MALAWIAN police fired teargas and used batons on Friday to disperse at least 500 teachers protesting against the government’s failure to deliver on a promised pay rise. The protests occurred as foreign ministers from the 14-member Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) met behind closed doors to prepare for an annual heads of state summit scheduled for Sunday. The teachers were bound for the centre of Blantyre when police intercepted them, firing teargas and clubbing them, according to witnesses. ”All we are asking for is what the president promised,” shouted one teacher before she was struck on the shoulder by a baton-wielding policeman. No injuries were reported and the teachers did not regroup after the intervention by some three dozen policemen. Earlier this year, President Bakili Muluzi vowed to raise salaries for teachers by a huge 300 percent but did not follow after his government agreed an economic aid package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) requiring budget restraint. – Reuters