A cooking competition pitting foreign diplomats against each other in Zimbabwe has provided a light-hearted break from international relations marked by trade wars, tariffs and tensions.

Newly elected International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry has arrived in her home country of Zimbabwe to a hero’s welcome as her victory is celebrated as a national milestone.

The United Nations’ World Food Program is closing its southern Africa office in the wake of the Trump administration’s aid cuts.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has launched a new policy that will allow beneficiaries of land taken from white people under controversial land reforms to sell it and to be able to borrow from banks using it as collateral.

Sophia, a world-renowned robot, has been the center of attention at an Artificial Intelligence and Innovation fair in Zimbabwe this week.

Zimbabwe’s senate has approved a bill to abolish the death penalty and it is now set to be signed into law by the president.

African leaders will meet in Zimbabwe on Saturday for a scheduled summit of the 16-nation Southern African Development Community.

Zimbabwe police have used batons to break up a protest by opposition supporters outside a courthouse in the capital Harare.

The World Health Organization has approved a new version of a widely used cholera vaccine that could help address a surge in cases that has depleted the global vaccine stockpile.

The U.N. population fund says in a new study that an African woman is roughly 130 times more likely to die from pregnancy and childbirth complications than a woman in Europe or North America.

Zimbabwe’s president has declared a state of disaster over a devastating El Nino drought sweeping across much of southern Africa.

Zimbabwe police say they have rescued dozens of children used as labor at a religious sect compound.

Zambia’s president Hakainde Hichilema has declared the country’s debilitating drought a national disaster and emergency.

A Zimbabwean opposition figure who has spent close to 600 days in pretrial detention has been convicted of inciting public violence.

A cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe is suspected of killing more than 150 people and infecting more than 8,000.

Zimbabwe has recorded 100 suspected deaths from cholera and more than 5,000 possible cases since late last month.

Lawyers for an opposition party councilor in Zimbabwe say he and a relative were abducted, beaten and whipped by unknown men amid a post-election crackdown on criticism of recently reelected President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ruling ZANU-PF party.

Zimbabwe’s main opposition party has demanded fresh elections supervised by neighboring countries.

Zimbabweans are waiting anxiously for the outcome of general elections as dozens of armed police with water cannons guard the national results center, the scene of deadly violence after the previous vote five years ago.

Voting is still underway in Zimbabwe.

Delays of up to 10 hours in mostly opposition strongholds have forced electoral officials to extend voting till Thursday in Zimbabwe as President Emmerson Mnangagwa seeks a second and final term.

A general election Wednesday in Zimbabwe is crucial to determining the future of a southern African nation endowed with vast mineral resources and rich agricultural land.

Zimbabwe has begun releasing more than 4,000 prisoners under a presidential amnesty.

Zimbabwe has announced the launch of a gold-backed digital currency in a bid to stabilize its faltering dollar.

Zimbabwe has brought in a law that bans health workers such as nurses and doctors from prolonged strikes, imposing punishments of up to six months in jail for defiant workers or union leaders.

Once a minority sport played mostly in Zimbabwe's wealthier neighborhoods, pool has increased in popularity over the years, first as a pastime and now as a survival mode for many in a country where employment is hard to come by.

Zimbabwe has loosened restrictions on travel and gatherings with the threat from COVID-19 receding.

An international wildlife conference has moved to enact some of the most significant protection for shark species targeted in the fin trade and scores of turtles, lizards and frogs whose numbers are being decimated by the pet trade.

World-renowned author Tsitsi Dangarembga has been found guilty of promoting public violence in her home country of Zimbabwe for participating in a largely peaceful anti-government protest in 2020.

Zimbabwe’s general election is several months away but many opposition figures say they are already battling government repression similar to the iron-fisted rule of Robert Mugabe, the former president who died in 2019.

A history-making team of Zimbabwean high school students that became world and European moot court competition champions has been widely praised in a country where the education system is beset by poor funding, lack of materials and teachers’ strikes.

Striking nurses and other health workers have brought Zimbabwe’s government hospitals to a near standstill, straining a once vibrant public health system now plagued by a lack of medicines and basic supplies such as gloves.

