Monitor to Clear Zimbabwe Diamonds

Summary: Zimbabwe government is close to giving consent to the exporeting of Zimbabwean diamonds. Many people are upset becasue some of the workers that mined the diamonds were attacked and raped by soldiers. Abbey Chikane, the Kimberley Process monitor for Zimbabwe, said he will recommend that diamonds from Zimbabwe's Marange field be sold as certified, conflict-free diamonds. The Kimberley team said in July that security forces had beaten diamond miners with batons, set dogs to attack them, and raped women who were illegally mining in the Marange fields. It also said some government officials were benefiting from sales of those stones. Army soldiers will remain in the Marange field to keep illegal panners from moving into the area.
Opinion: I think that it is very sad that these people are forced to work under these conditions because they have no other choice. I think that the government should be doing more about protecting these worker's rights, and should thoroughly inspect the mines before they allow them to re-open. But the economy really needs the diamond exports because of the horrible economic state it is in right now.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703630304575270681883985308.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsTop

Zimbabwe Launches Child Immunization Campaign

Summary: Recently the Zimbabwean Ministry of Health has launched an effort to vaccinate five million children between six months and 15 years. This vaccine will help the children fight off the measles which has taken about 400 lives, and 7,000 cases of the disease have been recorded recently. In addition to measles vaccinations, the intensive campaign will also provide children with vital immunization against polio, diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus.
Opinion: I am glad that they are taking these steps to help protect the children against these horrific diseases. Although many are opposed to this, i think it is so great to prevent a child from having to go through all of the pain and stress from having such a terrible disease. It also will make Zimbabwe a much healthier place to live and a better place to be.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/189932.php

Two New Papers Provide Competition for the Zimbabwe Herald

Summary: In Zimbabwe for the past seven years they have only posted a government owned and operated news paper, the Herald. Through this newspaper the Zimbabwean President Mugabe has been able to supervise what goes into the newspaper. This was a form of propaganda in Zimbabwe, only saying nice things about the president and his political party. But recently there have been two new news papers about to begin publishing, both privately owned which means that Mugabe can no longer control everything that goes into these newspapers. One of the news papers, called the Daily News, was shut down seven years ago by the police. These new papers will definatly prove to be some competition for the Herald, and will bring Zimbabwe even closer to a democratic society.
Opinion: I think that after the people in Zimbabwe read these new news papers will get a different side to the stories, not just what the government whats them to read. But i think the writers and editors of these papers better be very careful about what is put into these newspapers because if they over step their boundaries by even just a little bit the government will immediately shut them down and they will just be even farther away from the democracy that this society is wanting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/world/africa/28zimbabwe.html

Zimbabwe Police Free Gay Rights Activists

Summary: Recently in Zimbabwe two gay men were arrested and have just been released as of today. The two men are being tried for the possession of pornographic material and insulting the Zimbabwean President Mugabe. The trial is set for June 10Th, and the men will face either large fines or time in prison. The men claimed that while they were in jail they were assaulted by the police officers after they were arrested last Friday. Homosexual acts are illegal in Zimbabwe, but arrests are not common.
Opinion: It seems to me that there is alot of discrimination against gays in Zimbabwe, and the majority of the people do not believe in homosexuality. Even President Mugabe has said degrading things about gays and this has just made things even worse. In my opinion i think that the government should stop trying to control this situation in Zimbabwe, because no matter what they do, the people will still do what they want.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/africa/10178826.stm

Zimbabwe Born Acrobat Accused of Spreading AIDS

Summary: A Zimbabwe-born trapeze artist who recently appeared on Australia's Got Talent has been accused have knowingly transmitting AIDS to women. As this man was travelling the world performing he had unprotected sex with multiple women. Health officials said the women were thought to include seven in the northeastern state of Queensland as well as others in neighbouring New South Wales and Victoria. The acrobat, Australian citizen Godfrey Zaburoni, 31, was due to face a magistrate on Wednesday.
Opinion: I think that these women should defiantly go get tested because AIDS is very serious and is very dangerous. Many people have AIDS and do not tell the people they are having sex with and then transmit it to many more people. More people should be informed about the consequences of getting AIDS so they will want to be safe.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/africa/article468242.ece/Zim-born-acrobat-accused-of-spreading-AIDS

