Zimbabwe general strike has limited success

A two-day general strike called to protest a government crackdown on the urban poor began slowly today with a heavy police presence on the streets of Harare.

A broad alliance of civic society groups, churches, opposition parties, unions and a women’s group called for the general strike today and tomorrow to protest what the government calls a campaign to improve the cities, but which the UN says has left at least 200,000 urban poor homeless and more than 30,000 under arrest.