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/ 31 May 2008

Ex-president bailed in alleged Malawi coup plot

Former Malawian president Bakili Muluzi, who had been under house arrest over an alleged coup plot, was freed on bail on Friday after a judge said there was no reason to fear he would try to flee justice. Muluzi was ordered to post bail of  000 and report to police once a month as well as inform them of any plans to travel outside Blantyre.

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/ 27 May 2008

Muluzi laughs off coup claim

Malawi’s former president Bakili Muluzi on Tuesday laughed off accusations that he was trying to topple his successor as his lawyers launched a high court bid to end his house arrest. Muluzi has denied any knowledge of documents which purportedly linked him to a coup against President Bingu wa Mutharika.

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/ 26 May 2008

Malawi ex-leader Muluzi held on coup charge

Former Malawian president Bakili Muluzi was arrested in connection with an alleged coup plot as he returned home from Britain on Sunday, his lawyer said. Five members of Muluzi’s United Democratic Front and three army generals were arrested last week on suspicion of being part of a plot to bring him to power, and an arrest warrant was issued for Muluzi.

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/ 21 May 2008

New Malawi coup plot raises suspicions

Malawi’s announcement that it had foiled a fourth coup attempt in four years is fuelling suspicions of growing government paranoia and doubts over chances for a political deal crucial to donor funding. The arrest of senior opposition figures over the latest suspected plot has left crisis talks between the government and opposition near collapse.

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/ 14 May 2008

Malawi expands arrests on coup-plot charges

Malawi has arrested two senior army officers for plotting to overthrow the government, police said on Wednesday, a day after the arrest of two opposition leaders on the same charges. The detentions have left crisis talks between the government and the opposition on the brink of collapse, which threatens to derail vital international donor programmes.

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/ 9 April 2008

Malawi jails former minister for corruption

A court in Malawi handed down a six-year prison sentence on Tuesday to a former minister over corruption charges dating back 14 years, officials said. Former education minister Sam Mpasu stood accused of having received kickbacks for awarding a British company a deal to provide Malawi with millions of notebooks and pencils.

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/ 4 March 2008

Malawi seeks to oust fake Aids healers

Malawi lawmakers on Tuesday began examining draft legislation aimed at ridding the HIV/Aids-plagued country of quacks claiming to cure the pandemic through such remedies as sex with virgins, health authorities said. "When it passes into law, all traditional healers claiming to cure Aids will be dealt with," Mary Shaba, head of HIV/Aids issues for Malawi’s Health Ministry, said.

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/ 28 February 2008

Malawi’s tea growers hope to boost prices

Low prices continue to haunt Malawian tea on the auction floors, a bitter irony for some producers as the country is regarded as the pioneer of tea-growing in Africa. Commercial production started way back in the 1880s during the British colonial era. Large tea estates have since then been a feature of the southern region of the country.

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/ 3 February 2008

Floods worsen in Malawi

Malawi’s president flew over the flood-stricken Shire Valley on Sunday where nearly 50 000 people have lost their homes and crops to raging waters that have wreaked havoc in many parts of Southern Africa. Nationally, more than 70 000 have been displaced in Malawi.

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/ 30 January 2008

Worse to come in flooded Malawi

Rising flood waters devastating crops, livestock and infrastructure across half the coutry and menacing more than 73 000 Malawians are going to get worse, government officials said on Wednesday. ”It’s getting worse in Malawi because it is raining every day,” said Lilian Ng’oma, a senior official in the Disaster Management Ministry.

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/ 14 January 2008

Malawi ends ties with Taiwan in favour of China

Malawi has cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan after 41 years and established links with China, which has become a major economic power in Africa. ”We have decided to switch from Taiwan to mainland China after careful consideration of the benefits that we will be getting from mainland China,” Foreign Affairs Minister Joyce Banda told a press conference on Monday.

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/ 11 January 2008

Uranium mining to boost Malawi exports

A uranium mining project by an Australian firm due to begin in northern Malawi next year will boost the country’s exports by 25%, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In a new country report released this week, the IMF said the -million project by mining firm Paladin could add up to 10% of the Southern African country’s overall GDP and 25% to exports.