Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has opened an expanded airport at Victoria Falls, built using a $150m (£120m) loan from China.

The new airport means international tourists can now fly directly to Victoria Falls, a major tourist attraction and a World Heritage site, Mr Mugabe said.

It was opened in 1966 as a regional airport and work on the new expansion began in 2013.

Mr Mugabe said the upgrade would be a major boost to tourism and Chin's financial aid showed the "enduring friendship" between the two countries.

He urged people to "keep the airport tidy, clean, and let's not mess it up with litter thrown everywhere," the state-owned Herald newspaper reports in a live blog of the event.

Mr Mugabe did not refer to opposition claims that suspected security officials abducted six anti-government activists, and arrested at least eight people who had planned to protest today to demand an end to Mr Mugabe's 36-year rule.

Source: bbc