A court in Mzuzu has handed state witness, Milika Munthali, a 12 months suspended sentence for per¬jury after she turned hostile in court and subsequently revealed having be¬ing coerced by some of the accused persons to testify in their favor.

The programme to circumcise 2.1 million Malawi men has gotten off to a slow start, with only 15,000 men volunteering to go under the knife since September last year, a Ministry of Health official told The Sunday Times.

UDF MP and Minister of Economic Planning and Development, Atupele Muluzi, has said that it is his party which will decide on his stay in President Joyce Banda's government of national unity, or any electoral pact for 2014.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has said government should call for a national referendum to solicit views of Malawians on the issue of repelling legislation that virtually outlaws homosexuality.

President Joyce Banda has come under criticism for apparently reneging on the promise to "reduce the size of the presidential motorcade to sizeable necessity" to live up to the austerity drive she launched after assuming power in April.

Malawi government is expected to pay lawyer Christopher Chiphwanya K16.2 million as compensation for unlawful arrest and malicious prosecution if he lawsuit succeeds at the High Court in Blantyre. Chiphwanya argues that his reputation as a legal practitioner was tarnished and that the arrest caused him anguish and humiliation.

A nurse stationed at Ekwendeni Mission Hospital, in the norther part of Malawi,  is currently battling for her life after an incensed relative to a woman who had just given birth to a still-born attacked her in February last year. Now admitted to Kamuzu Central Hospital, 25-year-old Grace Chizala revealed that her problem started after she had sand thrown into her eyes by a relative of one of her patients.

Director of Anti- Corruption (ACB) Alexius Ernest Nampota enraged President Joyce Banda by refusing both alternative employment and voluntary resignation, The Sunday Times has established.

Malawi is drafting a law that will require foreign television broadcasters such as MultiChoice, who beam straight into homes of subscribers, to pay licence fees to Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra).

They were hurriedly buried in a mass grave by locals without much dignity a few meters from the shores of Lake Malawi in Karonga, but the 47 Ethiopians who drowned on the lake late last month might be given a fitting burial by the Malawi Red Cross Society.

Police have been accused of covering up a road accident last year in which former police Inspector General Peter Mukhito's vehicle hit an eight-year old girl, leaving her with mental and physical disabilities.

They are raped and roughed up by  thugs and their clients. They are paid  a couple of kilogrammes of maize  or airtime instead of the money as agreed  before the sex service.

But they are afraid to report to police  about the abuses for fear of being abused  also by the men in uniform.

A budget of K2 billion for the 2012/13 financial year to maintain six state residences and palaces is raising some eyebrows from political pundits, with some asking the question whether the cash-strapped government can afford this luxury or it was time to sell off some of the assets to reign in expenditure.

Malawi has become one of the 54 countries in the world that have signed a renewed promise to end preventable deaths of children under the age of five.

Coach Kinnah Phiri can now af¬ford a sleep without nightmares knowing his job is safe after the Flames managed a vital 2-0 win over Chad to qualify for the second round of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday at the Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.

Outgoing chairperson of the Presidential Contact and Dialogue Group (PCDG), Anglican Archbish¬op Emeritus Bernard Malango, says there is nothing wrong with President Joyce Banda's decision to dissolve the group and create another one.

President Joyce Banda has been urged to declare her assets now as one way to bring transparency and confidence in the presidency and enhance her standing among Malawians.

Ministerof Youth and Sports Enock Chihana has told parliament that Malawi is now a country that respects human rights and is not going to "dine and wine with dictators," such as Sudanese President Al-Bashir who is wanted by the International Criminal Court over crimes against humanity and genocide.

Players in the education sector have called for a review of fees for the University of Malawi and proposed an increase to at least K100,000 per year from the current K25,000 per student.

President Joyce Banda on Thursday became the first Malawian leader to be host¬ed by the Royal Institute of International Affairs where she debated the country's policies and priorities in a paper titled 'Malawi's Policy and Pri¬orities for a Globalised World'.