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Banknotes of the new national currency Zimbabwe Gold, ZiG for short, are presented at a press conference of the Central Bank of Zimbabwe. Due to high inflation, Zimbabwe's central bank has introduced a new currency that is primarily linked to gold, but also to a number of other precious metals and foreign currencies.
Hard numbers: Zimbabwe’s new bills, Ecuador in hot water, Russian dam failure, Ukraine’s air defense, Island-sized lottery.
70: Zimbabwe is rolling out the ZiG, a new currency pegged to gold and foreign cash. The government hopes to curb the freefall of its erstwhile dollar, whose value has declined by over 70% since January. People have three weeks to exchange the old notes for the new currency.
2: Two countries, Mexico and Nicaragua, have cut ties with Ecuador following a police raid Friday on Mexico’s Quito embassy that resulted in the arrest of Ecuador’s former vice president, Jorge Glas. Glas had been staying in the embassy seeking asylum since December, when a warrant was issued for his arrest. President Lopez Obrador responded angrily, calling the raid a “flagrant violation of international law,” and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega followed suit, referring to it as “reprehensible."
11,000: The failure of a dam in Orsk, Russia, has forced the evacuation of 11,000 residents and left over 4,000 buildings teetering on the brink. Several regional provinces in the area, near the Kazakhstan border, have suffered from flooding in recent days.
25: In a television interview that aired on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked allies for 25 US Patriot systems, saying they are vital to repelling Russian ballistic and hypersonic missiles that can hit targets within minutes. As Russia’s relentless bombing continues, the Ukrainian president warns that his country is running out of air-defense missiles.
1.3 billion: An Oregon lottery player snagged a Powerball prize north of $1.3 billion after no other player hit the jackpot for three months. For context, that’s roughly the equivalent of Grenada’s GDP, minus the taxman's cut, of course.Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa reacts after his inauguration at the National Sports Stadium in Harare, Zimbabwe
Hard Numbers: The Croc stays on top in Zimbabwe, India hops over the moon, Ukraine rejects doctors’ notes, Chileans play games with Pinochet, former Proud Boys leader sentenced
5: Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa was inaugurated for a second five-year term on Monday. Mnangagwa, a military man known as “The Crocodile,” toppled long-time strongman Robert Mugabe in a 2017 coup. Opposition parties dispute the results of last weekend’s election, and outside observers have flagged irregularities, but … the Croc don’t care.
40: One small hop for a lunar lander, one giant leap for the most populous country on earth! India’s Chandrayaan-3, which touched down on the moon last month, performed a surprise “hop” on Monday, lifting itself 40cm off the moon’s surface before landing again. The ability to do this difficult maneuver is crucial for future Indian missions that may involve bringing back samples or astronauts.
9: Ukraine’s military has identified 9 categories of physical or mental illness that will no longer exempt otherwise qualified people from doing their obligatory military service. The categories include asymptomatic HIV, minor disorders of the nervous or endocrine systems, and hepatitis. The change suggests that, after a year and a half of grueling war, Ukraine is feeling a manpower pinch.
6: Next week marks a half-century since the Chilean coup that ousted democratically elected socialist Salvador Allende and replaced him with right-wing strongman Augusto Pinochet. To mark the occasion, a Chilean sociologist spent 6 years creating a new espionage-themed video game in which the player’s objective is to resist the 17-year-long military dictatorship.
22: The former leader of the far-right Proud Boys was sentenced on Tuesday to 22 years in prison for his role in orchestrating the attack on the US Capitol after the 2020 election. Enrique Tarrio was handed down the longest sentence of the group, with three other men, who were tried on seditious conspiracy charges, given sentences last week of between 10 and 17 years.
Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa speaks to the media in Harare, on Aug. 27, 2023.
Hard Numbers: Zimbabwe election results, deadly attack in Haiti, British Museum recovery, valuable mug shot, chasing reindeer
52.6: President Emmerson “Crocodile” Mnangagwa claimed victory in Zimbabwe’s recent election with 52.6% of the vote, beating his main rival, Nelson Chamisa, according to official results announced late Saturday. The opposition is refusing to accept the results, claiming widespread voting irregularities.
