Vice-president 'shares pain' of Malawi protest

Malawi's vice-president has defied the country's president by visiting family members of those killed in last week's anti-government protests.

Joyce Banda challenged president Bingu wa Mutharika to follow through on his earlier threats against protesters during her visits yesterday to two of the families affected.

She said: "I am ready to be crushed, to be smoked out, if that is as a result of my sharing the pain of the poor."

She deliberately used the same language Mr Mutharika had last week when he threatened protesters.

Last week's protests over complaints of bad governance, and persistent fuel and foreign exchange reserve shortages left 19 people dead. She said the victims were "innocent young men trying to eke out a living".

Ms Banda was expelled from Mr Mutharika's ruling party last year after falling out with the president over her alleged leadership ambitions.