Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe claims his party won “a resounding mandate” from voters to complete a sweeping black empowerment programme to take over foreign and white-owned assets.

Thousands of Zimbabweans are dying, uncounted and out of sight, from illnesses as a cholera epidemic grips the country, health groups said today.

Zimbabweans wake up to an uncertain future today as they await the fall-out from opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s decision to pull out of the presidential run-off.

ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe appeared more isolated than ever after he pulled his country out of the Commonwealth, a move the opposition in the impoverished southern African country slammed as illegal.