Australia says it will deport eight Zimbabwean university students whose parents are senior members of the government of President Robert Mugabe.
The move was aimed at preventing those behind human rights abuses from giving their children the education their policies denied ordinary Zimbabweans, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer was quoted as saying in the BBC story.
The Australian government, a vocal critic of Mugabe, earlier this year banned its cricketers from going on a planned tour to Zimbabwe. Downer said the visa measure was necessary because of the continuing disregard for democracy and human rights in Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, back in Bulawayo, two Zimbabweans were crushed to death when desperate shoppers scrambled to buy sugar. Pressure from the crowd caused a pillar and a wall to fall on top of a security guard and a 15-year-old boy, killing them both.
While Mugabe's senior ministers seek the easy life for their children in foreign universities, the average Zimbabwean struggles to find even the most basic goods, as an economic crisis pushes inflation above 4,500%.
Eyewitnesses told the local paper that the security guard was unlocking the gate to the shopping center when people began to surge forward. When he saw the number of people pushing the gate he sensed danger and hid behind the pillar, which ultimately fell on him and killed him on the spot.
A wall also fell on the boy, causing his fatal injuries. Several other people were harmed, but escaped death. According to one witness, the customers-- instead of rescuing those who had been trapped-- trampled ahead in a desparate bid to be the first in line for sugar.
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