Bleed, bleed, poor Zimbabwe

Normally regimes collapse before countries do. But in Zimbabwe's case, the country has almost totally collapsed while the regime goes on.

The thuggish reaction of riot police to a small meeting organised in Harare by the opposition, church and civic groups was all too predictable. One protester was shot dead and dozens of opposition activists were beaten and tortured in custody.

Among them was Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change who is now in critical condition.

President Robert Mugabe holds the unenviable record of presiding over a country that was once the bread basket of the region and is now the world's fastest-shrinking peacetime economy.

Unemployment has swollen by 80 per cent and inflation is expected to reach over 4,000 per cent by the end of the year. Just when Mugabe will go is not clear, but what is clear is that the country cannot afford his so-called policies.