Zimbabwe has opened an international conference to try to win international support for its campaign to be allowed to sell its stockpile of seized ivory.

Cooking oil prices have been rising worldwide since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and Russia's war in Ukraine has sent those costs spiraling.

Zimbabwe has launched a new COVID-19 vaccination campaign that includes jabbing children aged 12 and above to rescue a drive faltering due to vaccine hesitancy and complacency.

Police say one person has died and several others were injured at an opposition party rally in Zimbabwe.

A retired U.S. Army soldier has been fined $400 and given a suspended 36-month jail sentence for attempting to carry a gun and ammunition onto a plane in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe’s leading opposition figure Nelson Chamisa drew thousands of cheering supporters on Sunday to his first political rally since forming a new party weeks ago, as the country gears for elections that have been postponed due to COVID-19.

Zimbabwe’s government says it will stop paying salaries of staff who are unvaccinated against COVID-19, while ordering those who have received jabs to report for work at their offices “with immediate effect,” after more than a year of most government employees working from home.

A teachers’ strike has paralyzed learning at many Zimbabwean schools, which opened this week after a prolonged closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zimbabwe is allowing bars to reopen for the first time in more than a year, but only fully vaccinated people will be allowed to buy a swig.

Zimbabwe has told all government employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or they will not be allowed to come to work.

The economic ravages of COVID-19 are forcing some families in Zimbabwe to abandon the age-old tradition of taking care of their older people.

Zimbabwe is opening COVID-19 vaccinations to those aged 14 and older and is only permitting fully vaccinated people to eat in restaurants, to encourage more people to get shots, as a devastating wave of the disease recedes.

Zimbabwe has received the first batch of dozens of its citizens being deported from Britain, some after staying in that country for decades and forced to leave families behind to face an uncertain future back home.

Zimbabwe has returned to strict lockdown measures to combat a resurgence of COVID-19 amid vaccine shortages.

A new surge of the coronavirus is finally penetrating Africa’s rural areas, where most people on the continent live, spreading to areas that once had been seen as safe havens from infections that hit cities particularly hard.

Zimbabwean writer and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga has been awarded a prestigious German prize in honor of a body of work that has made her a prominent African literary voice.

Some of the most desperately poor countries in the world are seeing a two-headed crisis: a surge in COVID-19 cases and a critical shortage of vaccine.

Zimbabwe’s president vowed to ensure the repatriation of the skull of a 19th-century anti-colonialist heroine who was hanged for leading resistance to white occupation, as he unveiled her bronze statue.

Zimbabwe’s tobacco is flourishing again.

Zimbabwe has begun releasing about 3,000 prisoners under a presidential amnesty aimed at easing congestion to reduce the threat of COVID-19 in the country’s overcrowded jails.

But COVAX has been facing delays related to the limited global supply of vaccine doses as well as logistical issues. That’s why some countries such as South Africa, the hardest-hit African nation, are also pursuing COVID-19 vaccines via bilateral deals and through the African Union’s bulk-purchasing program. There are ongoing discussions between WHO, the global vaccine alliance GAVI and Indian authorities aimed at ensuring COVAX shipments continue to be prioritized, the official said. That amounts to about 1.5 billion vaccine doses. This is a global pandemic, and we need to solve it through global vaccination, global public health methods," said Anthony Costello, a professor of global health and sustainable development at University College London.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, centre, receives his shot of the Chinese Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in Victoria Falls, Wednesday March 24, 2021. Mnangagwa got his jab in the resort town of Victoria Falls, in a bid to promote tourism and launch the second phase of the countrys vaccination drive. (AP Photo/STR)HARARE – Zimbabwe’s president has received his first shot of the Chinese Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, a move the government hopes will encourage more people to seek the Chinese vaccines, which are the only ones currently available in the country. President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday got a jab in Victoria Falls, in western Zimbabwe, to promote tourism and launch the second phase of the country's vaccination drive. Zimbabwe purchased 200,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine which arrived from China earlier this month.

