Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — At war with Iran, President Donald Trump is cycling through an increasingly desperate list of options as he searches for a solution to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. He has jumped from calls to secure the waterway through diplomatic means to lifting sanctions and now escalating to a direct threat against civilian infrastructure in the Islamic Republic.

Trump and his allies insist they were always prepared for Iran to block the strait, yet the Republican president’s erratic strategy has fueled criticism that he is grasping for answers after going to war without a clear exit plan. On Saturday came his latest attempt, via an ultimatum to Iran: Open the strait within 48 hours or the United States will “obliterate” the country’s power plants.

Trump’s aides defended the threat as a hard-edged tactic to press Iran into submission. Opponents framed it as the failure of a president who miscalculated what it would take to get out of a geopolitical mire.

“Trump has no plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, so he is threatening to attack Iran’s civil power plants,” said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass, adding: “This would be a war crime.”

“He’s lost control of the war and he is panicking,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., responding to Trump’s post.

Over the course of about a week, Trump has repeatedly shifted his approach on the crucial waterway for global oil and gas transport. There is growing urgency for Trump as soaring oil prices rattle global markets and pinch American consumers months before pivotal midterm elections.

Trump and diplomacy

Trump tried his hand at a diplomatic solution last weekend when he called for a new international coalition to send warships to the strait.

Allies turned him down. Trump then said the U.S. could manage on its own. On Friday he suggested other countries would have to take over as the U.S. eyes an exit. Hours later he indicated the waterway would somehow “open itself.”

“You can’t all of a sudden walk away after you’ve kind of created the event and expect other people to pick it up,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. told ABC’s “This Week.”

Trump’s Treasury Department on Friday made its latest attempt to get a handle on soaring gas prices, by lifting sanctions on some Iranian oil for the first time in decades. That relieved some of the pressure that Washington traditionally has used as leverage against Tehran.

The goal was to send millions more barrels of oil into the global market. It is not clear, however, how much of a dent that would make in lowering pump prices or how the administration could prevent Iran from cashing in on the renewed sales.

The administration earlier temporarily lifted sanctions on some Russian oil.

An ultimatum to Iran

Trump’s ultimatum, conveyed while he spent the weekend in Florida, carries a threat of remarkable aggression. His previous messaging mostly focused on U.S. success in hitting Iran’s air force, navy and missile production. This time, the threatened target is the energy infrastructure that powers hospitals, homes and more.

His social media post — 51 words, much of it in capital letters — did not have the appearance of a message that underwent the careful legal scrutiny needed to justify an attack on civilian infrastructure, said Geoffrey Corn, a law professor at Texas Tech University and a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army who served as a military lawyer.

“It certainly has a feeling of ready, fire, aim,” Corn said of Trump’s moving strategy.

“He overestimated his ability to control the events once he unleashed this torrent of violence.”

That type of widespread attack would probably be a war crime, Corn said. For military leaders, it could force a choice between obeying an order to carry out a war crime or refusing and facing criminal sanction for willful disobedience, he said.

Laws governing warfare do not explicitly forbid attacks on power plants, but the tactic is allowed only if an analysis finds that the military advantages outweigh the civilian harm, legal scholars say. It is seen as a high bar to clear because the rules of war are, at their core, designed to separate civilian and military targets.

Iran’s U.N. ambassador, in a letter to the Security Council, warned that the deliberate targeting of power plants would be inherently indiscriminate and a war crime, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

The White House has already faced intense backlash after the U.S. was blamed for a missile strike on an Iranian elementary school that killed more than 165 people.

Trump aides justify latest attempt to rein in the crisis

Trump provided scant detail on which plants might be targeted and how. He gave Iran until Monday to reopen the strait or else the U.S. will strike “various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!”

Trump’s team came to his defense Sunday, offering justification for striking Iran’s energy grid.

Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard controls much of the country’s infrastructure and is using it to power the war effort. He said potential targets include “gas-fired thermal power plants and other types of plants.”

Speaking on Fox News, Waltz said he wanted to get ahead of “hand-wringing” from the global community, calling the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. “The president is not messing around,” he said.

NATO’s secretary-general, Mark Rutte, who has allied himself closely to Trump, tried to calm tensions. He said he understood Trump’s anger and stressed that more than 20 countries are “coming together to implement his vision” of making the strait navigable as soon as possible.

Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, cautioned against an all-out attack like the one Trump threatened. “We want to leave everything in the country intact, so that the people who come after this regime are going to be able to rebuild and reconstitute,” he told CNN’s ”State of the Union.”

Trump’s threat could prove counterproductive: If it’s carried out, Iranian leaders said they would completely close the strait and retaliate against U.S. and Israeli infrastructure.

Source: AP

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MUTARE – Tendai Biti, the convener of the Constitution Defenders Forum (CDF), and the organisation’s programmes director Morgan Ncube will appear at Mutare Magistrates Court on Monday after being arrested by armed police on Saturday for allegedly failing to notify authorities of a private meeting.

The two are being held at Mutare Central Police Station.

They are charged with contravening the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act by failing to notify the police of their intention to hold a private meeting, a charge the CDF flatly rejected as legally baseless.

“The Maintenance of Peace and Order Act specifically excludes private meetings from the jurisdiction of the Zimbabwe Republic Police,” the CDF said in a statement issued on Sunday.

“As CDF we insist that our convener and programmes director have not violated any law.”

The CDF, which Biti co-founded, has been at the forefront of the campaign against the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 3) Bill, 2026.

The arrests come as parliament prepares to debate the bill which would remove direct presidential elections and extend parliamentary and presidential terms from five to seven years. Critics say it will also weaken independent institutions including the judiciary and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission while concentrating power in the presidency.

The bill has drawn opposition from a broad coalition of civil society groups, lawyers’ associations, students and the country’s major church bodies.

“These arbitrary arrests are a calculated act to silence those opposed to the constitutional amendments by a regime determined to close the little remaining democratic space in Zimbabwe,” CDF said.

“If Tendai Biti, Morgan Ncube and the CDF in general have committed any crime, it would be a crime of bravely leading the campaign against the amendment of the constitution of Zimbabwe under the Amendment Bill No. 3 and saying no to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s 2030 agenda.”

The CDF called for the immediate release of both men and urged Zimbabweans to show up at court on Monday in solidarity.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) reported on Saturday that Dylan Cole, one of its leaders at Chinhoyi University, was “captured by Zanu PF from a lecture theatre where he was attending a meeting on the Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 and opposing the bill.”

Cole had still not been found on Sunday. – ZimLive

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HARARE — The manicured lawns and quiet avenues of Greystone Park, one of Harare’s most affluent suburbs, are usually associated with the serene hum of high-end life. In this enclave of the capital, security is high, and the noise of the city is a distant memory. However, last week, that tranquillity was shattered by a […]

The post Greystone Park Bloodbath: Mbinga Family Torn Apart as Brother Stabs His Brother to Death… Mouth-to-Mouth First Aid FAILS! first appeared on My Zimbabwe News.

Source: Govt activates emergency measures to protect medicine supply chain – herald

Trust Freddy

Emergency contingency measures have been activated to protect Zimbabwe’s medical supply chain from disruptions triggered by the escalating Middle East war, which is delaying shipments of essential health products and driving up procurement costs.

The conflict has disrupted key global air freight routes, forcing shipments to be rerouted and triggering risk surcharges and higher insurance premiums.

These developments are now affecting delivery timelines and the cost of critical medicines.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care says it is working “around the clock” to manage the situation and prevent potential shortages.

In an interview, the Health Acting Permanent Secretary, Dr Wenceslas Nyamayaro, said authorities are closely monitoring supply pipelines and implementing targeted interventions to safeguard availability.

“The situation is fluid and we are closely monitoring the pipeline and making relevant interventions accordingly,” he said.

He added that the Government is also focusing on managing available stocks within the country to ensure equitable distribution across health facilities.

“We will consider in-country interventions to manage available stocks at health facilities as well as at the central warehouse, NatPharm. This will go a long way in ensuring equity of supply and avoiding stock-outs,” he said.

Dr Nyamayaro noted that Zimbabwe’s inventory control system, which maintains buffer stocks of essential medicines, is providing a critical cushion against disruptions.

“The in-country inventory control system ensures that the nation holds buffer stocks to mitigate supply risks arising from situations such as this conflict,” he said.

He, however, acknowledged that the impact is uneven across product lines.

