ZIMBABWE: Question Marks As Tsvangirai Sworn In

His first days as prime minister of Zimbabwe's government of national unity have, as expected, thrown down several challenges to Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change.

ZIMBABWE: Unity Govt – Guarded Optimism At Local Level

Zimbabwe's power sharing deal comes as the country's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) controlled urban councils are facing a multitude of challenges after years of what they claim is interference in the running of their affairs by the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).

Q&A: ‘An Opportunity to Do Things Differently’

As Zimbabwe's government of national unity begins its work, gender activists are pushing for a greater place for women in decision-making.

ZIMBABWE-POLITICS: Thou Shalt Not Give Up Your Right…

Among the vital tasks spelled out in the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that frames Zimbabwe's power-sharing government is the drafting of a new constitution. Even before the process begins, it is under challenge from Zimbabwean civil society.

ZIMBABWE: Obama Cautious on Power-Sharing Deal

As the Zimbabwean parliament approves the power-sharing deal between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, the new administration of U.S. President Barack Obama says it will look for concrete change in the way the country is governed before deciding U.S. policy.

ZIMBABWE: Teachers' Strike Infringes Children’s Right to Education

The crisis of Zimbabwe’s education sector is deepening by the day, as the country’s schools remain closed due to the unremitting teachers strike.

ZIMBABWE: MDC Bites the Bullet

The spirits of a nation were lifted when Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main section of the Movement for Democratic Change declared that his party would enter a unity government under terms negotiated at a special regional summit.

ZIMBABWE: Unity Govt or Not, People Must Mobilise

Following an extraordinary Summit of SADC heads of state in Pretoria on Jan. 26-27, it was announced that a unity government is to be formed in Zimbabwe, apparently resolving months of disagreement following a power-sharing agreement in September 2008.

ZIMBABWE: Government Scheme to Access Forex Blocks Small Business

The ZANU-PF government’s efforts to gain access to foreign exchange (also known as forex) by imposing an expensive licensing system on Zimbabwean enterprises, enforced with the threat of prosecution, is undermining one of the last remaining means of survival in the collapsing country.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Little Hope at SADC Summit

After a 12-hour meeting behind closed doors, Southern African Development Community leaders emerged early on Jan. 27 to announce that bitter political rivals Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai will form a unity government.

ZIMBABWE: ‘‘Dollarisation’’ of Economy Hitting Poor Hard

The collapse of the Zimbabwean economy has led to the ‘‘dollarisation’’ of the economy – and even to what some, who have still maintained some sense of tragicomedy, call the ‘‘petrolisation’’ of the economy because of the re-emergence of barter trade.

Q&A: Zimbabwe – Fighting Cholera on a Shoestring

Nearly 50,000 cases of cholera have been reported in Zimbabwe by the World Health Organisation; the death toll stood at 2,755 on Jan. 21.

ZIMBABWE: So How Does One Budget in a Collapsed Currency?

In November 2007, Zimbabwe's then Minister of Finance, Samuel Mumbengegwi struggled through the reading of the 2008 budget, his tongue tripping over figures in the trillions and quadrillions of Zimbabwean. So embarrassed was Mumbengegwi that he even shied away from announcing the total budget figure of 7.84 quadrillion Zimbabwe dollars, then a record amount.

ZIMBABWE: ‘Life Is Like A Casino – We Live Each Day As It Comes’

Long lines of stalls, run by women, have sprung up next to many of Zimbabwe’s highways, selling honey, milk, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and chickens. As prices in towns skyrocket due to unprecedented inflation levels running in the millions, people leave their towns to purchase basic commodities.

ZIMBABWE: Now a 'Factory for Poverty'

Over 75 percent of the people in crisis-riddled Zimbabwe are living in desperate poverty, with children bearing the brunt. And with rival parties still deadlocked over implementation of a power-sharing agreement signed four months ago, things are likely to get worse before they improve.

ZIMBABWE: Contradictory Claims About Ivory Trade After CITES

The decision by an international body to again allow some southern African countries to conduct once-off ivory sales has been attacked by an animal rights activist saying elephants are being threatened by poaching because of the breakdown in the legal and social order in Zimbabwe.

POVERTY-ZIMBABWE: Gardening Lifeline for Urban Women

Growing and selling vegetables has become a lifeline for 41-year-old Mavis Dube at a time when millions of Zimbabweans face increasing poverty and hunger after years of debilitating economic recession.

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE: Activists Demand Justice for Politically-Motivated Rapes

"I was raped by four Zanu PF militias at night, just outside their base, during the elections. They took turns to rape me, accusing me of supporting the opposition, MDC [Movement for Democratic Change]", said Pauline Moyana* from Mutasa, a community in Zimbabwe’s eastern Manicaland province.

DEVELOPMENT: Zimbabweans Worried About Aid With Strings Attached

Aid with strings attached frequently does not translate into the improvement of the lives of the people for whom that money was ostensibly sourced in the first place. Most of the capital received in aid is used to pay back debt owed to Western donors.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Women Demand Movement On Talks

Over 300 women gathered outside the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare on the morning of Oct. 27, dressed mostly in black and white. They were there to protest the prolonged impasse over the allocation of Cabinet ministries among Zimbabwe’s rival parties.

ECONOMY: Usual Suspects Eyeing Zimbabwe for Massive Deregulation

As the global financial crisis unfolds and more questions are asked about excessive deregulation, the World Bank and others are preparing economic policy prescriptions that will throw open Zimbabwe’s economy to the whims of the world markets.