Zimbabwe Police Raid Gay Group Offices, Arrest Two

Summary: Two men were recently arrested for posting a letter in their office that was criticizing the Zimbabwe president's views on homosexuality. They were arrested for undermining the president and for breaking Zimbabwe's censorship laws. The men could face a fine or little time in prison. The human rights organizations have called for the president to face a trial at the International Criminal Court on charges of political violence, vote-rigging and human rights violations. Many people are very upset because cases like this are occuring all over Africa. For example, in Uganda, lawmakers are considering a bill under which homosexuals could be sentenced to life in prison and "repeat offenders" could be executed.
Opinion: This debate has gone on for many years, and in my opinion is an argument that will never be settled. Many people believe that since being a homosexual is considered in the Bible a sin, that it should be illegal. But others believe that it is OK, and gays should be able to live their life how they want. I think that it is not up to the government how people live their life, and even if you make one million laws against homosexuality, and have the worst penalties, people are still going to be the same way. I think that people should just leave homosexuals alone because if you discriminate or commit acts of violence against them, then you are sinning to try and stop some one from sinning.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gqIL2SR2spukciRtWsCvkGi6j6RgD9FTHSP80

Man in Zimbabwe Rapes and Impregnates Daughter-in-Law

Summary: A woman was allegedly raped by her father-in-law in 2009. The father-in-law told her that it was a family tradition and when she refused her raped her. The woman found out that her husband and her father-in-law had planned this. They told her that if she were to tell anyone about what had happened that she would die. The father-in-law raped her multiple times within a few months and he eventually impregnated the woman. The woman gave birth to a son, but the baby died within a month of his birth. She tried to commit suicide because she believed that she had no one to turn to, but after the death of her son her family learned about the abuse that was going on and her village forgave her and accepted her back.
Opinion: This is very upsetting what has happened to this young woman. She was trapped and had no one she could confide in and had no one that would help her. Cases like this are going on all around the world, and many of the men raping these young girls are men that they are supposed to trust. Many of these girls do not have a place where they can go and get help, and it is sad because even if they did have a chance to get help, they are so brain washed that they would not come forward.


http://allafrica.com/stories/201005240057.html

Pupils Might Get Own Textbooks in Zimbabwe

Summary: The schools in Zimbabwe have a very low standard of learning. The teachers are unable top afford things like stationary and text books. Many of the students say that they are unable to do their best on assignments because they are forced to rush through them because another student is waiting for their turn to use the book. The average ratio of students to books is 10:1, but there are even instances where the ratio is 40:1. This makes it very hard to get things done in a classroom when there are only 5 books, and the students are unable to gain the maximum amount of knowledge. UNICEF has provided over $50 million for schools in hopes to provide each student with their own textbook.
Opinion: This is very sad that these students have to deal with this, and many of us American students take advantage of what we have here in the U.S. I am very glad that the UNICEF is donating the money to help out these students, and i think that the students will be very grateful and will use these books to their best advantage. But this problem of not having proper school supplies is occurring all of the world, and although this is a good step we still have a long way to go to make all students have the best environment for learning possible.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89203

The 700,000 Evicted are Being Ignored 5 Years and Counting

Summary: In 2005 the government in Zimbabwe forcibly removed 700,000 people from their homes are still being ignored. Many of them were left jobless and homeless, and despite the best efforts of many organizations meant to help people in their situation, most of the people are still the same. Some of them are living in barely suitable government designated housing or urban homes. The majority of the people who were evicted were already living in poverty and are now just worse off. Amnesty International and the Coalition Against Forced Evictions are asking the government to provide adequate alternative help to those left homeless and jobless.
Opinion: I feel very sorry for many of the families that are struggling to survive with no job and no roof over their heads. In my opinion I do not think that the government is doing everything they should be doing in order to help these people. The government should be building new places for these families to sleep at night, and finding ways to provide jobs to those that can not provide for their families. Before the government took the homes away from all of these people they should have thought of the consequences, because now that these people have no homes, the government is required to provide them with a place to live. Not only did the Zimbabwe government take the homes away from these families, they took away their lives.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201005191021.html