“Certainly, some products have been greatly impacted by this crisis, whereas some are still sufficiently stocked depending on the extent to which we have consumed into the buffer,” he said.

Zimbabwe relies heavily on imported medicines, with a significant proportion sourced from China and India—supply routes that are now experiencing increased costs due to global logistics disruptions.

Dr Nyamayaro said the impact is particularly pronounced on air freight shipments.

“I am sure you have seen the impact on fuel, and health products have not been spared as well,” he said. “This has affected shipments coming via air freight to a larger extent.

“This has been reflected in revised expected times of arrival, the introduction of risk surcharges and increased freight insurance premiums, all of which have pushed up shipping costs.”

To mitigate delays, Government is exploring alternative shipping routes for affected consignments.

“The Ministry, in collaboration with procurement agents/entities, is working around the clock to manage this emerging issue. We have undertaken a rapid assessment to identify risks to scheduled shipments,” he said.

“We have done a rapid assessment to identify any potential risks regarding the timeliness of these expected shipments.

“Not all scheduled shipments have been affected at the moment.

“However, for the affected shipments, alternative routes are being explored to expedite deliveries.”

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Source: Zanu PF mobilises ahead of Amendment No.3 Bill hearings – herald

Joseph Madzimure

Zimpapers Politics Hub

ZANU PF has intensified mobilisation of its structures ahead of nationwide public hearings on the Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill, after Parliament set aside a four-day window for citizens to give their input starting on March 30.

The hearings, which will run until April 2, form part of a broader 90-day consultation process that began on February 17 following the gazetting of the Bill.

The exercise is expected to give Zimbabweans an opportunity to shape proposed constitutional changes that carry significant political and governance implications.

Among its key provisions, the Bill seeks to realign electoral cycles with the country’s developmental trajectory, while introducing changes to the structure and administration of elections.

The public will be able to make oral submissions during the hearings, as well as written contributions through designated “special desks” at various venues.

Submissions are also currently being received via Parliament’s official email platform.

In an interview, ZANU PF National Political Commissar Cde Munyaradzi Machacha said the party has already rolled out an extensive programme to prepare its membership for the hearings.

“We started with workshops targeting all our Provincial Coordinating Committees (PCCs). Some of these were conducted virtually, while others were physical engagements,” he said.

Cde Machacha added that the party’s Secretary-General, Advocate Jacob Mudenda, is also touring provinces, engaging PCCs and explaining the provisions of the Bill and the party’s position.

“We have also engaged key stakeholders, including social media activists and legal practitioners from all the country’s 10 provinces, taking them through the contents of the Bill and our position on its clauses,” he said.

As part of the mobilisation drive, the party is this weekend holding inter-district meetings and rallies across the country to further sensitise its structures.

“By the time Parliament rolls out its public hearings, our membership will be fully aware of the contents of the Bill and will be able to engage the Parliamentary Committees in an informed manner,” said Cde Machacha.

He expressed confidence that the Bill would receive strong support during the consultations.

“It’s all systems go. The party is mobilising and clearly explaining its position, and we expect a positive outcome from the process,” he  said.

Cde Machacha urged party members to attend the hearings in large numbers and actively participate.

“They must present themselves at the designated venues and take part in shaping this Constitutional amendment. They should not leave it to others,” he said.

Once the public hearings are concluded, Parliamentary portfolio committees will compile reports to inform debate when the Bill is formally introduced in the National Assembly.

To widen participation, Parliament has also set up a physical submission point at the old Parliament building in Harare.

Key provisions of the Bill

The Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill proposes significant changes to Zimbabwe’s governance framework.

Among the proposals is a shift from the current system of electing the President through a direct popular vote to a Parliamentary electoral process.

The Bill also seeks to extend the Presidential election cycle from five to seven years, a move that aligns with resolutions adopted at ZANU PF’s Annual People’s Conferences in 2024 and 2025.

Under the current system, the President is elected through a first-past-the-post system, with a run-off election held if no candidate secures an outright majority, under the supervision of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

The proposed amendments also include transferring responsibility for voter registration and maintenance of the voters’ roll from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to the Registrar-General, a move Government says is aimed at improving efficiency given the office’s custodial role over civil records.

More broadly, the Bill introduces a range of reforms intended to strengthen constitutional governance, clarify institutional roles and improve the efficiency of the  State.

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