CHEERED on by People's Party loyalists, a highly charged President Joyce Banda Saturday offered to pay K2 million to any person who will give information that will lead to the arrest of the author of a letter purporting that she had resigned.

The Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) has adjusted upwards fuel prices. The new prices are effective 6 am on 9 February, 2013 as follows:

Petrol from K606.30 per litre to K704.30

Diesel from K597.40 to K683.60

Paraffin from K509.90 to K591. 40

Paraffin for domestic use remains at K171.00

This follows another fuel hike on November 12 last year and a previous one on September 7.

A FOUR-month-old baby is in jail at Dedza Prison. Chimwemwe Abraham has already served one month of the 12 months that her mother was slapped with by the magistrate's court.

UDF presidential aspirant Atu¬pele Muluzi has roped into his campaign Thoko Banda, son to renowned politician Aleke Banda, to boost his chances of winning the sym¬pathy of young voters in the country.

FINALLY after rumours, Bullets coach Eddington Ng'onamo has been named as Malawi national team coach replacing fired or is it demoted Kinnah Phiri.

MERCY Kumwenda, who openly declared that she is lesbian early this week, claims she has been receiving death threats on her life.

A CHIRADZULU cop, who is accused of assaulting his wife, has asked her to withdraw the case.

MALAWI has been listed as one of the countries where the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) used to carry out its torture of suspects in a highly classified programme of secret detention and extraordinary rendition in joint counterterrorism operations.

ECONOMIC experts have expressed doubts that the Economic Recovery Plan (ERP), instituted by the Joyce Banda administration last year to fix the troubled economy hit by global aid suspensions, would be successful within 18 months, which end in December.

POLICE officer Clement Banda of Njuli, who is accused of battering his wife Pellagia, quietly ap¬peared at Limbe's Dalton Road Magistrates Court on Thursday to answer charges of assault and has since been remanded at Chichiri Prison.

PELLAGIA Kanyambita, wife to Police constable Clement Banda of Njuli Police Post, is lying in agony at Chiradzulu District Hospital after she was allegedly assaulted by her husband over family issues.

PARLIAMENT has been withholding a brand new Toyota Prado vehicle it bought for Clerk of Parliament four months ago as it awaits legal guidance from the Attorney General (AG).

BARELY a week before the Consumer Association of Malawi's (Cama) much-touted January 17 dem-onstrations, some members of the organising committee have stepped down urging the organisers to engage government in dialogue.

THE $79 million imposing Malawi University of Science and Technology (Must), at Ndata in Thyolo, near the late President Bingu wa Mutharika's opulent residence, is waiting for President Joyce Banda to assent to a Bill which Parliament passed during its last meeting last year.

If you believe in get-rich-quick-schemes, then there is one going on at Yoyola Village in Neno, where a traditional healer is said to have made several people rich through the power of her magic charms.

Parliament cannot force President Joyce Banda to declare her assets, who last week reiterated that she will not declare her assets after she took over as president in April 2012.

Members of Parliament Saturday met with the visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, where they expressed their unhappiness with the imposition of hard conditions on Malawi.

The Public Affairs Committee (Pac), the country's most influential inter- denomina¬tional grouping, has said it is not supporting anti-government demonstrations being or¬ganised by Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) slated for January 17.

MalawiDefence Force Commander General Henry Odillo says April this year was particularly interesting as the army was called to duty to defend the Constitution and facilitate a smooth transition of power to President Joyce Banda after her predecessor Bingu wa Mutharika suddenly dropped dead.

The year 2012 saw government negotiating out of court payments in a number of cases most of which bordered on unfair dismissals, termination of contracts and unlawful dentition.