Category: zimbabwe

Harare – A clandestine alliance of retired military generals, operating under the moniker “Bloc of Rebels,” has reportedly emerged as a formidable challenge to the entrenched leadership of Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party. This development signals a deepening fissure within the nation’s political landscape, with former architects of power now seemingly intent on reshaping its future. […]

The post The Angry Army Generals’ Rebellion: A Covert Challenge to ZANU-PF’s Grip on Power first appeared on My Zimbabwe News.

The US is pushing to secure a role for American companies in a $12.5 billion Ethiopian Airlines airport project. Washington is seeking greater commercial and infrastructure influence in Africa, where China now has a stronger presence.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for the Middle East and Africa Mark Mitchell described Bishoftu International Airport as a “transformative” project during a virtual briefing in Addis Ababa.

“Across agencies… the Department of Commerce has closely engaged in pushing to secure strong United States participation,” he said after talks with Ethiopian Airlines officials.

Mitchell did not identify potential companies or contracts, but said US involvement could result in “more Boeing aircraft powered by GE Aerospace engines.” Ethiopian Airlines agreed in April to purchase six additional Boeing 787-9s.

Construction began in January about 40 km southeast of Addis Ababa. Ethiopian Airlines says the first phase will be completed in 2030 and handle 60 million passengers annually. Capacity is expected to reach 110 million when fully developed, making it Africa’s largest airport.

The project is intended to accommodate the state-owned carrier’s rapid expansion. Ethiopian Airlines reported a 20% increase in revenue to a record $9.1 billion in the 2025-2026 fiscal year, according to the Ethiopian News Agency. It transported 20.7 million passengers and added nine aircraft and four international routes. The carrier now operates more than 170 planes and serves 150 international destinations.

Under a financing mandate signed last August, the African Development Bank plans to provide a $500 million loan and lead efforts to mobilize $8.7 billion for Bishoftu.

The US initiative comes as Washington competes with Beijing for trade, technology, and infrastructure cooperation in Africa. Ethiopian business newspaper Addis Fortune reported in January that China Communications Construction Company and Beijing Urban Construction Group were conducting initial site clearing and groundwork at Bishoftu.

Ethiopian Airlines has separately confirmed on its website that several Chinese firms and joint ventures were shortlisted to bid for the airport’s main construction and infrastructure packages.

The push comes despite lingering trade tensions. Ethiopia remains excluded from the US African Growth and Opportunity Act program after Washington suspended its eligibility in 2022, citing human rights violations during the conflict in northern Ethiopia.

RT News

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HARARE — Air Zimbabwe has rescheduled one of its newly reinstated Harare–London Gatwick services after an operational delay, underscoring the logistical challenges that often accompany the launch of long-haul international routes while leaving the airline’s broader revival strategy intact.

The national carrier confirmed that Flight UM724, originally scheduled to depart Harare on Friday, 31 July, will now leave on Saturday, 1 August, at approximately 9:00 p.m., arriving at London Gatwick at around 6:00 a.m. on Sunday. The corresponding return service is expected to depart London later on Saturday and land in Harare on the same day.

Air Zimbabwe attributed the disruption to unspecified operational reasons and apologised to passengers affected by the schedule change.

“Flight UM724 has been rescheduled to Saturday, 1 August 2026 at 9:00 p.m. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate our passengers’ understanding as we continue to provide safe and reliable services,” the airline said.

Early Reliability Test for Flag Carrier

The postponement comes only days after Air Zimbabwe restored direct scheduled passenger services between Harare and London for the first time in sixteen years, making the disruption an early test of the airline’s operational resilience and customer confidence.

Industry analysts note that isolated delays during the initial weeks of a long-haul route launch are not uncommon, particularly where operations involve new aircraft, international regulatory coordination, ground handling arrangements and unfamiliar scheduling across multiple jurisdictions.

For Air Zimbabwe, maintaining schedule integrity will be essential as it seeks to rebuild its reputation after years of financial difficulties, fleet constraints and reduced international operations.

Strategic Route with Economic Importance

The Harare–London service represents one of the airline’s most commercially significant routes, reconnecting Zimbabwe directly with one of its largest diaspora markets while strengthening links for tourism, business travel, education and investment.

The airline currently operates three weekly services, departing Harare on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with return flights from London Gatwick on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The restoration of the route forms part of Air Zimbabwe’s wider strategy to rebuild its international network and reposition itself as a competitive regional and long-haul carrier.

Government officials have previously described the London service as a strategic aviation asset capable of supporting Zimbabwe’s broader economic engagement with the United Kingdom through improved connectivity for exporters, investors and international visitors.

ACMI Leasing Model Reduces Operational Risk

Unlike previous attempts to restore international operations using its own fleet, Air Zimbabwe is operating the London route through an Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance (ACMI) wet lease agreement with Spanish airline Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas.

Under the arrangement, Plus Ultra supplies the Airbus A330-300 aircraft together with flight crews, maintenance support and insurance coverage, while Air Zimbabwe manages ticket sales, passenger services, marketing and the commercial operation of the route.

The ACMI model has become increasingly common among airlines reopening international routes because it enables operators to launch services without immediately committing to the substantial capital expenditure required to acquire and maintain wide-body aircraft.

Passenger Confidence Remains Critical

While a single operational delay is unlikely to undermine the long-term viability of the Harare–London service, aviation experts argue that consistency and reliability will be critical to sustaining demand in a highly competitive market served by established international carriers.

