Zimbabwe Independent

The Zimbabwe Independent is a privately-owned weekly newspaper based in Harare, Zimbabwe. It is part of Alpha Media Holdings, which also publishes other notable publications such as The Standard and NewsDay.

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A look into Netanyahu’s wars

2 weeks ago | theindependent.co.zw | Gwynne Dyer

ISRAEL’S war with Iran is definitely the war that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has wanted all along, but he may have bitten off more than he can chew. In the past three months, Israel has bombed Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and now Iran. It has an open-ended war involving tens of thousands of Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip, and a lower-intensity counter-insurgency war in the occupied West Bank that also soaks up lots of Israeli troops.
The mystique of monarchy takes yet another victim

4 weeks ago | theindependent.co.zw | Gwynne Dyer

On May 26 to 27, King Charles III and Queen Camilla made a two-day visit to Canada to open the 45th parliament of his Canadian domain. The trip was purely symbolic, but pundits far and wide pontificated about the profound significance of the event. That’s their job, poor souls. Later this year, probably in September, Donald Trump will travel to the United Kingdom for his second “state visit”, and King Charles will swallow his distaste and welcome him to the UK with a clenched smile.
After Nato, what’s next?

1 month ago | theindependent.co.zw | Gwynne Dyer

General The Right Honourable The Lord Ismay, KG GCB etc., the first Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, was probably holding a glass of port after an excellent dinner when he growled his famous remark: “Nato was designed to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.” How well did that work out? Not all that badly. The alliance certainly kept the Russians out of Western Europe (if they ever hoped to advance any farther).
Impunity in Gaza: Israel and the great eviction

1 month ago | theindependent.co.zw | Gwynne Dyer

Israel may or may not have God on its side (opinions vary), but it certainly has the United States government on its side, and that seems to be enough. It has just attacked an unarmed civilian ship called “Conscience” with armed drones near Malta in the central Mediterranean, almost 2 000km from Israel — and nobody has said “boo”. Sceptics please note: Israel has not formally claimed responsibility for the operation.
Trump-era elections in Anglosphere

2 months ago | theindependent.co.zw | Gwynne Dyer

The dictionary defines a “horse whisperer” as “someone who is skilled at training horses using gentle, non-violent methods based on understanding horse behaviour and psychology”. By that standard, the only “Trump-whisperer” in Europe is Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (although Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni might get bit-parts in the movie).
Gaza: A statistical anomaly

2 months ago | theindependent.co.zw | Gwynne Dyer |Munyaradzi Madzokere |Mthandazo Nyoni |Tafadzwa Mhlanga

I was just idly looking at the casualty numbers the other day and I noticed that there was something badly wrong with them. This will take a little time and a few stats, but it’s worth staying with it. The number of civilians killed in Ukraine in three years of war, most of them from rockets, bombs and shells but a small proportion by bullets, is 12 605.
Three hours in Greenland

2 months ago | theindependent.co.zw | Gwynne Dyer

“We need to wake up from a failed, 40-year consensus that said we could ignore the encroachment of powerful countries as they expand their ambitions,” said US Vice-President JD Vance during his brief visit to the US military base at Pituffik in northern Greenland.
HCC faces financial ruin amid US$140m debt crisis

Mar 28, 2025 | theindependent.co.zw | Freeman Makopa |Sydney Kawadza |Julia Ndlela |Tafadzwa Mhlanga

HARARE City Council (HCC) is battling to service a crippling US$140 million debt that threatens to shut down its already struggling water treatment plant, the Zimbabwe Independent can reveal. The debt crisis stems from a US$144 million loan deal HCC entered into with China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) to overhaul its water and sewerage reticulation system, including upgrading the critical Morton Jaffray Waterworks.
New levies tax on trust, amid mismanagement catastrophe

Mar 26, 2025 | theindependent.co.zw | Faith Zaba |Ashton Ndakusiya |Tinashe Kairiza |Freeman Makopa

HARARE residents are understandably outraged by the introduction of three new levies by the City Council, covering public lighting, water infrastructure, and emergency services. At a time when Zimbabweans are already staggering under the weight of one of the heaviest tax burdens in Africa, this move adds insult to injury.
DR Congo: The tail still wags the dog

Mar 26, 2025 | theindependent.co.zw | Gwynne Dyer |Tinashe Kairiza |Freeman Makopa |Julia Ndlela

“JOSEPH Kabila boycotted the election and is preparing an insurrection because he is the AFC,” said President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo last October, and lo!It is coming to pass just as he predicted. But you cannot tell the players without a programme, so a little bit of explanation first. Well, a lot, really. Please be patient. It’s quite a tangled tale.