Convicted gay couple in Malawi face jail

They were found guilty of unnatural acts and gross indecency after a

trial that drew worldwide condemnation.

Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, had been jailed since their arrest on December 27, the day they celebrated their engagement with a party that drew crowds of curious, jeering onlookers.

Blantyre Chief Resident Magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwa said the sentencing would take place on Thursday.

Hearings in the trial also have drawn Malawians who have ridiculed the couple, an indication of views on homosexuality in the traditional society - and elsewhere in Africa.

Homosexuality is illegal in at least 37 countries on the continent. In Uganda, MPs are considering a bill that would sentence homosexuals to life in prison and include capital punishment for "repeat offenders."

Even in South Africa, the only African country that recognises gay rights, gangs have carried out so-called "corrective" rapes on lesbians.

Michaela Clayton, of the South Africa-based Aids and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa, said not only were human rights being violated, but the fight against Aids was being hurt. Gay people forced underground were unlikely to seek counselling and treatment for Aids, she and other activists said.

n Portugal's conservative president said he was reluctantly ratifying a law allowing gay marriage, making the predominantly Roman Catholic country the sixth in Europe to let same-sex couples wed.

President Anibal Cavaco Silva said he would not veto the bill because majority liberal politicians would only overturn his decision. The country must focus instead on battling a crippling economic crisis, he said.