LILONGWE, Malawi -- The new president of Malawi says she wants to overturn her nation's homophobic laws that make it a crime to be LGBT.

Joyce Banda, who took over the presidency last month after the death of the homophobic leader Bingu wa Mutharika, presides over one of the world's poorest -- and most beautiful -- countries. In her first weeks in office, Banda has reversed some of Mutharika's policies in an attempt to get international aid restored. Many western countries withdrew aid from Malawi over the past few years over concerns about human rights and corruption.