Government has confirmed Malawi will go ahead to host the African Union summit in June in Lilongwe this year. Information Minister Moses Kunkuyu told Zodiak Radio that hosting the summit would be an honour to late President Bingu wa Mutharika who wanted Malawi to host the summit. Before President Mutharika's death, President Joyce Banda opposed the idea of Malawi hosting the summit due to what she called poor economic situation.

Government says it will continue stopping political rallies in the country if the security situation is volatile. But when quizzed why only opposition rallies are blocked, some officials have explained that ruling party rallies are always peaceful as hooligans can hardly hijack them.

Human rights activist John Kapito says there was drama at a hotel in Lilongwe on Saturday afternoon when over 25 police officers swooped on him as he made his way out. Kapito said within minutes, his car was surrounded by the officers, scrambling for it as they opened every door and boot in search of 'harmful' materials. Contrary to police's earlier charge of illegal possession of forex, Kapito said a new charge of alleged possession of materials carrying seditious works emerged.

An international rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the Malawi government's recent arrests and threats against critics reflect its broader crackdown on free speech and other basic rights. Deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch Leslie Lefkow said arresting government critics was the latest sign of increasing repression in Malawi. He asked President Bingu wa Mutharika to take urgent steps to end the harassment and arrests of people seen as opposing the government.

The Malawi Government has stepped up security in the country’s major cities, with armed riot police officers seen patrolling all over. This has raised questions among people who are not used to such heavy security. There is now more security after sporadic political riots that started in Area 24 in Lilongwe where UDF MP Atupele Muluzi was stopped from holding a rally. The development also follows the tension that preceded the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) conference in Limbe whose objectives included mobilising key stakeholders and efforts towards a common agenda and collective redress to Malawi’s political and economic challenges.

Anti-government protesters torched a police station in Malawi's capital on Monday 19 March, raising tension in the destitute country that was last year rocked by the police killing of 20 people in similar protests. The latest outbreak of violence followed the weekend arrest of the chairman of the government's Human Rights Commission. The commission had sharply criticised the administration of President Bingu wa Mutharika for the July 2011 crackdown, accusing his government of using unjustifiable violence and arrests to intimidate its critics.

Malawi's leading rights activist John Kapito, who was detained by police for possession of foreign currency, has been released on bail, a spokesman for the country's rights body said. Kapito was charged with two counts of carrying seditious material and illegal possession of foreign exchange, he said.

The World Bank should never expect a wholesale acceptance of their programmes aimed at bailing the country out of the current economic mess as President Bingu wa Mutharika says he is not an 'idiot' to do that. 'The level [of the mission] is not even that of a minister but a principal secretary. So you want me to meet every Jim and Jack who comes from wherever at the expense of my job? I am not that cheap and I'm not for sale; I am the president.' On the bailout, Mutharika said the World Bank and other donors should align their programmes with the country's, otherwise he would not accept them at all.

Civil Society Organisations in Malawi have called on the government to withdraw threats targeted at the media and civil rights groups. Led by Council for Non Governmental Organisations Chairperson Voice Mhone, the NGOs have again denied they are party to any plans to topple Bingu wa Mutharika regime. President Mutharika has accused CSOs of organising a meeting to demand a referendum and/or nationwide protests to unseat the government.

Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika has in an astonishing broadside at perceived opponents including the country’s media warned them to desist from insulting him or they would be 'properly dealt with by the law'. A press release signed by State House press officer Albert Mungomo said that Malawi law provides for the 'total respect and protection' of the country's leader and that the authorities would no longer stand by and watch as the President of the Republic of Malawi was ridiculed.

Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika has told foreign donors to 'go to hell', accusing them of plotting with local groups to topple his government. The UK and other donors cut aid to Malawi in 2010, criticising its economic policies. Mutharika said he has intelligence reports that some Western donor nations were working with local non-governmental groups (NGOs) to hold street demonstrations and vigils against his rule.

A lawyer for an opponent of Malawi's president says his client is no longer being watched by police at the hospital where he is being treated for heart problems. Opposition and church leaders in Malawi had joined international human rights organisations in criticizing Ralph Kasambara's treatment. Kasambara was arrested 13 February, accused of kidnapping and torturing three men he told reporters had confessed they had been sent by the government to firebomb his office. The government denies Kasambara's accusations. Kasambara denies the charges against him.

The country's year on year headline inflation for January 2012 stands at 10.3 per cent, up from 9.8 per cent registered in December last year, the National Statistical Office (NSO) says. This development comes barely few days after Lilongwe based Centre for Social Concern (CfSC) noted that prices for basic commodities were still on the rise fortifying fears that an increase in the national inflation rate was imminent. Commenting on the current economic trends, former finance minister Cassim Chilumpha has said Malawians should brace up for tough times lying ahead following the persistent shortage of foreign exchange and fuel which is contributing to the surging inflation.

An outspoken opponent of Malawi's president who once served as his attorney general says the administration sent thugs to petrol bomb his law office - and the government critic ended up in jail. Ralph Kasambara was arrested last week, accused of kidnapping and torturing three men he told reporters confessed to his bodyguards that they had been sent after him by the government.

The Malawi Law Society (MLS) has said it sees no end in sight to the judiciary strike which has paralysed the country’s justice delivery system for six weeks now. MLS president John-Gift Mwakhwawa said lawyers are yet to be briefed on the outcome of a recent between government and the judiciary. 'What is at stake in not just our right to economic activity, but the suspension of people’s rights. It also compromises the independence and impartiality of the Judiciary if it is literally going to beg for an increment.'

Malawi’s maize-growing central and southern regions have not had good rains, prompting concerns about possible shortages of the staple in the coming months. 'I think it could be one of the worst shortages we have seen in recent times,' said an early warning official who preferred anonymity. 'The rains have never been so erratic. In some parts of Malawi small farmers have gone in for a second round of planting after the crops failed; and the seed they have used is not of good quality so it will not give good yields.'

Leader of the opposition John Tembo has said president Bingu wa Mutharika’s remarks on Friday 3 February when he opened the 43rd session of parliament offered no hope for a nation that is economically struggling. Mutharika had said he will offer concrete proposals to the present problems in May and also appealed to the IMF to give his administration three years to resolve the economic crisis. Mutharika has already been criticised for failing to provide proposals and measures to deal with the current problems Malawi is facing and many question his three year 'grace period' request when no tangible proposal has been seen in the past two years since many problems started to appear.

Police in Malawi say they have fired tear gas to disperse stone-throwing vendors resisting orders they move off the streets to designated flea markets. Lilongwe police spokesperson Kingsley Dandaula described running battles 6 February, the deadline city officials had given vendors to move their tiny businesses to flea markets. Dandaula says protesting vendors also blocked streets with large rocks and burning tires, and damaged some shops and cars before police got the situation under control. He says 42 people had been arrested by late afternoon and that he expected more arrests.

The black market for foreign exchange and fuel is booming in the midst of an acute scarcity in Malawi. The shortage is so severe that even the Consumer Association of Malawi, an influential consumer rights body, has come out in support of the black market. Malawi continues to reel under severe economic problems after the country’s major donors cut aid to the country last year. Up to 40 percent of Malawi’s national budget has been dependent on donors and donors funded 80 percent of the country’s development budget.

'The 39 members of the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights Coalition based in 18 African countries vehemently condemn the stripping of women wearing trousers and short skirts by male vendors in three major cities in Malawi, namely Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Blantyre.'