Beginning February 21, 2005, the broadcasts will air Monday through Friday from 5:30-6:00 AM in Zimbabwe (0330-0400 UTC). The new program will provide listeners with in-depth information on their nation's March 31 parliamentary elections.
For over two years VOA has also broadcast an evening hour-long program, Studio 7, to Zimbabwe in the English, Shona and Ndebele languages that can be heard seven days a week from 7:00-8:00 PM in Zimbabwe (1700-1800 UTC).
"With the March elections approaching, the people of Zimbabwe need more access to objective news and information," said VOA Director David S. Jackson. "This new broadcast from the Voice of America will give them the news they need in the morning as well as at night."
The new English-language program can be heard in Zimbabwe and in southern Africa on 909 kHz on the AM dial and on 4930 kHz and 6080 kHz shortwave.
The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 100 million people. Programs are produced in 44 languages,including English.
For more information, contact the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 401-7000, or by e-mail at publicaffairs@voa.gov.
