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Caught on film It is one of the rarest giants of the ocean, and it has been caught on film for the first time. An underwater camera crew filming for the BBC has recorded a smalleye stingray swimming off the coast of Mozambique. The smalleye stingray is the largest of all 70 species of stingray, attaining widths of more than 2m. The elusive creature, first discovered in 1908, has only ever been seen alive off Tofo in southern Mozambique. Rare sight Stingrays are cartilaginous fish that are related to sharks. They occur is marine, freshwater and estuarine habitats and vary...

ACCRA, Ghana, Sep 23, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton on Monday urged Africans to team up to fight poverty, saying boundary-less cooperation means boundless economic potential. "Through cooperation and collaborative efforts, termites have been able to pull down strong edifices," Clinton said. "Bees have been able to build houses for humans to tap heir honey from." Clinton, who is in Africa to promote efforts to fight AIDS and encourage economic development, was speaking to an assemblage of government ministers, traditional rulers and academics at the launch of Ghana President John Kufuor's Foundation for...

A US-BASED pressure group has warned Australia that its invited military intervention in East Timor to quell unrest did not entitle it to interfere in the country's government. The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network said it was concerned about the situation in East Timor, where the government, with the stated support of rebel leaders, requested the deployment of foreign forces to stem escalating violence. "Timor-Leste must find ways, with respectful support from the international community, to deal with problems in a manner that will not require troops," ETAN said. "Statements by Australian government leaders that providing security assistance entitles...

THE tragedy of East Timor would make the angels weep. Just as it was the Timorese civil war that in 1975 precipitated Indonesian military intervention, with all of its dolorous consequences, so it is civil conflict today that has precipitated Australian military intervention. The two interventions cannot be compared, of course. Hopefully, Australia's will be short and relatively non-violent. And no one in Australia wants to incorporate East Timor. But it is time to speak bluntly. The situation in East Timor is much worse than even most analysts and commentators realise. The savage killings and lawlessness of the past few...

THE kumbaya crowd which pressed for East Timor's independence must shoulder much of the blame for the failure of its dysfunctional Government. But while the collective of liberation theologists and civil rights lawyers cheered Fretilin's Portugese-educated Marxist guerrilla leaders, the same candle-wavers protested against the toppling of the mass murdering Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein. Yet East Timor, with a population estimated at about one million, whose independence was internationally recognised on May 20, 2002, is now arguably in proportionately worse shape than Iraq, population 26 million, where the first election under its new constitution took place just last December. The...

Zimbabweans can expect to spend more time in the dark after the Mozambique power utility company...suspended supplies to Zimbabwe over an outstanding debt of US$26 million. This development was confirmed in a report in the state run Herald newspaper. Zimbabwe’s power imports have been falling for various reasons. South Africa’s Eskom has stopped supplies claiming "some operational hitches" at its power-generating plants. The Democratic Republic of Congo has also stopped power supplies to Zimbabwe because of ‘problems with it’s transmission network.’ Analysts say the real reason these countries have cut Zimbabwe off is because of unpaid debts. Critics say the...

Today President Bush spoke at the rededication of the Islamic Center of Washington. (Transcript) Returning to the White House, the president met with experts to discuss how individual citizens can (and should) have the power to make their own health care decisions, not the government. He spoke about this later in the Roosevelt Room. (Transcript) First Lady Laura Bush continued her tour of Africa, arriving in Maputo, Mozambique. There, Mrs. Bush met with President Armando Guebuza and toured US funded facilities that are fighting malaria and AIDS while helping the victims of those diseases. Back home, Secretary of State Condoleezza...

Maputo, Mozambique (LifeNews.com) -- The government of the African nation of Mozambique is about ready to introduce a bill in the nation's legislature to legalize abortion and observers say the measure will likely pass The government claims abortion should be legalized because of the number of women who supposedly die from illegal abortions. .That comes even though legalizing abortion hasn't made it safer in industrialized nations. The Mozambique law prohibiting abortions except to save the life of the mother dates back to the 19th century when Catholic Portuguese people led the nation. Nowadays, abortion is seen as anathema to both...

Maputo, Mozambique (LifeNews.com) -- Lawmakers in Mozambique are considering a bill that would legalize abortions in this nation in the southern part of Africa. They say they must make abortion legal to reduce the number of deaths associated with illegal abortions, even though making abortion legal doesn't make it safer for women. The law prohibiting abortions except to save the life of the mother dates back to the 19th century when Catholic Portuguese people led the nation. Nowadays, abortion is seen as anathema to both African culture as well as the religious values of the people of the country, who...

Explosion of a deposit of weapons with Maputo: 72 died, 360 wounded MAPUTO - At least 72 people were killed and 360 wounded Thursday during the explosion of the largest deposit of weapons of Mozambique, close to the international airport to Maputo, one announced official source. “On the whole, it there has 72 died”, declared the Minister for Health Ivo Garrido on television national TVM. “There are approximately 360 wounded”, it added, specifying that it was about a provisional assessment. Explosions in series of bombs, mines and ammunition began little before fallen the night towards 18h00 (16h00 GMT) and...

