Malawi arrest warning over flying old flags

The president The president said the new flag shows Malawi's development 46 years after independence

Malawi's government has warned anyone who displays the country's old national flag will face arrest and prosecution.

The information minister made the comments nearly a week after the launch of a new one.

Until his warning, the BBC's Raphael Tenthani in Malawi says most government offices were still flying the old flag.

The new flag features a full sun instead of the old flag's rising sun, to reflect Malawi's change from a developing to a developed nation.

"We cannot permanently live in the past," President Bingu wa Mutharika said when it was launched.

"The new flag depicts the status of our development."