Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has failed to secure a $US1billion loan from China to pay for his country's fuel, electricity and medicines. Mugabe has spent the past several weeks urging South Africa and China to help bail out his ailing economy after the IMF threatened to cut his last remaining lines of credit.

Without foreign credit, Mugabe's government will be unable to pay for imported energy, turning out the lights and forcing the economy to a halt.

China has pledged to veto further sanctions if they are called for at the UN, and offered trade concessions to Zimbabwe, but balked at granting a loan.

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