Zimbabwe's debt repayment raises eyebrows

Zimbabwe has paid back $700 000 in arrears to the African Development Bank

The African Development Bank says Zimbabwe has paid back $700 million in arrears to the bank, despite vast economic problems at home. The bank says Zimbabwe managed the repayment on April 14.

This was despite a string of negative economic factors in Zimbabwe like hyperinflation - currently the world's highest at 165 000% - rising interest rates and a surge in food prices. The African bank did not specify the total amount Zimbabwe owes.

The ongoing uncertainty over the outcome of Zimbabwe's disputed March 29 election has undermined hopes that the country might soon be on the road to economic recovery.

Meanwhile, the United States pressed Zimbabwe yesterday to allow in large numbers of Western election monitors for a free and fair presidential run-off and said government attacks on the opposition must stop.

President Robert Mugabe, a former guerrilla leader, has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980. The West and rights groups accuse him of human rights violations and wrecking the economy, but he is viewed as an independence hero by many in Africa. – Additional reporting by Reuters.