7: At least seven people were killed in a gang attack on a Christian protest in Haiti. Gang violence has increased dramatically since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, and criminals now control up to 80% of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince.
2,000: The British Museum says it has recovered some of the 2,000 items believed to have been stolen by an insider over a long period of time. The thefts – which led to the recent resignation of the museum’s director – included 3,500-year-old gold jewelry, gemstones, and antiquities, some of which were found for sale on eBay.
7,000,000: Say cheese. The campaign of Donald Trump says it has raised over $7 million since he was booked in Georgia on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election and became the first-ever former US president to have a mug shot.
500,000: Norway is building a fence at a cost of €500,000 to stop its Sámi reindeer herds from crossing into Russia. Sounds costly, but this should save Oslo money, as Russia has demanded compensation of €6,700 per reindeer plus a lump sum of nearly €6.3 million for the days the animals have grazed on the Russian side of the border.
Locals wait to cast their votes during the Zimbabwe general elections in Kwekwe, outside Harare, Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe’s election: neither free nor fair
After a chaotic 24 hours that saw delays reported in many parts of the country, voting was extended in Zimbabwe’s presidential election this week. Some voters said they waited for more than 10 hours on Wednesday after many polling stations ran out of paper. At least 30% of voting centers in Harare, the capital, reportedly haven’t had access to core materials needed to operate.
Extending the vote, presumably so everyone has a chance to cast a ballot, aims to give the election – the second since Zimbabwe gained independence after white colonial rule in 1980 – a perception of fairness, though observers say the vote has been anything but.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the incumbent who leads the Zanu-PF Party formerly helmed by longtime despot Robert Mugabe, has been accused of stifling dissent and hamstringing the opposition in the lead up to the vote. Opposition forces and their supporters have been locked up, while Citizens Coalition for Change, the main opposition party led by lawyer and preacher Nelson Chamisa, has been banned from holding events. Meanwhile, in rural areas, voters have reportedly been beaten and harassed, forcing them to vote for the ruling party.
Still, there are signs that Zanu-PF is worried about the election outcome – which could go to an October runoff if no one reaps more than 50% of the vote.
If Mnangagwa wins, the CCC is likely to contest the outcome in court. The problem, however, is that the courts have been stacked with regime loyalists, which could give way to a period of prolonged instability and violence.
A man looks at the banner of Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Zimbabwe vote marred by apathy and disappointment
Zimbabweans are heading to the polls today, but few voters are feeling enthusiastic about the direction of their country. It’s only the second time that Zimbabwe is holding a vote since the ousting of longtime despot Robert Mugabe in 2017, but hopes that the southern African country of 15 million could undergo a democratic rebirth have largely dissipated.
Some quick background. Zimbabwe, a British colony until gaining independence in 1980, was ruled by liberation fighter-turned-autocrat Robert Mugabe until he was overthrown in a coup in 2017. At the time, most Zimbabweans rejoiced, hoping for a new dawn of economic growth and opportunity after years of corruption and oppression under the Mugabe regime.
But since then, Emmerson Mnangagwa, 80, Mugabe’s former deputy known as "the crocodile" due to his ruthlessness, has forced himself on the Zimbabwean people, coming to power in 2018 in an election broadly seen as a sham. Mnangagwa, a former guerilla fighter, was sentenced to death during white Colonial rule, but was ultimately able to escape that fate, serving a 10-year prison term instead, because he was under the age of 21. It was in prison that Mnangagwa and Mugabe met.
Most analysts say there’s no chance that today’s vote will be free or fair. Indeed, authorities have shut down recent rallies led by the Citizens Coalition for Change, the main opposition party led by Nelson Chamisa, 45, and arrested its supporters. Internet connections have also been slashed, limiting voters' access to key information.
