MAPUTO, 8 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - Mozambique has to develop a more systematic response to chronic drought, which is having a devastating effect on the food security and livelihoods of around 800,000 people, according to a recent assessment.Full report

JOHANNESBURG, 2 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - The World Bank has approved a US $10 million credit for the conservation of Mozambique's biodiversity and natural ecosystems through the promotion of sustainable use and the development of natural resources by local communities. Full report

JOHANNESBURG, 17 Nov 2005 (IRIN) - A leading international human rights organisation has criticised South African officials for allegedly harassing and extorting money from desperate asylum seekers and refugees. Full report

JOHANNESBURG, 31 Oct 2005 (IRIN) - A combination of factors including escalating maize prices has almost doubled the number of people in need of food aid to more than 800,000 in Mozambique in the past six months, a food security official told IRIN.Full report

MAPUTO, 24 Oct 2005 (IRIN) - Suazina Antonio and her neighbours scrape sand from the bottom of a shallow well in central Mozambique until enough water seeps out to fill two buckets. The water is salty, but after four years of failed rains, it is precious. Full report

MAPUTO, 20 Oct 2005 (IRIN) - Preliminary findings from a food and nutritional assessment survey indicate that conditions in drought-affected southern Mozambique have deteriorated, a food security official told IRIN. Full report

MAPUTO, 23 Sep 2005 (IRIN) - An ambitious government programme to expand financial services to Mozambique's rural areas has sparked keen interest among local banking institutions, which have tended to limit risk exposure by confining their operations to the capital, Maputo.Full report

MAPUTO, 21 Sep 2005 (IRIN) - The surprise axing of the head of Mozambique's Anti-Corruption Unit, Isabel Rupia, has been sharply criticised by human rights groups as undermining the government's anti-graft message. Full report

MAPUTO, 19 Sep 2005 (IRIN) - Although just nine years old, Dominga Lorenz has a laundry list of household chores that include caring for her little sister and four younger cousins. Full report

JOHANNESBURG, 15 Sep 2005 (IRIN) - The World Bank's board of directors has approved US $120 million worth of credit to Mozambique to support implementation of the government's Action Plan for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty (PARPA), the Bank said in a statement. Full report

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