Harare - Zimbabwe's government and its central bank have been taken to court by four citizens over "inhumane and degrading" cash withdrawal limits that see people queue for hours to obtain small amounts that barely cover basic necessities.

In the papers filed with the country's high court four Zimbabweans said the maximum daily cash withdrawal limit of 1,000 Zimbabwe dollars (17 US dollars) is an infringement of their constitutional rights.

Harare  - Zimbabwe's prime-minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai said Saturday there was an "urgent" need for the country to form a new government to prevent starvation amid worsening food insecurity in the troubled country.

Addressing journalists in Harare, Tsvangirai said: "We need to respond to this crisis with utmost urgency. It is therefore imperative that a government be formed in the next few days and begins to implement plans to ensure that our people have food and do not die of starvation."

He said the country's industry was operating at about 10 per cent of its capacity.

Harare - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has described as "devastating" the removal from office of his South African counterpart Thabo Mbeki, who is seen as a key ally of the of ageing authoritarian Mugabe in the last eight years.

"It's devastating news that President Thabo Mbeki is no longer the president of South Africa," the Zimbabwe's state-controlled daily Herald newspaper quoted Mugabe as saying Thursday.

"But that is the action of the South African people," he added. "Who are we to judge them? But it is very disturbing."

Mugabe was speaking to journalists from Zimbabwe's state media in New York where he is due to address the United Nations general assembly.

Brussels - The European Union's executive body on Thursday boosted its humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe by 10 million euros (14.7 million dollars), largely for health care, water and sanitation.

The aim of the boost, which comes on top of an earlier gift of 15 million euros in food aid, is to "tackle the suffering among the most vulnerable population groups affected by displacement, epidemics and violence," a statement from the European Commission said.

Since 2005, the EU has allocated more than 82 million euros in aid to Zimbabwe while keeping up a raft of sanctions against the regime of President Robert Mugabe.

Harare - Zimbabwean civil liberty groups on Tuesday dismissed a power-sharing deal signed earlier this month by Zimbabwe's main political protagonists, and warned they would not accept plans by the three parties to draft a new constitution.

The agreement provides for Mugabe to continue as executive president with some reduced powers, and for pro-democracy leader Morgan Tsvangirai, head of the popular Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, to become prime minister, with Arthur Mutambara of the MDC's smaller offshoot, his deputy.