71 arrested following Beitbridge protest

Police have arrested 71 people in Zimbabwe's border town of Beitbridge following angry protests over attempts to restrict imports, the state Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) reported on Saturday.

"Security has been beefed up" in the town, which is on the busiest border crossings in the southern African region, ZBC reported in a radio news bulletin.

Protesters on Friday set a government warehouse on fire, looted a fast-food outlet, destroyed a house and vandalised traffic lights as tensions mount over a new requirement that traders obtain import permits for basic goods like jam and mayonnaise, according to a report in the state-owned Chronicle.