Malawi

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Malawi Has an Unusual Offer for Mike Tyson

The country wants him as its new cannabis ambassador, but his rape conviction hovers

(Newser) - In "something we weren't expecting" news this week, Mike Tyson has been asked to be an ambassador. Specifically, the cannabis ambassador for the African nation of Malawi, which hopes that the former world heavyweight champ's brand will help bring investors to its nascent medicinal pot industry. "...

More Than 1K Feared Dead in Cyclone Aftermath

'It is a real disaster of great proportions'

(Newser) - More than 1,000 people are feared dead in Mozambique four days after a cyclone slammed into the country, submerging entire villages and leaving bodies floating in the floodwaters, the nation's president said. "It is a real disaster of great proportions," President Filipe Nyusi said. Cyclone Idai...

Madonna Faced 'Uncomfortable Questions' Before Adopting Twins

Singer confirms adoption of 4-year-old girls from Malawi

(Newser) - After initially denying reports that she was in the process of adopting more children from Malawi, Madonna confirmed Wednesday she had done just that—twin girls. A judge in the African country ruled in favor of the adoption Tuesday after asking Madonna what he termed "uncomfortable questions" in court...

Madonna Applies to Adopt 2 More Kids
Madonna: No, I'm Not
Adopting More Kids
UPDATED
Jan 25, 2017 11:20 AM CST

Madonna: No, I'm Not Adopting More Kids

Multiple outlets reported she was in Malawi to apply to adopt 2 more

(Newser) - Scratch that: Outlets including the BBC and the AP reported that Madonna had applied to adopt two children in Malawi, but the Material Girl has since refuted those reports. "I am in Malawi to check on the children's hospital in Blantyre and my other work with Raising Malawi,...

Paid to Have Sex With Widows, He's Going to Jail for It

Aniva was also accused of sex with underage girls

(Newser) - An HIV-positive man in Malawi who was hired for "cleansing sex" with more than 100 young women and underage girls has been sentenced to two years hard labor. Eric Aniva, who is what is called a "hyena man" in traditional southern Malawian culture, was arrested earlier this year...

Malawi: HIV+ Man Had 'Cleansing' Sex With Scores of Girls

Eric Aniva charged with defilement over ritualistic 'evil acts'

(Newser) - Malawi police on Tuesday arrested a man who said he was hired by families to have sex with more than 100 young women, including children, in what was described as ritual cleansing. President Peter Mutharika ordered the arrest of Eric Aniva, who told local and international media he had been...

Human Albinos in Malawi Hunted Like 'Animals'

Increase in murders by 'hunters' seeking 'magical' body parts has made situation dire

(Newser) - There are more cases of albinism in sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else on Earth, per the Washington Post , and in Malawi, a violent sidebar to this phenomenon has emerged over the past year and a half. People there with the hereditary condition —marked by a reduction or faulty distribution...

Madonna Just Wants Poor Kids to Dance for Her: Malawi Prez

She loses VIP status in Malawi

(Newser) - Madonna no longer has VIP status in Malawi now that she's annoyed President Joyce Banda, the Telegraph reports. The brouhaha started when Malawi's education minister accused the Material Girl of exaggerating the charitable work she's done there; then Madonna's request to see Banda during her recent...

Malawi Stops Arresting Gays ... for Now

Parliament considers dumping anti-gay laws entirely

(Newser) - As Malawi's parliament considers whether to dump the African nation's anti-gay laws, the Justice Minister has had the laws banning same-sex relationships temporarily suspended, Reuters reports. Police have been ordered not to arrest gay people, who currently face a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Two factors...

Obama's 'Boring' Aid Is Saving Lives in Africa
Obama's 'Boring' Aid
Is Saving Lives in Africa
nicholas kristof
Jul 12, 2012 2:02 PM CDT

Obama's 'Boring' Aid Is Saving Lives in Africa

Nicholas Kristof: US emphasis on agriculture isn't sexy, but it's effective

(Newser) - President Obama deserves credit for a great foreign aid success, writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times , but it's a safe bet you haven't heard of it. That's because it's happening not in a war zone or some sexy locale but on small farms in...

Malawi Slashes Currency By a Third

New President Joyce Banda moves to fall in line with IMF

(Newser) - The official rate of Malawi's currency has been cut by a third as the impoverished southern African nation seeks to repair ties with the International Monetary Fund, the country's central banker said today. The move is just one in a series of steps President Joyce Banda's government...

Southern Africa Gets First Female Leader

Joyce Banda is Malawi's new president

(Newser) - A milestone for southern Africa today, by way of Malawi: Joyce Banda was sworn in as president to become the first female leader in the region, reports the BBC . Banda takes over from Bingu wa Mutharika, who died of a heart attack on Thursday but whose death was confirmed by...

How Your Discarded Phone Can Improve Global Health

It can send texts, and one advocate says the Third World can benefit

(Newser) - Text messages could be the key to successful health care in poor countries. At least 24-year-old Josh Nesbit thinks so. He's the CEO of nonprofit startup Medic Mobile, which disperses old cell phones to create a text messaging network that can connect doctors to patients, monitor the spread of...

What's Really Going On With Madonna's Charities?

Another nonprofit investigated as the Daily Beast takes a closer look

(Newser) - Not a good couple of weeks for Madonna: After a scandal late last month involving her Raising Malawi charity, another one of the Material Girl's nonprofits is under fire. The FBI is looking into "irregularities and suspicious activity" involving Success for Kids, an educational charity, the Daily reports. The...

Plans for Madonna's Malawi School Collapse

Her charitable foundation pulls plug amid financial mess

(Newser) - A plan spearheaded by Madonna to build a $15 million school for impoverished girls in Malawi has been officially scrapped amid charges that the people running the project on her behalf squandered millions, reports the New York Times . In addition, the foundation Madonna founded with other Kabbalah devotees, Raising Malawi,...

Malawi to Outlaw Farting
 Malawi to Outlaw Farting 
Jan 29, 2011 1:40 PM CST

Malawi to Outlaw Farting

'Local courts' law will also forbid impersonating a fortune teller

(Newser) - The government of Malawi is about to enact a law making it illegal to “foul the air” in public, the Daily Mail reports. Yes, farting will be one of many behaviors outlawed by new legislation that will set up “Local Courts” around the country. These courts will be...

Out of Jail, Gay Malawi Couple Breaks Up

One dates a woman, says he wants 'to live a normal life'

(Newser) - Despite the eventual pardon , Malawi’s anti-gay laws “worked” on one half of the gay couple who was recently jailed : Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga separated, and Monjeza is now seeing a woman. “I have had enough,” he says. “I was forced into the whole drama...

Malawi Leader Pardons Jailed Gay Couple

He orders their immediate release

(Newser) - Malawi's president says he has pardoned and ordered the release of a jailed gay couple sentenced to 14 years in prison. President Bingu wa Mutharika made the announcement today during a press conference with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Lilongwe, the capital. A judge earlier this month convicted and sentenced...

Gay Malawi Couple Separated in Prison

Authorities transfer one man to different jail

(Newser) - A little extra twist of the knife for the two men in Malawi sentenced to 14 years in prison for the crime of being gay. Authorities sent the men to the same prison but have since transferred one of the partners to a different jail, a human rights activist tells...

Malawian Gay Couple Get 14 Years in Jail

Judge tells men public must be protected from 'people like you'

(Newser) - Two Malawian men were given 14-year prison sentences for trying to marry one another, the BBC reports. After telling the men that he wished to protect the public from "people like you," the judge gave the maximum sentence possible for unnatural acts and gross indecency. The two men...

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