No country brave enough to stop me, taunts Mugabe

A defiant Robert Mugabe today boasted that no other African country had the courage to remove him from power.

With Zimbabwe racked by a cholera epidemic, thousands on the brink of starvation and hyper-inflation ripping through its wrecked economy, Mugabe announced: "Better times are coming".

The state-controlled Herald newspaper quoted Mugabe as telling leaders of his party that neighbouring Botswana's calls for his removal were nothing but hot air.

Mugabe apologised for shortages but said the government was importing corn meal, and that it will be distributed to those hardest hit.

Meanwhile, the central bank on unveiled a new 10 billion Zimbabwe dollar note, part of its futile efforts to keep up with stratospheric inflation.

"How could African leaders ever topple Robert Mugabe, organise an army to come?" Mugabe, who has led the country for 28 years, told the Herald. "It is not easy. I do not know of any African country that is brave enough to do that."

Mugabe's comments came as the top US envoy for Africa warned Zimbabwe had effectively collapsed and the world should act urgently to keep it from deteriorating into Somalia-scale chaos.

Most neighbouring countries including regional giant South Africa are opposed to military intervention in Zimbabwe, where a cholera epidemic has killed 1,123 people and the United Nations says half the population faces imminent starvation.

Mugabe's critics blame his policies for the ruin of the once-productive nation.

Mugabe's ZANU-PF party was opening its annual convention today in Bindura, 60 miles from the capital Harare.

Speaking to the party's central committee, he acknowledged that 2008 has been "the most difficult year" but called on party leaders to be united as "better times were beckoning".

The convention was being held in an area hit by cholera, and organisers said food and clean water supplies were driven in to the venue. The state power utility promised to keep electricity going during the meeting. Zimbabweans are suffering dire shortages of piped water and electricity as well as food and medicine.

Yesterday US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer said questions about how much longer Zimbabwe can withstand hunger, disease and political stalemate before disintegrating ignore the fact that "there is a complete collapse right now."

"We think that the person who has ruined the country ... that he needs to step down," Mr Frazer said. "We're watching Zimbabwe become a failed state. We need to act now, proactively, in Zimbabwe."

Meanwhile today the foreign ministers for the five Nordic countries called for the end of Mugabe's "misrule," saying in a joint statement that Zimbabwe's authorities "alone bear the responsibility for the tragic situation" facing the country.

To break an impasse over presidential elections, Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai agreed to form a unity government three months ago but have been deadlocked since over how to share Cabinet posts.

Mr Tsvangirai said he will ask his party, the Movement for Democratic Change, to halt negotiations unless political detainees are released or charged by January 1.

He said more than 42 members of his opposition party and civil society have been abducted in the past two months. They include three journalists and their whereabouts remain unknown.

"The MDC can no longer sit at the same negotiating table with a party that is abducting our members and other innocent civilians and refusing to produce any of them before a court of law," he said.