Zimbabwe's Meikles Spends Millions to Revamp Hotels and Supermarkets

Summary: Zimbabwe's hotel group Meikles Africa will spend $51 million by the end of this month improving the current state of its hotels and supermarkets with the goal of making profits by the end of this year. Many of these types of companies are just now starting to rebuild their companies after over a decade of economic collapse. This money will go to refurbishing the hotels and the supermarket. This will hopefully help the company and its shareholders begin to make a profit again. The hotel occupancies have risen for around 17% to 41%, and the supermarket is now just barely breaking even.
Opinion: This is very good for the company and the shareholders, and this is very good for Zimbabwe's economy. It is good that the managers are working so hard to improve their hotels and the supermarket. Having companies like this improving their profits will massively improve the state of Zimbabwe's economy.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE64I1YN20100519

Tsvangaria Party Calls for New Election Plans

Summary: The Zimbabwe Prime Minister called for a summit of all of the current political leaders in Zimbabwe to discuss setting up Zimbabwe's unity government. This meeting will also discuss the legitimacy of the next election. All of the leaders at this meeting share a frustration with the current state of the government and they are unhappy with many of the choices the Mugabe is making. They believe that many of the choices he is making are not necessarily in the best interest of the country, but just to postpone the swearing in of Bennet.
Opinion: I believe that this is a step in the right direction. It is good that these members of the government are realizing the mistakes the have been making in the past with the elections and are trying to correct them. Zimbabwe is on the right path to an better and uncorrupted government, and although it will take many years to reach this, if they keep doing what they are doing then it will eventually happen.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201005171419.html

Zimbabwes National Oil Company in Bid to Raise Equity Capital

Summary: The National Oil Company of Zimbabwe is a state run business, but they are trying to sell 48% of the stock in order to pay off its $270 million in debts. The state would still like to remain completely in charge of the company by owning 51% of the stocks, but this campany is still in really bad shape. They are running on 30% of its capacity, and are having to make some major cuts in its staff. The company also had to shut down many of its non-profitable projects including plantations trying to produce biodiesel. But the experts doubt that investers will buy stocks in this company due to its unreliability because of its past losses. There have also been reports of internal abuses in the company.
Opinion: I feel very bad that Zimbabwe's economy is in such bad state. It is very hard to recover from something like thia, and many of the same problems are occuring all over the world. Also since this company is borrowing so much money it will not only be harder to get out of debt, but the longer that it stays in debt the worse state the company is in. Also it is losing it credability which means that the future of the National Oil Copany of Zimbabwe is not looking
very good.
http://www1.voanews.com/zimbabwe/news/politics/Zimbabwes-National-Oil-Capmany-to-Sell-off-stakes--93952914.html

Reduce the Number of Accidents on Zimbabwe's Roads

Summary: This article is talking about how dangerous the driving conditions are in Zimbabwe, and some of the ways that they can be prevented. Many lives have been lost on the roads in Zimbabwe and there are many things that can and should be done in order to prevent these things from happening. The author believes that they need to repair many of the main roads in order to decrease the number of accidents, and they also need to duelize the highways in order to decrease the number of head on collisions. The author also says that money is not the only thing necesary to help the road safety on Zimbabwe, they also need the people. For instance they need the police to really start being very strict on the laws, and really enforce them if they want safer roads. Also the police should only allow safe vehicles on the road, and that the buses and other public transport vehicles take extra precaution. The author also encourages many of the passengers by pressuring their drivers to be very safe, and the drivers to always be safe and obey driving regulations.
Opinion: I completely agree with the author of this article. It is very upsetting when you hear about the deaths that have occured because of reckless driving, and all of these injuries or deaths could have been easily avoided if people would just be safe. But not everyone is a cautious driver, so these road improvements could very much make a great impact of the number of accidents per year. Also it is important to encourage those that are cautious drivers to pressure those that are not into being safe. Not only does the auther have great ideas but they also have a plan on how the government would pay for all of these improvements. They would set tolls up on the highways throughout Zimbabwe and all of they money that they make from that could go to improving the streets of Zimbabwe.
http://www.zimdiaspora.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3346:reduce-carnage-on-zimbabwes-roads-to-preserve-the-sanctity-of-life&catid=38:travel-tips&Itemid=18