Pallbearers stand next to coffins of three top government officials at their burial at the National Heroes acre in Harare, Wednesday, Jan, 27, 2021. Pallbearers in full COVID-19 protective gear wheeled the coffins of the two Cabinet ministers and a former head of Zimbabwe's prisons on a red carpet for burial with military honors. Zimbabwe has now lost four cabinet ministers to COVID-19. President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the coronavirus is reaping a “grim harvest” in the country while presiding last week at the burial of one of the ministers who died from COVID-19 at the same shrine. Several other prominent political and business leaders have died from the virus in recent weeks, leaving the country scratching for answers.

Zimbabwean journalist Hopwell Chin'ono arrives at the magistrates courts in Harare, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. On Friday, Zimbabwe police arrested the prominent journalist for the third time in six months. Chinono posted on his Twitter account that police had picked him from his house and said they were charging him with communicating falsehoods. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)HARARE – Zimbabwe’s High Court on Wednesday freed on bail journalist Hopewell Chin’ono who had spent nearly three weeks in prison — his third detention in five months. Chin’ono is one of Zimbabwe's most prominent critics of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration, accusing it of corruption and human rights abuses.

Mnangagwa presided at the burial of one Cabinet minister last week, shortly after the death of the foreign minister was announced. Many of the country's elites are treated at expensive private facilities or fly out of the country for health care. Zimbabwe, like many other African countries, initially recorded low numbers of COVID-19 but has recently experienced a spike in cases. Many people are not being tested, nor are they going to hospitals for help, said a doctors’ association, noting that on some days, nearly half of COVID-19 deaths happen outside hospitals. Mnangagwa on Saturday said the government health officials are still deciding which vaccine to acquire.

FILE In this Jan, 12, 2020 file photo, Zimbabwe's Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo in Harare, Zimbabwe. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/File)HARARE – Zimbabwe’s Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo, who gained prominence in 2017 as the military general who announced the coup against then-president Robert Mugabe on television, has died from COVID-19, the government announced Wednesday. Moyo was appointed foreign affairs minister after President Emerson Mnangagwa took power with military backing. Zimbabwe is experiencing a resurgence of the disease, with record numbers of daily confirmed cases and deaths. Mnangagwa is on Thursday set to bury another Cabinet minister, Ellen Gwaradzimba, who died from COVID-19 last week.

Zimbabwean journalist Hopwell Chin'ono arrives at the magistrates courts in Harare, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. On Friday, Zimbabwe police arrested the prominent journalist for the third time in six months. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)HARARE – A Zimbabwean court has denied bail to prominent journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, who has been in detention for almost a week on accusations of publishing a falsehood. He was arrested last week for posting that police had killed an infant while enforcing lockdown rules. Chin'ono faces a fine or up to 20 years in jail if convicted of publishing a false story.

Zimbabwean journalist Hopwell Chin'ono arrives at the magistrates courts in Harare, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. On Friday, Zimbabwe police arrested the prominent journalist for the third time in six months. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)HARARE – A jailed Zimbabwean journalist on Tuesday said authorities are putting prisoners and jail guards at risk of COVID-19 by crowding him together with them despite a court order that he should be isolated because of his prior exposure to the virus. It is the third time he has been jailed there within the past five months in connection with items he posted on Twitter. The journalist and the opposition officials were arrested after they tweeted that police had beaten an infant to death while enforcing COVID-19 lockdown rules.

In response to to rising infections the country has reintroduced a night curfew, banned public gatherings, and indefinitely suspended the opening of schools. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)HARARE – Zimbabwe, battling a spike in new COVID-19 cases, has banned families from transporting their dead relatives between cities, as part of new measures to stop traditional funeral rites that are believed to be increasing the spread of the disease. The announcement stops the custom where families take the dead to their areas of birth for ceremonies and burial. Zimbabwe, like many other African countries, initially recorded low numbers of COVID-19 but has recently experienced a spike in cases. South Africa is currently battling a resurgence of the disease that is rapidly overwhelming its hospitals, health officials there report.

