Wüstenschiff

Shoppers in Malawi have been scrambling to buy basic goods, fearing huge price rises after the currency was devalued by 33%. The BBC's Raphael Tenthani in Blantyre says that many shops had run out of staple foods such as sugar, cooking oil and bread by the end of Monday. The kwacha was devalued as part of moves by the new government to restore donor funding. The former government had rejected IMF calls to devalue the currency.

The central bank's notice of official exchange rates put one dollar at 250 kwacha, compared to 166 kwacha on Friday, a 33.598 percent value drop.