Malawi leader to wed ex-minister

Lilongwe, 21 Jan-(ANA)-The president of Malawi, Bingu wa Mutharika, has announced he is to marry a former tourism minister.

His fiancee, Calista Chapola-Chimbombo, served in his first cabinet in 2004 and is a prominent member of the governing Democratic Progressive Party.

President Mutharika's first wife, Ethel, died from cancer 2007, and his future wife is also widowed.

The couple plan a traditional engagement ceremony on Valentine's Day before their 1 May wedding.

Reports say there had been intense speculation about the couple since they appeared together at the wedding of President Mutharika's daughter in December.

But Ms Chapola-Chimombo had denied any affair, telling a local newspaper: "There is nothing between me and the president."

The president, 76, has four children. The incoming first lady, whose exact age has not been disclosed but  said to be in her 40s, has one son from her first marriage.

A government statement said both were "devout Catholics" and the ceremony would be blessed in a Catholic church. (ANA)

FA/ANA/21 January 2010-----