Malawi threatens arrests over Madonna school row

LILONGWE: Malawi threatened on Thursday to arrest protesting villagers blocking construction of Madonna’s multi-million dollar girls academy, a new controversy for the singer in the African country where she has adopted two children. About 140 villagers are demanding more money for land the government has leased to Madonna’s charity — Raising Malawi — for 99 years. District Commissioner for Lilongwe Charles Kalemba, other senior officials and Raising Malawi failed to reach an agreement in talks with representatives of the villagers on Thursday in a bid to resolve the dispute.

Malia got 73 in science, studied hard & scored 95

WASHINGTON: Parents must set a “high bar” in the household, US President Barack Obama said as he recalled how his daughter Malia scored a 95 in a science test in school with some inspiration from him. Marking the first anniversary of his election on Wednesday, Obama asked states to toughen their education standards and deviated from the prepared text of his speech to share a family story. He said Malia, a sixth-grader, had come home with a 73 on her science test some time ago. He said a few years ago, Malia had once scored in the 80s and felt she had “done pretty well” but was told by him and his wife that their goal was “90 per cent and up”.