Zimbabwean Mine Workers Agree to End Strike

Summary: The Zimbabwean mine workers that began to strike last Thursday have decided to end the strike and began to work again starting Tuesday. These workers began the strike because of low pay, and as they start back to work tommorrow they still have not settled the problems about their salaries within their companies. The only reason that many of the workers are returning to work is because they were compelled to by the Ministry of Labor while they were pending a ruling by the Labor Court.
Opinion: When the workers first started the strike I thought that they could have gotten what they wanted in a better way without lowering the production rate, and losing the company alot of money. I still do not think that the strike was a good idea in the first place, but once you start a strike I do not think you should end the strike until you get what you want. The companies were obviously losing money and were getting desperate, so if they would have held out for a couple more days they could have had the upper hand in the bargaining.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-17/zimbabwean-mine-workers-agree-to-end-strike-pending-court-ruling.html

Zimbabwe Mine Workers Strike Over Low Pay

Summary: Many of the mine workers have recently gone on a strike due to low pay. The workers are demanding almost double the pay that they are receiving right now. Some of the lowest workers for example are demanding an increase from $140 a month to $290 a month. The production of the mines has declined to almost nothing, and this is just making it more difficult for the companies to meet the demands of the workers while they are making little to no profit. Many of these salary decreases are because of the current economy situation in Zimbabwe.

Opinion: These workers do worker very hard for the money that they are earning, and since their job is also very dangerous they do deserve to be well paid for risking their lives everyday. But these workers also have to take into account the current budget of their companies and how lucky they are to still have their jobs. Since the economy has been so bad in Zimbabwe and in the rest of the world. Many of the mining companies are currently out of business, or just closed for maintenance. These workers should have calm meetings with the heads of the companies to discuss their salaries and working conditions.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hIYPJXKMznHpBdEzdxMOE12SaNyw

China Pledges Billions to Zimbabwe

Summary: China is pledging billions of dollars to Zimbabwe, but they are also emphasizing the repayment of Zimbabwes debts to them. China is planning to build a new parliment building for Zimbabwe at the cost of $145 million, and they are also planning to build a new government complex at the cost of $300 million. Another $400 million donation will help ZImbabwe expand its hydro power station. As of last year zimbabwe was already in debt of $6 billion, and according to Zimbabwes government they will need about $10 million to revive the declining economy.
Opinion: I agree that Zimbabwe does need some loans to revive its struggling economy, but i do not think that they need a new government complex or a parliment building. They need to worry about helping the declining economy and helping the people, not the goverment officials. Many people in Zimbabwe are starving to death right now, and building a new government building is not going to help with that. I think that the Zimbabwe government officials need to get the country's and their priorities straight.

http://thecitizen.co.tz/news/2-international-news/1829-zimbabwe-china-in-mega-deals

