Madonna’s adoption appeal begins in Malawi

Madonna took her effort to adopt a 3-year-old girl before Malawi’s highest court Monday, as a man claiming to be the girl’s father said he was fighting for custody of the child. The 50-year-old singer had filed a petition to adopt Chifundo James, whose first name means “mercy” in Chichewa, the country’s national language.

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Three Things Obama Could Learn From Thatcher

When Margaret Thatcher, then 53, appeared at the door of 10, Downing Street exactly 30 years ago today, hubris and self-doubt were not things that worried her. Having won the first of what would be three general election victories, her address to the British people was not modest and self-deprecating in the traditional fashion. She clothed herself, rather, in the words of a Saint — Francis of Assisi

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Confirmed swine flu cases leap

The number of confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus has jumped more than 30 percent with 331 people being diagnosed so far, the World Health Organization said Friday. The virus, commonly known as swine flu, has spread to 11 countries, but the hardest hit areas were in the western hemisphere, the organization said

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Why Michelle Obama inspires women around the globe

Heather Ferreira works in the slums of Mumbai, India, where she has watched thousands of women live under a "curse." (CNN) — Heather Ferreira works in the slums of Mumbai, India, where she has watched thousands of women live under a “curse.” The women she meets in the squalid streets where “Slumdog Millionaire” was filmed are often treated with contempt, she says.

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The Hong Kong Flu Scare of ’08

Entering the emergency ward at Tuen Mun Hospital in Hong Kong these days feels a little like getting clearance into a correctional facility. A woman cloaked in head-to-toe blue protective gear stands watch at the sliding glass doors, checking visitors’ foreheads to ensure that no one running too high a fever gets through.

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