Mozambique's main trade union federation, the OTM (Mozambican Workers' Organisation), on Friday announced its full support for the ruling Frelimo party in next week's general and provincial elections.

The Nacala port and rail system in northern Mozambique is to benefit from investment of 1.6 billion US dollars to enable it to handle coal exports from Moatize in the western province of Tete.

LAST year's losing finalists Mozambique kept alive their hopes of securing their first Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup title when they became the first team to book their place in the semi-finals after dispatching Malawi at Rufaro yesterday.

The Mozambican government and the African Development Bank signed a loan agreement in Maputo on Friday to finance three projects in water supply, sanitation and roads.

Mozambique's Minister of Public Works Felicio Zacarias on Wednesday laid the first stone for a second bridge over the Zambezi river, in the western province of Tete.

Mozambican banks are charging their customers up to 20 per cent extra to withdraw their own money.

A team of 11 observers from the Commonwealth, headed by the former President of Sierra Leone, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, has arrived in Maputo to observe Mozambique's general and provincial elections, scheduled for next Wednesday.

A further four tiny Mozambican political parties on Thursday held a joint press conference to announce their "unconditional" support for the re-election of Armando Guebuza, presidential candidate of the ruling Frelimo Party.

A Mozambican businessman was on Monday arrested at the Harare International Airport while allegedly trying to smuggle over US$1,5 million in cash to Dubai.

This week's issue of the independent weekly "Savana" carried some truly shocking news - "Spectre of Fraud" shrieked the paper's front page, alleging that the company hired by the National Elections Commission (CNE) to produce the software to be used in vote tabulation in this month's general elections "legally does not exist".

The Murrupula district court, in the northern Mozambican province of Nampula, has found two policemen guilty of destroying election posters belonging to the main opposition party, Renamo, reports Thursday's issue of the "Mozambique Political Process Bulletin", published by AWEPA (European Parliamentarians for Africa) and by the Mozambican NGO CIP (Centre for Public Integrity).

The Malawian government has publicly admitted that a unit of its police force did indeed invade Mozambican territory in August, and destroyed a police post, equipment and personal belongings of the Mozambican border guard in Caloca, Ngauma district, in the northern province of Niassa.

Uncontrolled bush fires are severely damaging Mozambique's cashew nut production, according to a report in Thursday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".

The Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE), the electoral branch of the Mozambican civil service, on Thursday presented the software that will be used in tabulating the votes from next week's general and provincial elections.

Afonso Dhlakama, the leader and presidential candidate of Mozambique's main opposition party, Renamo, has promised that, if he loses the presidential election next week, he will never stand again.

Angola is integrating the troika of observers of Mozambique's general elections of the Organ for Political, Defence and Security Cooperation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), under the presidency of Zambia.

"This is where we get our water from," says a villager on the footpath leading out of Mcondece. Branches and other debris float on the surface of the sluggish, murky brown creek.

The Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) is sending 24 observers to the Mozambican general and provincial elections scheduled for 28 October.

Once again, a Mozambican paper has given a full page to a convicted assassin to plead his innocence.

The South African government is providing three helicopters to assist in the distribution of election material to remote areas for next week's Mozambican general and provincial elections.