The anti-corruption NGO, the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), on Wednesday issued a damning report on the behaviour of the Mozambican police force during the riots against price rises that shook Maputo and Matola last week.
Most mobile phone subscribers in Mozambique have found it impossible to send any text messages since Monday, but both mobile phone companies, Mcel and Vodacom, insist that they are doing their utmost to restore the messaging service.
Mozambique will reverse an increase in the price of bread and other essentials that sparked the violent riots that left 13 dead and more than 400 injured last week. Police have arrested 286 people for the unrest, authorities said on Tuesday.
In the wake of last week's riots in Maputo against price increases, the Mozambican government on Tuesday announced that it will subsidise bread, and reduced the announced increases in water and electricity tariffs.
Carlos Matos, who has worked as a policeman in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, for the past 12 years, has to borrow a few dollars each month to supplement his US$52 wage.
As Mozambique, Iran and China have shown, mobile phone text messaging is showing an ability for the poor to mobilize quickly
The brewery in the northern Mozambican province of Nampula, owned by CDM, the local subsidiary of South African Breweries, is considering using locally grown cassava in beer production, to reduce the financial burden arising from the import of raw materials.
Mozambican President Armando Guebuza reaffirmed on Tuesday that his government is committed to seeking solutions to the problems facing the majority of Mozambicans, notably those arising from increases in the prices of goods imported by Mozambique.
The Mozambican police have arrested six people in the northern city of Nampula, accusing them of mobilizing people for demonstrations against food price rises - but the detainees say they were simply planning a meeting to elect a local official of the main opposition party, Renamo.
The Maputo City Police Command called a press conference on Monday, but then refused to speak about the major law and order issue of the last week - the riots against price rises that rocked the city on Wednesday and Thursday.
The confirmed death toll from last week's riots in Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola has now risen to 13, according to Health Minister Ivo Garrido.
Demobilised soldiers are threatening to hold demonstrations in Maputo in the near future to demand money they claim the government owes them - but the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs says there is no good reason for such demonstrations, since discussions between the government and the former soldiers are continuing.
African Union experts began a meeting in Maputo on Monday to discuss matters contained in the African Public Service Charter, a document through which AU member states hope to promote universal values and principles in public administration.
The rioting last week in Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola caused losses estimated at 15 million meticais (about 411,000 US dollars) to the Mozambican electricity company, EDM, and to fuel distributors, according to Energy Minister Salvador Namburete.
Schools in Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola are reopening on Monday, following a three day closure caused by the rioting of 1-2 September.
Archbishop Francisco Chimoio of Maputo in Mozambique has appealed for calm and asked the faithful to pray for the country following clashes that occurred on September 1 and 2 that left 7 people (2 of whom were children) dead and 288 injured.
Mozambique's Deputy Finance Minister, Pedro Couto, and his Vietnamese counterpart, Dohoang Anh Tuan, on Friday signed an agreement in Hanoi to avoid double taxation and tax evasion.
Rioting on Friday in the central Mozambican city of Chimoio caused injuries to six people and led to 68 arrests, according to a report in Saturday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".
Despite the Mozambican government's drive to increase wheat production, the country still only produces enough wheat to meet five per cent of its annual consumption, according to Agriculture Minister Soares Nhaca.
After the massive disruption caused by last week's food riots, Maputo was returning to normal on Saturday morning.
Groups of looters attacked stalls in the main markets of the central Mozambican city of Beira on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, according to a report in Friday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".
The sentencing of Madagascar's former President Marc Ravalomanana to hard labour for life may prove to be one more obstacle in the island's attempts to emerge from its current political crisis, says International Relations and Cooperation's Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.
The death toll from the rioting in Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola on Wednesday and Thursday has now risen to ten, according to Health Minister Ivo Garrido.
After two days of rioting over price rises, Maputo was mostly calm on Friday, but a few minor disturbances occurred in some outlying neighbourhoods.
Mozambique’s government refused yesterday to reverse this week’s price hikes that have hit the poorest, sparking the country’s worst riots in two years.
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