The shell of a disused beachfront hotel that has been a landmark of the Mozambican capital for more than three decades was demolished on Saturday to make for a new U.S. embassy. The multi-storey Four Seasons Hotel would have been the largest in the southern African country but its construction was abandoned in 1974 after a coup in former colonial ruler Portugal led to Mozambique 's independence the following year.
"The Americans want a secure site away from the bustle of central Maputo, and here is a large site beside the beach containing nothing but a large ruin ... it makes sense that they occupy it," Deputy Tourism Minister Rosario Muleia told Mozambican television.
