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Zimbabwe is situated in southern Africa. Its upland center is crisscrossed by rivers flowing into Lake Kariba and the Zambezi River, on which lies the region's most spectacular natural feature, the Victoria Falls (Musi-o-Tunya). Attempts to preserve white rule in the former British colony led to a long guerrilla war before independence in 1980. Robert Mugabe, the country's leader since then and its president since 1987, has become increasingly authoritarian and divisive. Violent seizure of white-owned farmland and severe drought have contributed to virtual economic collapse.