Zimbabwe's Prisoners are Left Starving and Sick

Summary: It has recently been discovered that the conditions in Zimbabwe prisons are beyond humane. Many of the prisons are overcrowded, the sanitation is discusting, and there is not enough food for all of the inmates. Many of the inmates are beyond starvation, and the hospitals are unable to obtain the necesary supplies. This is because the justice system has a very small budget to work with, and not many people are willing to donate their hard earned money to convicted fellons when this country is already stricken with poverty. Also one of the prisons has such a small budget, that it is unable to afford fuel to transport the prisoners. Many of the people are now unable to go to trial because they have no way to get there. Some of the men in these prisons have not yet been found guilty and are simply awaiting a trial. Some countries also facing this problem have come to the decision to execute the men living on death row as soon as possible in order to make room for more inmates.
Opinion: This is very sad that some of these men are forced to live in these conditions. Many might argue that since they committed a crime that they diserve this, but i dissagree. Although they have made some mistakes no one should be forced to sit in a cell all day long and starve to death. Some of the men probably can not afford a decent attorny to represent them in court, and are probably facing a worse conviction than necesary. Then men on death row have probably done some terrible things, but they deserve to live atleast until the set date for their exectution. This country is suffering from poverty all over, including the prisons, but no one really cares about the prisoners, so they are not recieving the things necesary for survival. To me this means that the government is not fairly distributing their money and is not doing the right things to help all of its citizens.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/09/zimbabwe-prisoners-poverty-starving-sick

Drought Hit Zimbabwe Rural Population Hard

Summary: Zimbabwe has been suffering from severe droughts in 2010, and this seasons harvest is not what was expected. The sun has been very hard on the Zimbabweans and their crops, and there is not enough food to go around. Many of the Zimbabweans are not sure how they are going to feed there families in between harvests since many of them do not have paying jobs, and rely solely on their crops for food and money. One family even says that with this years harvest they have not even collected enough food to feed their families for two months. One of the Zimbabwean food program only has 26% of the food that is necessary for them to purchase all of the necessary food. Many of these programs rely on donors for their money, and they say that this year the number of donors and the amount of donations has dropped significantly.
Opinion: Some of the reasons that Zimbabwe is not receiving the amount of help that they would normally need is because due to the focus on other disasters such as the earthquake in Haiti, countries like Zimbabwe are not getting very much attention on their problems from their normal donors. Problems like the drought in Zimbabwe are happening all over the world, but no one is really noticing them because they are not as well known as some of the other disasters around the world. Also Zimbabwe needs to come up with another source of income for many of the people living there, rather than just their crops and aid agencies. They need more jobs for the people and they need to raise awareness for their country.
www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gnPBXavJum1bqAs9DFajuTxZY8rA

Zimbabwe Bank Chief Keeps Top Position

Summary: Gideon Gono has kept the top position as a Reserve Bank governor. The central bank board made this desicion Tuesday in an effort to restore the bank's credibility after the currency collapse. During 2008 Gono administered over the collapse of the currency, and the infflamation of prices almost doubling daily. The bank is currently in debt of more than a billion dollars, and international investors have raised concerns about Gono's leadership over the bank. The bank is also facing many hateful lawsuits and is forced to make many cuts from its staff.
Opinion: I do not think that Gono should be able to keep his job. He was in charge during the currency collapse, not the staff that is being fired. Gono should take the fall for what happened, not the people working under him. If the board wants to restore the banks accountability then they should get rid of the people responsible for the crash and not the people who did nothing wrong.

Zimbabwe Teachers Remain in Schools

Summary:The Progressive Teacher Union of Zimbabwe announced the the teachers will be returning as the new school semester begins. But the teachers have threatened that if the government does not so anything to change the current salaries within two weeks, they will go on strike. The teachers are demanding a raise from 200 US dollars to 600 US dollars, but the government cannot afford these increases and for now has frozen salaries. The government has not yet made a decision on what they will do, but the teachers have said that they will not stop fighting until they get raised salaries.
Opinion: The Progressive Teacher Union of Zimbabwe is asking for too high of a raise too quickly. It is good that they are working hard to get what they want, but there are too many teachers and not enough money for all of them to receive triple the salaries that they are currently making. If they really want to make that much more per month they are going to have to push for the changes longer than two weeks, and it will take the government longer than two weeks to find the money to pay for these changes.

http://www1.voanews.com/zimbabwe/news/civil-society/Zimbabwe-and-BotswanaSign-Power-agreement-As-Teachers-Pledge-To-Work-Tommorrow-92698559.html