Free Republic

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Supporters of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe used axes, clubs and stones to attack a meeting of opposition politicians Thursday, injuring several people, opposition party officials said. Morgan Tsvangirai, head of the Movement for Democratic Change, took shelter in his armor-protected car and was not injured, they said. The violence erupted in Mvurwi, about 60 miles north of Harare, the capital, as about 400 opposition leaders and supporters discussed preparations for parliamentary elections next March. Witnesses said about 200 ruling party ZANU-PF militants attacked the meeting. "It is an exaggeration to say it was an assassination attempt...

Cuba's government said late on Saturday it had restored power to nearly one-fifth of the island's people after the national grid collapsed twice in 24 hours, plunging millions of people into darkness. The unprecedented nationwide blackout is the latest blow in the nation of 10 million, already suffering from dramatic shortages of food, medicine and fuel. Cuba's top electricity official, Lazaro Guerra, said the grid operator was working to restore electricity but that the process would be slow and rushing the job could lead to more blackouts and a deterioration of service. "I cannot assure you that we will be...

President Maduro Deliberately Causes Shortages to Cow Venezuelan Citizens into Submission Even with the collapse of the price of oil, Venezuela’s total export revenue this year will yield a similar amount to Peru’s total exports. Peru and Venezuela have the same population, and the world knows there are no food lines in Peru and no one is dying for lack of medicines in that country. Unfortunately, most reporting by the international press on Venezuela’s current crisis, while mentioning the Chavista regime’s mismanagement and corruption, also places the blame on the economic crisis that befell the country after oil prices collapsed...