Zimbabwean journalist Hopwell Chin'ono arrives at the magistrates courts in Harare, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. On Friday, Zimbabwe police arrested the prominent journalist for the third time in six months. Chinono posted on his Twitter account that police had picked him from his house and said they were charging him with communicating falsehoods. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)NAIROBI – A prominent Zimbabwean journalist charged with communicating falsehoods has been sent to prison isolation after it emerged that he was likely exposed to people with COVID-19 prior to his arrest. Zimbabwe police on Friday arrested Hopewell Chin’ono for the third time in five months.

Thousands of people attend a music concert to celebrate the new year in Mbare, Harare, Friday, Jan 1, 2021. Despite the ban, large parties were held in several Zimbabwean cities and towns. Zimbabwe had recorded low numbers of COVID-19 infections since March last year when it imposed a lockdown that was later eased as infections slowed. Others are still gathering for church services under trees and without practicing social distancing or wearing masks while they sing and pray. Zimbabwe has recorded more than 17,190 cases and 418 deaths, according to figures released Wednesday by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Thousands of people attend a music concert to celebrate New Year's in the Mbare suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe, early Friday, Jan 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)MUTARE – In response to rising COVID-19 numbers, Zimbabwe has reintroduced a night curfew, banned public gatherings, and indefinitely suspended the opening of schools. “We are being overwhelmed and overrun,” Information Minister Nick Mangwana warned, saying the country's hospitals are rapidly reaching capacity with COVID-19 patients. Zimbabwe recorded 1,342 cases and 29 deaths in the past week, “the highest number recorded so far,” Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said, announcing the strict measures. Funerals are now limited to 30 people while other gatherings such as weddings and church services are banned for 30 days.

Zimbabwe investigative journalist Hopewell Chinono gets out of a prison van at the magistrates courts in handcuffs in Harare, Friday, Nov. 6, 2020. Chin'ono was denied bail on the grounds that he could commit other offenses if released. “The accused is not a good candidate for bail,” magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa said. His other lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, argued during earlier bail hearing proceedings that Chinóno should not be punished for doing his job. “Hopewell is a journalist and it’s his day to day job to share information,” she argued, saying Chin'ono “is a whistleblower.

Zimbabwe investigative journalist Hopwell Chin'ono, appears at the magistrates courts in handcuffs in Harare, Thursday, Nov, 5, 2020. Chin'ono who is one of Zimbabwe's most prominent critics of President Emmerson Mnangagwas administration, faces contempt of court and "obstructing the course of justice" charges. In the meantime, the journalist will spend the night in prison. In court on Thursday, he questioned why the police were taking him to an anti-corruption court when he was not being charged with committing corruption. Chin’ono is one of Zimbabwe’s most prominent critics of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration, accusing it of corruption and human rights abuses.

HARARE – Zimbabwe police have arrested investigative journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono on contempt of court charges, his lawyer said Tuesday. Chin’ono is being held at a police station in the capital, Harare, said Roselyn Hanzi of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, an organization representing the outspoken journalist. If convicted Chin'ono faces a fine or up to one year in prison, according to the charge, she said. Chin'ono is one of Zimbabwe's most prominent critics of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration, accusing it of corruption and human rights abuses. Journalists’ organizations, western embassies and human rights groups at that time said Chin’ono is being punished for exposing government corruption.

Zimbabwe schools have reopened in phases, but with smaller number of pupils, more teachers and other related measures to enable children to resume their education without the risk of a spike in COVID-19 infections. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)HARARE – Zimbabwe’s schools Monday reopened for pupils in two grades as part of a gradual process that will see all pupils return to class by early November. Teachers in Zimbabwe's government schools earn less than $50 a month and are demanding that they be paid at least $500 a month, he said. Primary and secondary school pupils wore masks and applied sanitizer before entering classrooms on Monday. The students in grades 7 and the final year of secondary school are to write local public examinations in order to graduate from primary and secondary school, respectively.

