Malawi

It isn't every day that Malawi is in the news. Having lived there with my family as a contract teacher for almost eight years, I know for a fact that news, especially unfavorable articles about that landlocked nation, has been repressed for years and years. There is no TV, and if magazines like Time or Newsweek have anything criticizing the government of Malawi, copies will be withdrawn from newsstands or bookstores. Those who get theirs in the mail very often do not get the magazine at all. Michael Hiltzik's report and insights on Malawi are pretty accurate except that he failed to mention that Malawians are basically a disciplined and peace-loving people (Part I, Nov. 22)

The Lower River A Novel Paul Theroux Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: 336 pp., $25 When Ellis Hock's wife gives him a smartphone for his 62nd birthday, he shrugs it off, saying he's fine with his clamshell-style one. To bring Hock, the third-generation proprietor of a men's clothing shop in Medford, Mass., up to date, his wife of 30-some years sets up the smartphone for him. Downloading his email, she discovers piles of warm, intimate...

A chartered plane carrying a 1-year-old boy that Madonna is seeking to adopt left Malawi on Monday. A Malawian immigration official who spoke on condition of anonymity said he understood from those traveling with the boy, David Banda, -- two Britons and two Americans -- that they were headed to England, where Madonna has a home.

Re "For mercy's sake, it's Madonna," Opinion, April 6 Beth Nonte Russell should have disclosed in her Op-Ed article that her own adoption from China did not follow the usual procedures, as she describes in her book. On its website, the Golden Phoenix Foundation she founded states that its mission is to "streamline" international adoptions for other prospective parents. "Streamlining," however, has often created trafficking and corrupted adoptions, which led to the shutdown of Guatemala, Cambodia and Vietnam (from which I adopted in 2001)

Malawi's government is happy with the way pop diva Madonna is looking after a 1-year-old Malawian boy after her plans to adopt the child last year caused a storm of controversy, an official said Friday. Adrina Mchiela, principal secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare, said the government is satisfied so far at the way Madonna is looking after David Banda. "We have been monitoring her, and so far we see a loving mother in Madonna and David is very fine....

Authorities in Malawi, working with the CIA, have arrested five men suspected of helping funnel money to Al Qaeda, officials in the southern African nation said Monday. The joint operation came in a nation that has not been a significant focus of investigations into Osama bin Laden's terror group -- though other parts of Africa have been major staging grounds for Al Qaeda operations.

Dipping his arms into the murky river, Collins Skiper expected to grasp a healthy bunch of water lilies. Instead, he found both hands in the clutches of a crocodile's ravenous jaws. The predator dragged Skiper out of his shallow dug-out canoe and into the water. Memories of what followed that day in early January are sketchy. But Skiper does recall the terror, the pain and the violent struggle as six fellow fishermen clobbered the crocodile with their paddles.

On most days, Melina Jakasoni's three small children survive on a single meal of boiled and mashed pumpkin leaves. When her scrounging pays off, the young mother is able to make porridge from donated corn husks. On rare occasions, a neighbor allows her to forage in her yard for groundnuts. Once again, hunger is stalking Africa. The calamity here is one piece of a food crisis--partly natural and partly man-made--that is sweeping southern Africa.

The Lower River A Novel Paul Theroux Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: 336 pp., $25 When Ellis Hock's wife gives him a smartphone for his 62nd birthday, he shrugs it off, saying he's fine with his clamshell-style one. To bring Hock, the third-generation proprietor of a men's clothing shop in Medford, Mass., up to date, his wife of 30-some years sets up the smartphone for him. Downloading his email, she discovers piles of warm, intimate...

Madonna is planning to adopt a second child from Malawi, officials said Thursday, but questions have already been raised over whether the newly divorced pop star will face obstacles because of her single-mom status. An official at the Malawi welfare department said Madonna, who is 50 and a mother of three, had filed adoption papers in the southern African country. Years ago, the singer was accused of using her celebrity status to circumvent Malawian laws when she adopted her son David -- allegations she denies.

The controversy surrounding the attempt by Madonna to adopt a second child from an orphanage in Malawi brings to light the confusing situation in international adoption. On Friday, a judge in that nation rejected the singer's adoption request on the grounds that waiving an 18-month residency requirement would set a dangerous precedent. Madonna was granted such an exemption when she adopted a Malawian boy in 2006.

Malawi's government supports pop singer Madonna's bid to adopt a second child from the southern African country, the information minister said Thursday. The government came under fire after Madonna adopted a 13-month-old Malawian child, David Banda, in 2006, with critics accusing it of giving her special treatment by skirting laws that ban nonresidents from adopting children. "Madonna has been good to us, she is supporting over 25,000 orphans in this country, and she has proved that she can take care of David," Malawian Information Minister Patricia Kaliati said in an interview.

In the bitter winter of 1788-1789, the government of Louis XVI exported almost the entire French grain crop, lining the pockets of aristocrats and landed elites while leaving peasants to starve. The result was the French Revolution, during which the monarchy and aristocracy lost their governing privileges and Louis lost his head.

Malawi's government is happy with the way pop diva Madonna is looking after a 1-year-old Malawian boy after her plans to adopt the child last year caused a storm of controversy, an official said Friday. Adrina Mchiela, principal secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare, said the government is satisfied so far at the way Madonna is looking after David Banda. "We have been monitoring her, and so far we see a loving mother in Madonna and David is very fine....

A judge ruled Wednesday that human rights organizations will help decide whether Madonna is fit to adopt a Malawian toddler. Malawi Judge Andrew Nyirenda, who earlier granted custody of the 14-month-old boy to the 48-year-old pop star and her husband, filmmaker Guy Ritchie, ruled in favor of a coalition of 67 human rights and child advocacy groups that want to be party to the assessment of their fitness as parents. That is expected to take place next May.

Malawi's high court said Monday it will rule next week on whether a coalition of human rights and child advocacy groups should help decide whether Madonna is fit to adopt a 13-month-old boy. Justice Andrew Nyirenda said he will rule next Monday on whether to admit the 67-member coalition, which includes the state-run Malawi Human Rights Commission, as a party in the adoption proceedings. The coalition maintains the proceedings have been irregular.

A judge ruled Wednesday that human rights organizations will help decide whether Madonna is fit to adopt a Malawian toddler. Malawi Judge Andrew Nyirenda, who earlier granted custody of the 14-month-old boy to the 48-year-old pop star and her husband, filmmaker Guy Ritchie, ruled in favor of a coalition of 67 human rights and child advocacy groups that want to be party to the assessment of their fitness as parents. That is expected to take place next May.

Chloroquine, a crucial malaria drug that lost its punch in most countries because of germ resistance, now appears to be highly effective again in one African nation -- a surprising shift with implications for other tough bugs. It appears to be the first time a drug widely used against a killer disease has regained effectiveness after a break in use, University of Maryland researchers reported this week in the New England Journal of Medicine.