Tag Archives: Zimbabwe

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Mugabe awarded ‘China’s Nobel peace prize’

Mail & Guardian

News of Mugabe’s Chinese award sparked fury among opposition groups in Zimbabwe and ridicule among human rights activists.

Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, is being honored for supposedly "injecting fresh energy" into the global quest for harmony. (Reuters)
Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, is being honored for supposedly “injecting fresh energy” into the global quest for harmony. (Reuters)

The chairperson of an award dubbed China’s Nobel peace prize has defended the decision to honor Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, for supposedly “injecting fresh energy” into the global quest for harmony.

Mugabe, who has been accused of using systematic violence and torture to maintain his 35-year grip on power, recently became the latest recipient of China’s Confucius peace prize.

The Beijing-run Global Times newspaper said 91-year-old Mugabe had beaten off competition from candidates including the Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, and the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye. Continue reading Mugabe awarded ‘China’s Nobel peace prize’ →

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Africa’s Senior Citizens Cornered By Poverty

InterPress Service

Despite the UN goal to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger globally, Africa's senior citizens are finding themselves cornered with destitution. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo
Despite the UN goal to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger globally, Africa’s senior citizens are finding themselves cornered with destitution. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo

NAIROBI and HARARE, Oct 21 2015 (IPS) – Kenya has made tremendous steps towards ensuring that the elderly population does not slide into extreme poverty, hunger and, consequently, premature death.

This comes a midst concerns that due to the breakdown of sociology-cultural safety nets, Africa’s senior citizens aged 60 years and above are often falling deeper and deeper into poverty and destitution.

Government estimates places the number of Kenyans aged over 60 years at two million out of a total population of 45 million people.

Beatrice Akoth, a social worker working with the needy in Nairobi told IPS that a vast majority of the elderly are often fragile, poor and emotionally vulnerable needing care and support. Continue reading Africa’s Senior Citizens Cornered By Poverty →

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Zimbabwe to ban electric water heaters to save power

BBC

Zimbabweans have learned to live with power outages
Zimbabweans have learned to live with power outages

Zimbabwe is to ban the use of electric water heaters and require all newly built properties to use solar power, as it tries to tackle big power shortages.

Energy officials say existing electric heaters – or geysers – will be phased out over the next five years.

They hope to save up to 400 megawatts of electricity – equivalent to the output of an electrical power plant.

Blackouts have dogged Zimbabwe, despite the fact that 60% of the population have no access to electricity.

This has also hampered investment in what is an already fragile economy, the BBC’s Karen Allen reports. Continue reading Zimbabwe to ban electric water heaters to save power →