The World Health Organization confirmed 483 deaths from cholera in Zimbabwe as of Tuesday, warning the outbreak could accelerate sharply without rapid access to treatment. The Budiriro district of Harare remained the hardest-hit area, with nearly 5,800 suspected cases on record.
Harare entered its second day without running water, pushing residents across the city in search of supplies and, in some cases, forcing them to pry open manholes to reach underground pipes. Informal vendors capitalized on the shortage, selling 25-litre containers for $25 each. Hospital workers in Harare, Bulawayo, and Mutare stayed away from their posts, leaving health facilities largely without staff.
UNICEF announced a four-month emergency response to expand clean water access and support 250,000 orphans, itself only a portion of children who have lost parents to the AIDS epidemic.
Soldiers went on a looting spree in Harare on Monday during an operation targeting illegal foreign-currency traders, and police were called in to stop it. Army spokesman Colonel Simon Tsatsi blamed "a small number of indisciplined soldiers."
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, speaking in Dakar, said food, health care, and education were all in free fall. The crisis has renewed pressure on Mugabe and Tsvangirai's MDC to put their September power-sharing agreement into practice, a deal that has yet to produce results.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in December 2008, in its own words.