Opponents and rights groups have called the upcoming celebrations “inappropriate” while Zimbabwe suffers from flooding and a failing economy
Zimbabwe
Former U.S. Lawmaker Arrested in Zimbabwe
Melvin Reynolds resigned his seat in 1995 after statutory rape conviction
TIME’s Guide to Watching the U.N. General Assembly
Here are our picks for interesting speeches to watch at this year’s world leader gab fest.
Hope and Tension Both Run High as Zimbabwe Heads to the Polls
The iron-fisted Robert Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe for more than three decades. But as millions lined up to vote Wednesday, the authoritarian president has vowed to step down if he loses
Must-Reads from Around the World
Venezuela faces a shortage of staple foods, Romanian orphanages fail to provide life training for children and the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet is injured in an acid attack
Where’s a Deposed Dictator to Go? Five Top Tyrant Retirement Homes for Gaddafi
With NATO ever more confident of, and explicit about, deposing Muammar Gaddafi and the Libyan leader losing even some of his longest-standing supporters in Africa, the question increasingly becomes not whether he will go but, assuming he survives, where. Here’s five possible retirement homes for the 69-year-old.
1. Zimbabwe. Even if …
Mugabe’s Latest Gift to Zimbabwe: the Secret of Living Longer
Good news from Zimbabwe where, despite Western media reports of political crisis, economic stagnation and widespread poverty, the electoral roll indicates the country is actually one of the healthiest on earth. The October 2010 count finds 41,100 voters in Zimbabwe aged 100 or more – four times the number of centenarians in Britain, …
Damn Statistics: Top Five False Figures That Mean We Get The World Wrong
News that last week’s shocking claim that 48 women are raped every hour in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is actually a shocking piece of statistical methodology makes me wonder what other parts of our world view are based on erroneous stats. Over the years, I’ve collected a few choice examples of my own but I’d be delighted to …
Zimbabwe: Virtually No Revolution
There’s been much speculation about whether Egyptian-style uprisings might spread south across the Sahara into Africa, particularly to the seat of the continent’s most notorious despot, Robert Mugabe. Mugabe’s regime has been particularly paranoid about the possibility, arresting 46 people for watching news reports of the rebellions in …
African Dictators: Paranoid Much?
Will North Africa’s tide of revolution sweep across the Sahara into southern Africa? It’s a question much on the mind of African analysts and, possibly, not a few African dictators. Consistent reports, and videos and photographs, have shown unidentified well-disciplined African soldiers patrolling the Libyan capital Tripoli. …