humanity. More»

As Mugabe blocks aid, starving population's plight nosedives

(NEWSER) - Zimbabwe was once "a breadbasket for all of southern Africa," writes Celia Dugger in the New York Times, but a manmade crisis has turned the once-prosperous country into a land of scavengers. The UN says 7 of 10 Zimbabweans eat one meal or fewer a day, thanks to the catastrophic agricultural policies of Robert Mugabe that precipitated economic collapse. "But this year, the hunger is much worse," Dugger reports from outside Harare. More»

Over 200 farm animals to be consumed during four-day Zanu-PF conference

(NEWSER) - The government of Zimbabwe has planned a decadent feast for delegates from the ruling party while starvation and cholera run rampant in the general population, Time reports. Robert Mugabe and 5,000 Zanu-PF delegates will treat themselves to 124 cattle, 81 goats, and 18 pigs across a four-day conference now under way. "This truly is incredible in a country where millions of impoverished souls are starving," said an editor of thezimbabwetimes.com. More»