Closed banks a headache for Zimbabweans

Even though Gideon Gono, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, promised on Christmas Eve that banks would stay open across the country on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, Zimbabweans have found their banks closed today. The country has lately been going through a cash shortage, and the closure of the banks means that the few ATMs there are in Zimbabwe are unable to cope with the demand. This left customer queueing up instead of celebrating the holiday at home.

Tawanda Moyo, a teacher lining up at an ATM, said

I was hoping to find a shorter queue since it's Christmas, but it seems everyone has come out. After a year in which the struggle to survive got harder, one expected to rest through Christmas, not to be queuing for hours (BBC).

Just one more reason why Mugabe should resign and finally hand over power to people who may do something good with it.

Pope addresses global conflicts

Pope Benedict XVI has used his Easter address at Vatican City's St Peter's Square to discuss and condemn conflicts in Iraq and elsewhere in the world. The Pope said that "Nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn by continual slaughter as the population flees."

He praised the leaderships of Israel and the Palestinians for continuing talks aimed at reaching a peace agreement.

He also discussed the crises in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zimbabwe (BBC).

I'm glad the Pope isn't silent about the various troubled regions of the globe, but I wish the Catholic Church did more to mediate peace and to "speak truth to power".

Archbishop wants Mugabe out

Pius Ncube, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe has called on his countrymen to organise mass demonstrations in order to depose the authoritarian President Robert Mugabe, who has recently been cracking down violently on the opposition.

Archbishop Ncube said that Zimbabweans "must be ready to stand, even in front of blazing guns," and has pledged to be at the forefront of the demonstrations (BBC).