The situation could not be more dire for the southern African state, where unemployment is pervasive, inflation is in the triple digits, and, according to some estimates, 90% of workers toil in the informal economy due to a dearth of investment and jobs. Zimbabwe is resource-rich, but decades of corruption, mismanagement, and underinvestment have meant that ordinary people have not benefited from mineral exports.
Crucially, Zimbabwe’s healthcare system is in tatters, and the government has stonewalled doctors and nurses from leaving the country in pursuit of higher salaries.
Outsiders are watching. Back in 2018, Mnangagwa used the military to quash dissent, resulting in at least six deaths. The US and EU have imposed sanctions on Zimbabwean individuals and entities as a result of the regime’s gross human rights abuses – and will be watching closely to see if there are more post-election clampdowns. And then there’s China, a major stakeholder in the Zimbabwean economy that has also helped transform it into a mini surveillance state.
A protester with vanished nails in Iranian flag holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini.
What We’re Watching: 40 days of protest in Iran, Franco-German tensions, good grain news
On Wednesday, Iranian authorities fired tear gas and live ammunition at mourners in Kurdistan province as they marched to the grave of Mahsa Amini 40 days after her in-custody death. Thousands ignored road blockades and marched through a field to reach Aichi Cemetery to pay their respects to the 22-year-old, who was reportedly beaten when arrested for wearing her hijab “improperly.” Meanwhile, protests continued around the country, taking hold most notably in the traditionally conservative grand bazaar in downtown Tehran, where people chanted “freedom” and called for the ousting of the supreme leader. It’s been six weeks since Amini’s death energized a women-led movement in Iran that has galvanized students, labor unions, and oil workers who are calling for the toppling of the repressive Islamic Republic. Human rights groups say more than 200 protesters have been killed by Iranian forces since demonstrations began, including dozens of children. What’s more, thousands have reportedly been arrested, and warehouses have been converted into makeshift prisons to house them. The stakes for Iranians couldn’t be higher, and yet the daily protests persist.
A Franco-German rift
France’s President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz seemed chummy when they met on Wednesday at the Elysée Palace, but relations between Europe’s two largest economies are more strained than they’ve been in years. Macron, for his part, has made no secret of the fact that he feels Scholz, who came into office just before Russia invaded Ukraine, has snubbed France – and the broader EU – by adopting a go-at-it-alone approach in response to the war, which Germany denies. Paris was particularly peeved when Berlin implemented a 200 billion euro ($200 billion) program to subsidize gas prices while rebuffing a bloc-wide energy price cap scheme centered on burden sharing. Additionally, although Berlin finally agreed to up its defense spending in recent months, the French lament that Germany is buying up American-made hardware rather than French firearms and European equipment – in line with Macron’s vision of “European strategic autonomy.” Though both sides seem interested in mending ties, the relationship will be tested further as Scholz prepares to visit China on Nov. 3 to deepen economic integration with Beijing, a move France has cautioned against.
Good food news from ... Zimbabwe
While many African countries have struggled this year to produce enough food due to grain shortages from Russia's war in Ukraine, Zimbabwe is set to have its largest-ever wheat harvest: 380,000 tons. It's a big deal for Southern Africa's former breadbasket-turned-basket-case under the dismal agricultural policies of ex-strongman Robert Mugabe. So, what's the secret sauce? Go small. The government has empowered smallholder farmers by giving them irrigation infrastructure and hard-to-get fertilizer to grow wheat, a cash crop traditionally reserved for Big Ag. What's more, Zimbabwe plans to use its surplus wheat to build a strategic reserve of the grain as insurance against future supply shocks. But there are two caveats. First, the smallholder-grown wheat is considered "soft" and must be blended with imported hard wheat to make bread. Second, farmers warn that more intense bushfires and rains — thank you climate change — might dampen hopes of a wheat windfall.This comes to you from the Signal newsletter team of GZERO Media. Sign up today.
