Malawi's President Vows to Repeal Gay Ban

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) - Malawi's new president has announced she will repeal her southern African country's ban on homosexual acts.

President Joyce Banda's announcement during her first state of the nation address Friday is one of several steps she has taken that break with the administration of her predecessor, Bingu wa Mutharika, who died in office in April.

Malawi had faced international condemnation for the conviction and 14-year prison sentences given to two men in 2010, who had been arrested after celebrating their engagement and were charged with unnatural acts and gross indecency.

Mutharika pardoned the couple, but said it was on "humanitarian grounds only" and insisted they had "committed a crime against our culture, against our religion, and against our laws."