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The ZIMBABWE PORTAL Zimbabwe (/zɪmˈbɑːbweɪ/ zim-BAHB-way; officially the Republic of Zimbabwe) is a landlocked country of southern Africa. It shares a 125-mile (200-kilometre) border on the south with the Republic of South Africa and is bounded on the southwest and west by Botswana, on the north by Zambia, and on the northeast and east by Mozambique. The capital is Harare (renamed from Salisbury in 1982). Zimbabwe achieved recognised independence from Britain in April 1980, following a 14-year period as an unrecognised state under the predominantly white minority government of Rhodesia, which unilaterally declared independence in 1965. Rhodesia briefly reconstituted itself as black-majority ruled Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979, but this order failed to gain international acceptance. Zimbabwe has three official languages: English, Shona and Ndebele. The country today equivalent to Zimbabwe was first demarcated by the British South Africa Company in the late 19th century; it became the self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia in 1923. President Robert Mugabe is the head of State and Commander in Chief of the armed forces. Morgan Tsvangirai was the Prime Minister from 2009-2013. Mugabe has been in power since the country's internationally recognised independence in 1980. Under his leadership the economy of Zimbabwe has declined from one of the strongest in Africa to the weakest. Read more... The Rhodesian Bush War, also known as the Second Chimurenga or the Liberation Struggle, was a guerrilla war which lasted from July 1964 to 1979 and led to universal suffrage, the end of biracial rule in Zimbabwe Rhodesia, and the creation of the Republic of Zimbabwe. The Smith and Muzorewa governments fought against Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union and Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union. The war is viewed by many Zimbabweans as a war of national liberation, as many of them considered their country as having been occupied and dominated by a foreign power, namely, Britain, since 1890. It was felt that black Zimbabweans had been subjected to racial discrimination and brutality in most spheres of human existence in the country. The nationalists went to war over the land question and institutionalised racism, applied in all spheres of Rhodesian life. The land question resulted from the land dispossession, forced removal from land imposed upon the majority black population by the Rhodesian government. By contrast, most white Rhodesians viewed the war as one of survival with savage atrocities committed in the former Belgian Congo, the Mau Mau Uprising campaign in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa fresh in their minds. Many white and black Rhodesians viewed the lifestyle of themselves as safer and with a higher standard of living then African countries to their north. Birchenough Bridge is the name for both a bridge across the Save River (pronounced Sa've) and a village next to the bridge. Birchenough Bridge is located 62 km from Chipinge in the Manicaland province of Zimbabwe linking Mutare with Masvingo. The bridge was funded and planned by the Beit Trust, a foundation chaired at the time by Sir Henry Birchenough, it was completed in 1935. At a length of 1080 feet (329 meters) it was the third longest single-arch suspension bridges in the world at the time. Gloriosa is a genus of five species in the plant family Colchicaceae, from tropical Asia and Africa. They are tuberous rooted deciduous perennials, adapted to a monsoon climate with a dormant dry season. It is sometimes called gloriosa lily or climbing lily. Gloriosa climb or scramble over other plants with the aid of tendrils at the ends of their leaves and can reach 3 meters in height. They have showy red or orange flowers, distinctive because of their pronouncedly reflexed petals, like a Turk's cap lily. The plant is sometimes called the glory lily or flame lily. G. rothschildiana is the national flower of Zimbabwe and was the national flower of Rhodesia. From Wikipedia's newest articles: ...that Cornway College was established in 2006? ...that the area of the Zambezi basin is 1,390,000 km²? ...that Lobengula, King of Matabeleland, signed the Rudd Concession on 30 October 1888? ...that Josiah Gumede, the only president of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia died in 1989? ...that Zimbabwean footballer, Bruce Grobbelaar, played for Liverpool F.C.? Jul 7: The UK based Observer newspaper reports that oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is considering pulling out of Zimbabwe. The company holds shares in a joint venture with rival BP, which supplies 74 petrol stations around Zimbabwe. Jul 6: South Africa's Thabo Mbeki holds talks in Zimbabwe with President Mugabe and leaders of a breakaway opposition faction. Jul 5: South Africa’s main labour union the Confederation of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) held a demonstration at the Beitbridge border post Saturday protesting against Robert Mugabe’s regime. Spokesman Jan Tsiane urged continental bodies to intervene in the crisis and help restore democracy in the wake of Mugabe’s one-man election. Jul 4: Robert Mugabe has warned neighbouring countries to ‘think twice’ before launching an attack against his regime. Analysts say this could be viewed as a direct threat to Botswana, who this week deployed an army brigade with artillery to patrol its border with Zimbabwe. Jul 3: The South African president’s shameful role as the so called “mediator” in the Zimbabwe crisis appears to have isolated him from his own countrymen, who are now fans of a free Zimbabwe, rather than fans of Mbeki. Jul 2: Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Tuesday night said South Africa had failed its “Apartheid era friends” by supporting Russia and China in the UN Security Council vote with regards to Zimbabwe. Jul 1: MDC Vice-President Thokozani Khupe said African leaders are aware there is a ‘big problem’ in Zimbabwe that urgently needs to be dealt with. Speaking from Johannesburg on her way back home from the AU summit in Egypt, Khupe said 40 African leaders supported the MDC victory in the March elections. Frederick Selous Frederick Courteney Selous (or Courtney) (31 December 1851 - 4 January 1917) was a British explorer, hunter, and conservationist famous for his exploits in Southern Africa. His real-life adventures inspired Sir H. Rider Haggard to create the fictional Allan Quatermain character. Selous was also a good friend of Theodore Roosevelt and Frederick Russell Burnham. He was the older brother of ornithologist and writer Edmund Selous. Selous was born in London, and was educated at Rugby and in Germany. His love for natural history led to the resolve to study the ways of wild animals in their native haunts. Going to South Africa when he was nineteen, he travelled from the Cape of Good Hope to Matabeleland, reached early in 1872, and was granted permission by Lobengula to shoot game anywhere in his dominions. Zimbabwe · Architecture · Communications · Culture · Economy · Education · Environment · Geography · Government · Healthcare · History · Law · Lists · Media · Military · People · Politics · Society · Sport · Transport Zimbabwe stubs · Geography · People Zimbabwe-related tasks You can help! Here are some Zimbabwe related tasks you can do: Requests: Ruwa Scout Park, Central African Jamboree, Lotus Group, Bulawayo Asian Civil Rights League, Rhodesia Bantu Voters Association, Nyasaland Chiefs Conference, Nyasaland African National Congress, Monarchy of Rhodesia, more... Stubs: Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Econet Wireless, Khame Ruins, Wildlife of Zimbabwe Category:Zimbabwe stubs Category sorting: Verify or Factual Accuracy: Update: NPOV : Citations: Copyedit, Style or Cleanup: Expand: Related Wikiprojects: Wikipedia:WikiProject Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe-related topics notice board - Collaboration Project view • • discuss • history • watch Africa Botswana Mozambique Namibia South Africa Zambia WikiProject Zimbabwe Zimbabwean Wikipedians' Notice Board · Wikipedians in Zimbabwe · Zimbabwean Collaboration of the Month · New Zimbabwean articles WikiProject Rhodesia The following Wikimedia sister projects provide more on this subject: What are portals? List of portals Featured portals