Hard Numbers: AUKUS compensation, $5 gas in America, Iran-Venezuela cooperation, counting toes in Zimbabwe
600 million: Australia will cough up $600 million to compensate the French defense company it scrapped a submarine deal with in order to join AUKUS. Le sub snubstrained relations between Canberra and Paris and opened up a can of worms with Beijing.
5: Average US gasoline prices surpassed $5 a gallon for the first time on Saturday, just as peak driving season gets into full swing. This is bad news for President Joe Biden, who's struggling to ease inflation at the pump ahead of the November midterms with his own approval ratings in the tank.
20: Iran and Venezuela signed a 20-year cooperation agreement during Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's visit to Tehran. Details are murky, but the two oil-rich international pariahs will likely continue scratching each other's back while they remain under crippling US sanctions.
130: An internet rumor about Zimbabweans selling their toes for cash became so widespread that the deputy information minister asked Harare street vendors to debunk it by showing they all had 10 toes. What is true is that inflation has surged more than 130% since the beginning of the year in a nation with painful memories of worthless money.
Three years after Mugabe, Zimbabwe still hurting
In late 2017, Zimbabwe's long-serving strongman Robert Mugabe was deposed by the army after 37 years in power. Amid huge popular celebrations, he handed over the reins to Emmerson Mnangagwa, his former spy chief. It was an extraordinary turn of history: Mugabe, one of Africa's last "Big Men" and a hero of the struggle to end white minority rule, went out with barely a whimper, placing Zimbabwe — stricken by economic ruin and international isolation — in the hands of "The Crocodile."
Mugabe has since died, but almost three years after his departure, Zimbabwe's woes continue.
Last Friday, Mnangagwa's security forces swept clean the capital, Harare, ahead of a planned anti-government rally. Mnangagwa warned that anyone involved in what he called an "insurrection" would be dealt with Mugabe-style: rounded up and jailed. The few activists who defied the order ended up behind bars, including prominent local author and Booker Prize nominee Tsitsi Dangarembga.
Here's why protesters in Zimbabwe are fed up these days.
Political repression. Scores of dissidents have been killed by the security forces since Mnangagwa was formally elected in 2018, in a vote which the opposition claims was rigged. Recently arrested journalists and opposition leaders face up to ten years in prison if found guilty of inciting people to participate in public violence.
Corruption. Mugabe's regime was riddled with graft, but things haven't gotten much better since he left. The latest scandal involves a health minister who was caught inflating the cost of pandemic-related medical supplies; he was fired, but the journalist who exposed the scandal was imprisoned.
Inflation. Inflation is running at 737 percent at the moment, as the government prints money to cover expenses. Granted, that's a far cry from the November 2008, when prices rose annually at a world-record 89.7 sextillion percent (that's twenty zeros), but it's still enough to evaporate salaries and pensions.
COVID-19. Zimbabwe's frail health system has collapsed during the coronavirus pandemic. Doctors have sued the government over their lack of access to personal protective equipment, and nurses have gone on strike until they get paid in US dollars. Last week, staff shortages at one of Harare's major hospitals resulted in seven stillborn babies in one night. Instead of hiring more health workers, the government has arrested more than 100,000 people for violating lockdown orders.
Food security. The UN says six in ten Zimbabweans are on the brink of starvation due to the combined effects of severe droughts, economic crisis, and the pandemic. Subsistence farmers, responsible for three quarters of the country's food supply, have produced less than half of Zimbabwe's annual maize requirement this year. Mnangagwa's "response" has been to pay $3.5 billion to white farmers whose land was expropriated and left idle, which dramatically decreased Zimbabwe's once-sizable agricultural output.
As popular anger grows in Zimbabwe, the country's plight offers a sobering lesson: removing a dictator doesn't necessarily make things better — particularly if his system and his cronies remain in power. Will ordinary Zimbabweans, who were too afraid to rise up in large numbers against Mugabe, soon feel they have nothing to lose in standing up to his successor? And will Mnangagwa be able to keep them quiet much longer?