Heidi Baker Emergency Update: She says bombs are hitting their church and their children's center with children in it—PRAY! NOTE FROM EDITORIAL STAFF [of The Elijah List http://www.elijahlist.com ]: We are all asking for you to please stop and pray right now, many precious people are in extreme danger! —Steve Shultz, Aimee Herd, Jessica L. Miller, Julie Smith, Terry Lea, Jeris Cribbs and all the Elijah List and Elijah Rain family. The following update was sent out by Iris Ministries. Heidi asked me to contact you for prayer as bombs have detonated in our capitol city Maputo, Mozambique. Three bombs...

Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa have opened the borders between parks in all three countries to create the largest transnational game park in Africa. The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, which is expected to eventually grow to cover 16,000 square miles, combines South Africa's Kruger National Park, Mozambique's Limpopo National Park and Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park, The Times of London reported Thursday. The presidents of all three countries gathered to witness the opening of the Giriyondo border between the Kruger and Limpopo parks. "The Giriyondo access facility ... is just the beginning of a new era when we will bring down...

29.05.2006, 14.24 Ekaterinburg, 29 May. Sixteen countries have confirmed their attendance in the 5th International Armaments Show in Nizhnyj Tagil. More than 200 foreigners are expected to attend. Some of the countries attending include the Czech Republic, POLAND, China, Switzerland, Venezuela, Sweden, Iran, Bulgaria, and Mozambique. The show will be held from 11 to 15 July, 2006.

MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) -- A powerful earthquake struck Mozambique early Thursday morning, shaking buildings and forcing people from hundreds of miles around to dash into the streets for safety. There were no early reports of injuries. The magnitude-7.5 quake struck at 12:19 a.m. in southern Mozambique, 140 miles southwest of the coastal city of Beira, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The temblor was felt in the neighboring nations of Zimbabwe and Zambia and as far south as Durban, South Africa, 800 miles away. Elias Daudi, Mozambique's national director of energy, said on state radio that authorities still do not have...

Magnitude 6.9 MOZAMBIQUE Wednesday, February 22, 2006 at 22:19:08 UTC The following is a release by the United States Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center: A strong earthquake occurred IN MOZAMBIQUE, about 225 km (140 miles) SW of Beira or about 530 km (330 miles) N of MAPUTO at 3:19 PM MST, Feb 22, 2006 (Feb 23 at 12:19 AM local time in Mozambique). The magnitude and location may be revised when additional data and further analysis results are available. No reports of damage or casualties have been received at this time; however, this earthquake may have caused damage due...

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Attacks on humans by man-eating lions are on the rise in Tanzania and Mozambique, raising the stakes in the conservation game as environmentalists strive to save the big cats from extinction. Lions in the area have developed a taste for human flesh because people have been sleeping outdoors to protect their crops from raiding bushpigs, which the cats follow onto croplands, a leading expert said. "In Tanzania in the early 1990s there were about 40 recorded lion attacks a year. In the past couple of years they have risen to over 100 and about 70 percent are...

Could you change a nation by yourself? Heidi Baker is doing it – without political clout or decent funding. When she arrived in bleak, war-ravaged Mozambique in 1995, this American missionary had a few resources, but God told her to give away everything she owned and go sit by the side of the road. (She doesn't "hear voices"; she just has sharp spiritual ears.) So there she sat in the dirt, homeless, a 5'4" blonde with a Ph.D. in systematic theology from the University of London ... and little else beside the clothes on her back. "Great plan, Lord," she...

FORMER US president Bill Clinton arrived in Mozambique early today on the first leg of a six-nation Africa tour aimed at boosting his foundation's work in the fight against AIDS on the continent, a spokesman said. Clinton Foundation spokesman Joachim Salvador told AFP the former president had arrived, and an earlier press release said he would visit the pediatric section of Maputo Central Hospital later today. Some 300 children with HIV and AIDS are being treated with anti-retroviral drugs at the hospital, which is a beneficiary of Clinton Foundation funds. Ira Magaziner, who heads the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative, said...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. President Bush says increased U.S.-African trade is helping to promote democracy and opportunity across the African continent. Mr. Bush spoke in Washington Monday after meeting with the presidents of Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia and Niger. He praised the five men as democrats who have taken advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The 2000 law gives African nations greater access to the U.S. market if they show respect for rule of law and human rights. Mr. Bush said the five presidents are doing just that - and noted that African...

Now that Africa is getting an influx of cash to pay off debts, President Bush is pushing for an influx of democracy on the troubled continent. The United States and others of the Group of Eight major industrialized nations agreed Saturday to eliminate more than $40 billion of debt owed by 18 of the world's poorest nations as part of a British-led effort to lift Africa out of poverty. Bush was to follow up on the agreement by playing host Monday to leaders of five countries that held democratic elections last year. "At a time when freedom is on the...