Maputo loan shark Nini Satar and Nyimpine Chissano, the president's son, confronted each other across the floor of the courtroom during the Carlos Cardosa murder trial and called each other liars. Nini, on trial for the murder of Carlos Cardoso, says he met Nyimpine repeatedly and was given cheques by Nyimpine to pay for the Cardoso murder. Nyimpine, appearing as a witness last Thursday and Friday, says he met Nini only once and that the cheques were given to Maria Candida Cossa as security for a loan. Nympine needed the money to stop being taken to court by Budget Rent-a-Car, and claimed Cossa sold the cheques on to Nini.

Concern is mounting over urban food security in Mozambique, with retail maize prices continuing to be much higher than normal, says the latest Famine Early Warning Systems Network for the country.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has added a new feature to its Web site dedicated to the ongoing criminal trial in Mozambique of suspects in the Carlos Cardoso murder case. Cardoso, Mozambique's leading investigative reporter, was gunned down on November 22, 2000. Six people were arrested in March 2001 for the murder.

Since the floods of three years ago, Mozambique has rebuilt its infrastructure impressively quickly, with hard work and intelligent decision making. But now the country faces a new threat.

The man charged with killing Mozambican investigative reporter Carlos Cardoso told a court on Monday that the murder was ordered by the eldest son of President Joaquim Chissano. Carlitos Rachide said as he pleaded guilty that he was asked to kill Cardoso by one of his co-accused, Anibal Antonio dos Santos, alias Anibalzinho, who mysteriously escaped from the Maputo maximum security prison in September.

To the surprise of the Attorney-General's Office, a magistrate in the central Mozambican province of Sofala has granted provisional freedom to Jose Beirao, former provincial director of finance, who is accused of stealing 22 billion meticais (about 925,000 US dollars) of state funds.

Medecins Sans Frontieres plans to launch a five-year pilot programme in collaboration with the Mozambican government. The programme will be responsible for providing free antiretrovirals to a selected group of HIV-positive people, in the northern province of Tete and in the capital, Maputo.

The trial of six men accused of the murder of Mozambique's best-known journalist, Carlos Cardoso, was due to begin on Monday 18 November, on the premises of the city's top security prison. Trial Judge Augusto Paulino has been stalked by unknown men, who were involved in a shootout with the police in front of Paulino's home. This posting includes a collection of articles about the trial distributed by Joseph Hanlon of the Open University.

The deputy commander of the Mozambican police, Jorge Khalau, has admitted that there is corruption exists in the force, but says it cannot simply be blamed on low wages and poor academic qualifications.

Only half of the money which foreign donors pledged to Mozambique for reconstruction after the devastating floods of February 2000 has been disbursed. Public Works Minister Roberto White gave the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, the disheartening figures on Tuesday, showing that donors are much better at providing fine words than hard cash.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has welcomed the recent decision by Mozambique's judicial authorities to extend their investigation into the murder of journalist Carlos Cardoso to Nymphine Chissano, a son of President Joaquim Chissano. Cardoso, Mozambique's leading investigative reporter, was gunned down, execution-style, on November 22, 2000. Six people were arrested in March 2001 for the murder.

First Lady Marcelina Chissano has denied intimidating any of the country's journalists, and has demanded that her "good name and right to privacy be respected." A letter sent by her lawyer, Augusto Macedo Pinto, to the independent weekly "Mediafax", and published on 1 November 2002, also stressed that the first lady wanted to see the case of the murder of Carlos Cardoso, the newspaper's founding editor, "resolved as rapidly as possible, and the guilty parties tried and sentenced." The letter, which made no explicit threat of legal action, was clearly in response to claims made a month ago that the first lady had sent mysterious gifts of live chickens to "Mediafax" editor Marcelo Mosse, Fernando Lima, chairman of the board of Mediacoop (the company that owns the newspaper), and Kok Nam, director of the Mediacoop weekly "Savana".

The presidents of the national and lower level election commissions are to be "proposed by civil society" and the other members of the election commission are to choose their president from those proposals by secret ballot. It is remarkable and, for Mozambique, unprecedented to give such a role to civil society. This posting from the Mozambique Political Process Bulletin also contains information on local and national election processes in Mozambique.

Mozambique's Assistant Attorney-General, Isabel Rupia, has urged that any future anti-corruption law should criminalise the trafficking of influence, as well as the undue appropriation of public goods, by civil servants. Speaking at a hearing organised by the Legal Affairs Commission of the Mozambican parliament Rupia said that trafficking in influence was a "very subtle" form of corruption practiced by high ranking public servants.

People living with HIV/Aids in Mozambique will now be able to purchase anti-Aids drugs after four types of antiretrovirals went on sale in the private sector last week.

At least 10 patients have been admitted to the cholera ward at the Mavalane General Hospital in Maputo over the last few days, and the health authorities blame the early outbreak of the disease, before the onset of the rainy season, on deteriorating sanitation conditions in the town, reports Wednesday's issue of the daily paper "Noticias".

Child Survival Program Manager wanted for 5-year extension of Health Alliance International's child survival program in two provinces in central Mozambique. The program interventions respond to the problems of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and maternal care.

Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano has called on health workers to fight against corruption in the country's hospitals, reports Wednesday's issue of the Beira paper "Diario de Mocambique".

Assist in the establishment of partnership agreements based on the recommendations from the studies. Strengthen the management capacity of the Youth Programme (PNI) at central level. Knowledge and experience with poverty eradication strategies and macroeconomics policies preferably in Africa required.

Teodato Hunguana, a leading parliamentary deputy from Mozambique's ruling Frelimo Party, last Wednesday called for a return to the practice of "political and organisational offensives" to deal with corruption.