FILE - In this July 22, 2020, file photo, Zimbabwean writer Tsitsi Dangarembga demonstrates for the release of Zimbabwe Journalist Hopewell Chin'ono in Harare. Dangarembga who was arrested during anti-government protests is among six finalists announced Tuesday, Sept, 15, 2020 for the Booker Prize for fiction. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, File)LONDON – A Zimbabwean writer who was arrested during anti-government protests is among six finalists announced Tuesday on a diverse list of contenders for the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction. Founded in 1969, the prize is open to English-language authors from around the world, but until 2014 only British, Irish and Commonwealth writers were eligible. Mantel won the Booker for both its predecessors, “Wolf Hall” and “Bring up the Bodies” and had been widely tipped for a third victory.

HARARE A young Zimbabwean thrust into anti-government activism while searching for his missing journalist brother has died of colon cancer, just as well-wishers had raised money to get him into surgery. Patson Dzamara, 34, died Wednesday, according to Nelson Chamisa, leader of the MDC Alliance opposition party leader. Dzamara embarked on street protests and broadened his activism to include demands for democratic reforms and improved public health care. Dzamara's death highlighted the challenges facing Zimbabwe's health care system. Such surgery was not possible in Zimbabwes public health system which is plagued by widespread shortages and frequent strikes by doctors and nurses.

Zimbabwe journalist Hopewell Chin'ono appears at the magistrates courts while handcuffed in Harare, Wednesday, July, 22, 2020. Chin'ono known for exposing alleged government corruption is now accused of plotting against the government. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)HARARE Zimbabwe is embroiled in an economic and political crisis marked by human rights abuses, said the country's Roman Catholic bishops, who were then criticized by the government as evil and trying to promote genocide. Fear runs down the spines of many of our people today," said the bishops' statement. Mtetwa said Chinono is surviving on biscuits and water because prison food does not fit his medical requirements.

Zimbabwe journalist Hopewell Chin'ono appears at the magistrates courts while handcuffed in Harare, Wednesday, July, 22, 2020. More than 60 people have been arrested so far in the continuing clampdown, said Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, which is providing lawyers for the arrested people. Zimbabwes main opposition party, the MDC Alliance, says dozens of its officials have been arrested or have gone into hiding. Human rights groups accuse President Emmerson Mnangagwas administration of clamping down on dissent under the guise of enforcing anti-COVID-19 lockdown rules. The ongoing arrests are worrying, said Dewa Mavhinga, Human Rights Watch director for Southern Africa.

(AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)HARARE Scores of people were arrested Friday in Zimbabwe as hundreds of military troops as well as police attempted to thwart an anti-government protest, with streets empty and many people hiding indoors. Organizers said demonstrators originally planned to protest alleged government corruption but instead targeted the ruling political party, using the hashtag #ZANUPFmustgo.Tensions are rising in Zimbabwe as the economy implodes. Police arrested scores of people who tried to hold low-key protests, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said. The normally teeming downtown capital, Harare, was deserted as soldiers and police patrolled and manned checkpoints. I have never seen these security people so effective, and the people so compliant, even during those days of the complete lockdown."

Zimbabwe journalist Hopewell Chin'ono appears at the magistrates courts while handcuffed in Harare, Wednesday, July, 22, 2020. Chin'ono known for exposing alleged government corruption is now accused of plotting against the government. Hopwell Chin'ono appeared alongside Jacob Ngarivhume, an opposition politician who is accused of conspiring with to mobilize anti government protests planned for July 31. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)HARARE A Zimbabwean journalist known for exposing alleged government corruption and now accused of plotting against the government is appearing in court on Wednesday. Foster Dongozi, the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists secretary-general, said he is being victimized for exposing corruption in government.

Zimbabwe journalist Hopewell Chino'ono, left, speaks to state media during the launch of his documentary, State of Mind, in Harare, in this Oct. 10, 2018 photo. Zimbabwe police on Monday July 20, 2020, swooped in and detained Hopewell Chino'ono, the prominent journalist and opposition leader, ahead of anti-government protests planned for the end of this month, their lawyers said. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)HARARE Zimbabwe police on Monday swooped in and detained a prominent journalist and an opposition leader ahead of anti-government protests planned for the end of this month, their lawyers said. The journalist, Hopewell Chinono, has a huge following on Twitter, where he regularly posts about alleged government corruption. The arrest of Chinono, a Harvard University Nieman Fellow, drew sharp criticism in Zimbabwe and abroad.