Who killed Samora Machel?

Mozambican authorities need to continue to seek the truth on who killed Samora Machel, the country's first president, almost 21 years ago. The call was made by Feliciano Gundana, Minister for the Affairs of Former Combatants on Friday when he was speaking on Radio Mozambique's Café da Manha.

Mozambique throws weight behind Mugabe

Mozambique will not attend the forthcoming European Union-African Union summit if Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is excluded, Radio Mozambique reported on Wednesday. Mugabe is barred from travelling to most European countries in terms of sanctions imposed on the Southern African country.

SADC nations want Mugabe at EU summit

Southern African nations on Monday lined up behind Robert Mugabe in a row over whether the Zimbabwean President would be invited to a European Union-Africa summit in December, saying they would boycott the event if he was banned. The meeting in Lisbon would be the first in seven years.

Mine-sniffing rats to the rescue in Mozambique

Demining in Mozambique will soon get a boost with the arrival of more specially trained rats, local reports said on Thursday. Radio Mozambique said the international demining company Apopo will soon receive an additional 15 demining rats to add to its current furry workforce of 25.

Over 400 sites still plagued by mines in Mozambique

At least 440 sites are still heavily infested by landmines near residential districts in three Mozambican provinces, a non-governmental organisation working with the disabled said on Thursday. Demining agency Handicap International said the sites were in Inhambane and central provinces of Manica and Sofala.

Mozambican arrested with corpse flesh

A Mozambican man was arrested in the central province of Manica after he was found in possession of human flesh barely two weeks after he was released from prison where he served time for similar charges. The man told police officers that he was unable to live without eating human flesh.

Thousands in Mozambique face food shortages

More than 85 000 people in the central Mozambican province of Sofala are facing food shortages because of floods and drought that hit that part of the country earlier this year. The national secretariat on food security and nutrition said the number could increase to more than 100 000 by the end of October.

Landmine blast kills six children in Mozambique

Six children from the same family were killed when a landmine left over from Mozambique's civil war exploded in the Southern African country, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday. The children found the landmine while playing on Thursday in a field behind their home, the ministry said.

Mozambican tourism boom pits locals against foreigners

Stretches of pristine beaches wind around Mozambique's coast, a slice of paradise where trouble is brewing as foreigners cash in at the expense of locals from a boom in tourism. Practically destroyed during a 27-year civil war ending in 1994, tourism in the former Portuguese colony has skyrocketed in recent years, as holidaymakers are drawn to its white sands and crystal clear waters.

Dad of Mozambican flood baby denied rights by court

A court on Thursday denied parental rights to the father of a girl who became a symbol of Mozambican hope after being born in a tree during the devastating floods of 2000. The Chibuto District Court ruled that her father, Salvador Mabuiango, had cheated her by selling off goods donated to her after her birth.

Aids-hit Mozambique looks to recruit more doctors

Mozambique hopes to recruit 8 000 doctors from other African nations to improve a healthcare system battered by one of the continent's worst Aids pandemics, the country's health minister said on Monday.

Mozambique expects over a million tourists in 2007

Mozambique is expecting over a million foreign visitors this year, the largest number in decades, the Deputy Tourism Minister said on Tuesday. Rosario Mualeia said that foreign visitors would bring about $150-million to the country. Mualeia said investment in the tourism sector was expected to total $250-million this year.

Mozambique failing those living with HIV/Aids

More than 300 000 people living with HIV/Aids need antiretroviral treatment in Mozambique, but only a fraction of them are actually receiving the drugs, national media reported on Thursday. UNAids estimates that at least 230 000 are in need of antiretroviral drugs throughout the country.

Mozambique starts inquiry into police 'death brigades'

An inquiry is under way in Mozambique to determine whether "death brigades" existed within the national police that carried out summary executions of prisoners, according to a report by the Attorney General. One of the "death brigades" is suspected to have slain three prisoners on a field near Costa do Sol beach in Maputo last month.

Eighty Mozambican children orphaned by blasts

At least 80 Mozambican children lost their parents to the blasts at the national army's Malhazine armoury in Maputo in March. Spokesperson Luis Covina told national Radio Mozambique that authorities had finished compiling a "social impact report" of the blasts. According to official figures the death toll was 103, while more than 500 were injured.

Malaria death toll on the increase in Mozambique

The Malaria death toll continues to rise in Mozambique, health authorities said on Friday. According to the health ministry's weekly Epidemiology bulletin published on Tuesday, 96 people died from the disease this week compared to 64 from the previous week.

Poor storage blamed for deadly Maputo blast

An official report into an explosion last month that ripped apart Mozambique's main armoury and killed 119 people has blamed the tragedy on poor storage conditions, the Presidency said on Thursday. Apart from the 119 fatalities, about 500 others were injured when the massive stockpile blew up.

Maputo blast victims to receive disability grant

The Mozambican government will pay disability grants of up to R500 per month to victims of last month's Malhazine armoury blasts, Vista News reports. Government spokesperson Luis Covane told independent television channel STv on Wednesday that the grants will be paid after an assessment to ascertain the degree of injury.

Uncertain future for Maputo-blast amputees

Ten people who lost limbs in the Mozambique armoury explosions last month are still in Maputo Central Hospital, unsure what is going to happen to them, Vista News reported on Tuesday. The independent television channel STv broadcast images of the injured, mainly women and children.

Zim lawyers seek help against Mugabe

A delegation of Zimbabwean human rights lawyers is in Mozambique to seek support from civil society in that country to pressure Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to introduce political reforms, Vista News reports. This was revealed by Radio Mozambique in a report on Tuesday quoting the leader of the Zimbabwean lawyers' delegation, Tafadzwa Mugabe.

Military sources: Robbery behind Mozambique blasts

Last week's blasts at the Malhazine armoury in Mozambique were due to a robbery that went wrong, military sources told an independent newspaper on Monday. In its Monday edition, Tribuna Fax, quoting anonymous military sources, said the blasts came after officials, who were stealing mercury, failed to tightly close containers.

Death toll from Maputo blasts reaches 100

The death toll in Thursday's explosions at a Maputo armoury has reached 100 while about 500 people were injured. Mozambique Health Minister Ivo Garrido said the number could increase as some victims were still in critical condition at Maputo central hospital.

Thousands flee homes after Maputo blasts

Thousands of people fled their homes in Maputo on Friday, fearing fresh explosions from the smoking wreckage of Mozambique's largest armoury as emergency workers stockpiled bodies and missile shells. Ninety-six people died in the explosions on Thursday evening and about 400 were injured.

Explosion at weapons depot sows panic in Maputo

The death toll from blasts at a military armoury in Mozambique's capital Maputo triggered by high temperatures had risen to 72, Health Minister Ivo Paulo Garido said on Friday. The blasts began on Thursday. President Armando Guebuza called off a visit to South Africa on Friday because of the disaster.

Blasts at Maputo armoury shake city

Buildings in the Maputo city centre shook on Thursday afternoon as Mozambique's national armoury went up in smoke for the second time since 1985, Vista News reported. Windows were shattered at the University of Eduardo Mondlane's students' canteen on Paul S Kankhomba Avenue.

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