Zimbabwe protests
Zimbabwean journalist denied bail for third time
Chin'ono, 49, has been charged for his role in promoting opposition-organised protests against corruption and the country's ailing economy.
Zimbabwe's information, publicity, and broadcasting service's secretary Nick Mangwana says despite reports of a government clampdown, there is no crisis or implosion in the country.
Pressure is mounting on the South African government to speak out against the alleged human rights violations meted out against protestors in that country.
Scores of protesters in Harare have been met with violence while trying to draw attention to the country’s economic challenges.
Streets were deserted and businesses shut in Zimbabwe’s two main cities on Friday after security forces were deployed to prevent anti-government marches called by activists over corruption and economic hardship.
The embassies of the European Union, United Kingdom, France, the United States and Canada issued a joint statement on Tuesday criticising President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government for cracking down on recent MDC-led protests.
The EU, together with the US, Britain and other Western nations, said the recent harassment and intimidation of rights defenders was a cause for great concern.
Soldiers and armed police on horseback and in trucks patrolled the central business district and most of the high-density suburbs.
The opposition MDC officially called off a planned mass protest amid fears of bloodshed after police banned the action on Thursday.
Scores of people gathered in a square in the capital Harare to demonstrate against the country's worsening economy, despite massive police deployment and a ban upheld by a court the same morning.
On Friday morning, the High Court denied a planned protest application by the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), sparking wide outrage.
Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, was on lockdown on Friday as riot police clashed with citizens and protesters of the Movement for Democratic Change in the city's CBD.
Chaos broke out in the streets of Harare when police began beating citizens, including elderly women, throwing teargas and conducting arrests.
Church leaders said they had stepped forward to mediate and reconcile political parties, which would lay the basis for the recovery of the ZImbabwean economy.
It’s also verified 17 cases of sexual assault and rape, and says survivors identified soldiers as the perpetrators.
On Tuesday, a nationwide strike by public sector teachers for better pay got off to a patchy start, as some stayed at home while others attended school but did not teach amid fears of further intimidation.
The crackdown came after protesters took to the streets to voice their anger about a sudden spike in fuel prices, claiming at least 12 lives.
At least 12 civilians died and hundreds more were injured following a joint police and military crackdown on protesters after shops were looted and set on fire.
Wage negotiations between the government and the Apex Council, which represents 17 public sector unions, broke down on Wednesday.