international campaign to preserve press freedom in Mozambique appeared to win a tactical victory Friday when a judge delayed for two months a criminal defamation trial against the two small children of a corruption-fighting journalist who was gunned down in an apparent assassination in the capital, Maputo, 14 months ago.

A cholera epidemic in 8 of Mozambique's 11 provinces has infected 11,527 people and killed 139 in only a few months, health officials said. The epidemic began in August in the central Zambezia province, where more than half the deaths have been recorded, Avertino Barreto, the deputy national director of health, told state radio.

Heavy rains in southern Mozambique have virtually made the city of Inhambane inaccessible by road, Radio Mozambique reported at the weekend.

UNESCO is one of several development partners working to support the establishment of community radio in Mozambique. They are supporting 4 on-air stations, the creation of a women's community radio network and a national coordination forum for community radio, as well as working to establish 8 new community radio stations. This is part of UNESCO's 'Strengthening Democracy & Governance through Development of the Media in Mozambique' project.

The government in Mozambique has announced the formation of a special unit to fight corruption.

Joaquim Chissano, the Mozambican President, today announced that he will not stand for a third term in office in the 2004 general elections, ending debate over whether he should stay or go.

Older people in Mozambique have struggled to recover from the devastating floods of 2000. Necodemus Chipfupa of HelpAge International describes how older people's organisations have mobilised support for vulnerable people in the community.

The Paris Club of creditors agreed to reduce Mozambique's debt by $1.65 billion in net present value under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC). The country will devote all the resources freed by the debt relief into priority areas identified in the country's poverty reduction strategy.

HIV prevention efforts in Mozambique have been hindered by poverty, taboo and sometimes "willfull" ignorance, Reuters reports. An average of 600 to 700 people a day are infected with HIV in the nation, which has 17 million citizens. Mozambique is among the world's poorest nations, where most people have never seen and do not know how to use condoms. In addition, it is considered taboo to talk openly about sex, and many people doubt the existence of HIV/AIDS, making it more difficult to alter sexual behavior.

The Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, on Thursday unanimously passed a government bill on money-laundering on its first reading - but with several deputies indicating that, in the committee stage, they will introduce amendments to widen the scope of the bill.

As the rainy season begins in Mozambique, aid organisations and the government are still to complete contingency plans to help cope with the possible repeat of the flood disasters that have hit the country for two-years running.

International donors have pledged more than US $700 million in support of Mozambique's poverty reduction programme. A World Bank press release said 80 percent of the pledges were in the form of grants.

A cameraman with the Mozambican Television (TVM), Jose Arlindo, was seriously beaten up by armed security of the main opposition party in Mozambique, the Resistencia National Mocambicana (Renamo), in the northern city of Nampula on Thursday, November 1. Renamo was holding its IV Congress. One policeman and two unidentified civilians were also beaten up and three others were taken captive.

Exports from Mozal, the massive aluminium smelter on the outskirts of the capital, Maputo, accounted for over 60 percent of the country's total export earnings, according to central bank figures released on Thursday. The smelter, which is the country's the largest private investment, started production last June.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has granted US $11.5 million dollars to Mozambique for an anti-HIV/AIDS programme, AFP reported on Tuesday.

Mozambique has asked the World Health Organisation to help the country find an adequate anti-malarial therapy to replace the well known drugs such as chloroquine to which malaria has become resistant.

Medical equipment donated to Mozambique as emergency relief by Portugal has been auctioned off by customs in the central port city of Beira.

Save the Children, a leading US and international child focused relief & development agency has immediate vacancy, which will provide you the opportunity to be an integral part of exciting Food Security Project in Nampula province.

This is a challenging post with great potential. Primarily responsible for working with local broadcasters to develop HIV radio programming in Sofala, Manica and Tete provinces.

Applications are invited from African scientists employed by African health research/teaching institutions, who are interested in participating in future malaria vaccine trials in Africa. The 5-day Workshop on Molecular Biology and Immunology of Malaria Vaccines will mainly be organized by the Manhica Health Research Centre, in collaboration with the National Institute of Health and the Faculty of Medicine, University Eduardo Mondlane in Mozambique is targeted at a selected group of advanced pre-doctoral or post-doctoral African scientists: it will update them on the latest developments in malaria vaccine research. The workshop will present the basic science and underlying rationale for the development of particular types of candidate malaria vaccines.