Business travellers, in particular, place a premium on schedule reliability, while leisure passengers increasingly compare service quality, punctuality and network connectivity when selecting airlines.

For Air Zimbabwe, the successful stabilisation of the London route will be closely watched by investors, regulators and the travelling public alike, as the airline seeks to demonstrate that its international revival is both commercially sustainable and operationally dependable.

Although the postponement is disappointing for affected passengers, industry observers view such early operational adjustments as part of the normal maturation process for newly relaunched long-haul services. The more important measure of success will be the airline’s ability to deliver consistent performance over the coming months as it rebuilds confidence in Zimbabwe’s flag carrier.

The post Air Zimbabwe Reschedules London Flight, Highlighting Early Operational Challenges in International Relaunch appeared first on The Zimbabwe Mail.

HARARE – The celebratory echoes of traditional drums and the theatrical arch of water salutes at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport have barely faded, but the “triumph” of Air Zimbabwe’s return to London has already hit a turbulent patch of reality. Just ten days after its much-vaunted relaunch, the national carrier was forced to abruptly […]

The post Trouble in paradise already: Air Zimbabwe cancels Harare-to-London flight as pilot mysteriously falls sick, passengers stranded first appeared on My Zimbabwe News.

GENEVA — Successfully stopping Gianni Infantino’s FIFA plan to sell World Cup profits to private investors was the first half of a high-stakes game in global soccer politics.

The second half kicked off Saturday with what seemed a clear aim of ending Infantino’s decade-long presidency.

“No option should be off the table,” said European soccer body UEFA, whose president Aleksander Čeferin has led the fight against Infantino in a seismic week for FIFA.

“The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.”

Later Saturday, the governing body for North and Central American and Caribbean soccer (CONCACAF) called for accountability, saying: “A (World Cup) proposal of this magnitude does not reach that stage by accident. It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first. This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behaviour. A full review of this leadership must now take place.”

Infantino had proposed creating a $20 billion company to run the World Cup with private investors but drew backlash that grew every day since Tuesday’s announcement.

Infantino was forced to scrap the plan early Saturday after his senior adviser who sat on a White House panel resigned and Asia’s soccer body joined Europe and North America in opposing it.

UEFA, the governing body of European soccer, issued its blistering statement hours after FIFA announced it was withdrawing its private equity plan.

“We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game,” UEFA said. “We must identify those responsible and hold them to account.

“It is right that, in the coming days and weeks, UEFA will work with its associations and in close cooperation with other confederations to reflect on how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again.”

Norwegian soccer federation president Lise Klaveness, an elected member of the UEFA executive committee, said steps must be taken to protect the integrity of the sport.

“The entire framework of international football cooperation was unnecessarily put at risk in pursuit of individual interests rather than the best interests of the game,” Klaveness said Saturday. ”This has been visible to many for a long time, including those of us elected to positions intended to safeguard checks and balances and provide ongoing oversight. We have to recognise that these mechanisms have not worked well enough.”

The president of the Asian soccer confederation, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, said “the future of global football must always be shaped through proper consultation, collective dialogue and respect for the established governance structures of our game.”

Infantino’s audacious bid fell apart after UEFA’s 55-member nations agreed Thursday to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions. CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation also said they opposed the plan.

CONCACAF’s statement added that FIFA leaders have “a duty of service over power. Where that duty is not upheld, accountability cannot be optional.”

There was also an internal revolt.

Infantino’s senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker who represented the soccer body on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, resigned on Friday and urged other senior FIFA staff to speak out.

Hours later, FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour issued a statement to The Associated Press, saying FIFA staff were deceived by Infantino’s lack of openness in planning the sale over recent months and that the project must not continue.

“It is the project of one person,” wrote Lamour, a longtime colleague of Infantino at both FIFA and UEFA. “Not only must this project not go ahead … but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions.”

Infantino had proposed spinning off FIFA’s commercial businesses — including World Cups and Club World Cups for men and women — into a $20 billion subsidiary with 20% owned by private investors.

The “anchor investor,” described by FIFA, is a New York-based investment firm launched by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

This is not Infantino’s first big plan to flop

A tumultuous week in international soccer is at least the third time Infantino has rocked it with an ambitious plan many in the sport saw as reckless.

But the fallout from FIFA’s Kushner-backed plan is the first time UEFA has acted quickly to create momentum for removing the man who was its former long-time employee.

In 2018, Infantino pushed a secretive offer of $25 billion from Japan’s SoftBank to create new competitions that posed a long-term risk to continental events for clubs and national teams.

In 2021, Infantino proposed playing World Cups every two years instead of four — an idea that also angered the International Olympic Committee, where he is an elected member.

Both plans created big rifts in the sport and were eventually dropped by FIFA.

Despite the turmoil, Infantino was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023.

The third time shapes to be different.

Here is the calendar for the FIFA presidency

Nov. 18 is the deadline for candidates to enter the next presidential contest, exactly four months ahead of the vote in Rabat, Morocco, where FIFA has its African headquarters.

FIFA statutes allow Infantino one more four-year term in office. The failed spinoff venture seemed like a way to create a commissioner-like role for Infantino beyond 2031, likely paying much more than his current annual salary and a bonus deal of more than $6 million.

It would take 106 votes to ensure a majority in a contested election. Continents surely do not vote uniformly en bloc, but most of Europe’s 55, plus Asia’s 46 and CONCACAF’s 35 FIFA members would be a solid base.

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