Latest Zimbabwe government News

Zimbabwe introduces new currency as depreciation and rising inflation stoke economic turmoil

Apr. 05, 2024 11:27 AM EDT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe on Friday launched a new currency to replace its previous one that in recent months has been battered by depreciation, and in some instances rejection by the population. Authorities hope the new measure will halt a currency crisis underlining the country’s...

Zimbabwe declares drought disaster, the latest in a region where El Nino has left millions hungry

Apr. 03, 2024 21:45 PM EDT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe declared a state of disaster Wednesday over a devastating drought that's sweeping across much of southern Africa, with the country’s president saying it needs $2 billion for humanitarian assistance. The declaration was widely expected following...

Extreme drought in southern Africa leaves millions hungry

Mar. 31, 2024 03:32 AM EDT

MANGWE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Delicately and with intense concentration, Zanyiwe Ncube poured her small share of precious golden cooking oil into a plastic bottle at a food aid distribution site deep in rural Zimbabwe. “I don't want to lose a single drop,” she said. ...

Zimbabwe predicts a sharp decline in tobacco crop as El Niño takes toll, a year after record harvest

Mar. 13, 2024 07:52 AM EDT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe, Africa’s largest tobacco producer, began its annual tobacco-selling season on Wednesday, with officials and farmers projecting a sharp decline in harvests and quality because of a drought blamed on climate change and worsened by the El Niño weather phenomenon....

US accuses Zimbabwe of harassing and deporting officials, as relations deteriorate further

Mar. 08, 2024 14:57 PM EST

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — The United States State Department said Friday that Zimbabwean authorities detained officials of the U.S. development agency, USAID, before deporting them, as relations between the historical foes deteriorate further. State Department spokesperson Matthew...

At the funeral of a slain Zimbabwean activist, clashes and a low turnout mirror opposition decline

Mar. 02, 2024 12:20 PM EST

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A Zimbabwean opposition activist slain nearly two years ago was finally buried Saturday at an event marked by a low turnout and clashes between members of the main opposition party, highlighting its decline. Moreblessing Ali, 46, a member of the opposition...

Zimbabwe's president cancels a renewable energy speech after a bomb scare at Victoria Falls Airport

Mar. 01, 2024 09:37 AM EST

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A bomb scare shut down Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls Airport on Friday, forcing the country’s president to cancel a planned address at a conference on renewable energy, an official said. Zimbabwean President Edson Mnangagwa was due to address the conference...

Fresh from a deadly cholera outbreak, Zambia declares drought a national emergency

Feb. 29, 2024 13:18 PM EST

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema Thursday declared the country’s debilitating drought a national disaster and emergency, saying it has devastated food production and electricity generation as the nation battles to recover from a recent deadly cholera outbreak. ...

Zimbabwe's vice president says the government will block a scholarship for LGBTQ+ people

Feb. 16, 2024 10:42 AM EST

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s powerful vice president said the government will block a university scholarship for young LGBTQ+ people, a move that human rights groups described Friday as a perpetuation of the African country's homophobic practices. The state university...

Zimbabwe's government backs a move to abolish the death penalty having last hanged someone in 2005

Feb. 07, 2024 12:28 PM EST

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s Cabinet has agreed to back a move in Parliament to abolish the death penalty, a punishment that was last used in the southern African nation nearly 20 years ago. Zimbabwe used hanging as its means of execution, but hasn’t hanged anyone since...