Harare - Zimbabwe's gold mining industry, Africa's third biggest nine years ago, is on the brink of "total collapse" because the country's central bank refuses to pay for the gold it buys from the mines, the mines' representative body said Monday.

An angry statement issued by the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe accused the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) of "deliberately" ruining the industry.

Harare - An outbreak of cholera, the deadly diarrhoeal disease that doctors say has claimed dozens of lives in crisis-hit Zimbabwe in recent weeks, has spread to the city's crowded townships, state media reported Thursday.

One person died in the city's Budiriro township and 20 more from across the city were being treated for the disease in hospital, the state-controlled Herald newspaper reported. Some of the cases are from areas very close to the city centre.

The death brings to 121 the number to have died of the disease this year, according to the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR).

Harare, Johannesburg - Zimbabwean riot police broke up two demonstrations by hundreds of women and students Monday outside a hotel in Harare where talks were under way to salvage a crucial power-sharing deal.

The police used force to disperse at least 300 women activists, who were calling for President Robert Mugabe and prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai to quickly form a unity government to allow for the rebuilding of the tattered economy.

At least 11 women were treated for injuries after being beaten by the police and 47 were arrested, according to the Women's Coalition of Zimbabwe.

Harare/Johannesburg - Dozens of women activists were arrested in the Zimbabwean capital Harare Monday for protesting over the suffering caused by a severe economic crisis.

Riot police broke up a demonstration by at least 300 women from the Women's Coalition of Zimbabwe outside a hotel, where southern African leaders were meeting to discuss Zimbabwe's political impasse with the country's rival leaders.

Harare - New talks aimed at salvaging Zimbabwe's power-sharing deal were due to get underway in Harare Monday, amid fears the Movement for Democratic Change of prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai could pull out of the agreement.

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, his predecessor Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating in Zimbabwe, and Swaziland's King Mswati III arrived in the Zimbabwean capital Monday for talks with Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe.

Harare - Firemen in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, are so hungry they have gone on strike, according to state media.

The state-controlled daily Herald reported that firemen downed their hoses on Tuesday after their employer, the Harare city council, stopped issuing them with food while at work.

"Only two firefighters and two officers reported for work yesterday (Tuesday)," the Herald said. "The officers alleged that the city had reneged on an arrangement to provide them with food while on duty."