title: Austrian Empire

text: On 12 July 1806, the Confederation of the Rhine was established, comprising 16 sovereigns and countries. This confederation, under French influence, put an end to the Holy Roman Empire. On 6 August 1806, even Francis recognized the new state of things and proclaimed the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, as he did not want Napoleon to succeed him. This action was unrecognized by George III of the United Kingdom who was also the Elector of Hanover and had also lost his German territories around Hanover to Napoleon. His claims were later settled by the creation of the Kingdom of Hanover which was held by George IV and William IV as Kings of Hanover. Succession could only be in the male line, so on Queen Victoria's accession to the British throne, her uncle, Ernest Augustus, succeeded as King of Hanover, thus ending the personal union with Great Britain that dated to 1714.


title: Austrian Empire

text: Klemens von Metternich became Foreign Minister in 1809. He also held the post of Chancellor of State from 1821 until 1848, under both Francis I and his son Ferdinand I. The period of 1815–1848 is also referred to as the "Age of Metternich". During this period, Metternich controlled the Habsburg monarchy's foreign policy. He also had a major influence in European politics. He was known for his strong conservative views and approach in politics. Metternich's policies were strongly against revolution and liberalism. In his opinion, liberalism was a form of legalized revolution. Metternich believed that absolute monarchy was the only proper system of government. This notion influenced his anti-revolutionary policy to ensure the continuation of the Habsburg monarchy in Europe. Metternich was a practitioner of balance-of-power diplomacy. His foreign policy aimed to maintain international political equilibrium to preserve the Habsburgs' power and influence in international affairs. Following the Napoleonic Wars, Metternich was the chief architect of the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The Austrian Empire was the main beneficiary from the Congress of Vienna and it established an alliance with Britain, Prussia, and Russia forming the Quadruple Alliance. The Austrian Empire also gained new territories from the Congress of Vienna, and its influence expanded to the north through the German Confederation and also into Italy. Due to the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Austria was the leading member of the German Confederation. Following the Congress, the major European powers agreed to meet and discuss resolutions in the event of future disputes or revolutions. Because of Metternich's main role in the architecture of the Congress, these meetings are also referred to as the "Metternich congress" or "Metternich system". Under Metternich as the Austrian foreign minister, other congresses would meet to resolve European foreign affairs. These included the Congresses of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818), Carlsbad (1819), Troppau (1820), Laibach (1821), and Verona (1822). The Metternich congresses aimed to maintain the political equilibrium among the European powers and prevent revolutionary efforts. These meetings also aimed to resolve foreign issues and disputes without resorting to violence. By means of these meetings and by allying the Austrian Empire with other European powers whose monarchs had a similar interest in preserving conservative political direction, Metternich was able to establish the Austrian Empire's influence on European politics. Also, because Metternich used the fear of revolutions among European powers, which he also shared, he was able to establish security and predominance of the Habsburgs in Europe.


title: Austrian Empire

text: Under Metternich, nationalist revolts in Austrian north Italy and in the German states were forcibly crushed. At home, he pursued a similar policy to suppress revolutionary and liberal ideals. He employed the Carlsbad Decrees of 1819, which used strict censorship of education, press and speech to repress revolutionary and liberal concepts. Metternich also used a wide-ranging spy network to dampen down unrest.


title: Austrian Empire

text: Metternich operated very freely with regard to foreign policy under Emperor Francis I's reign. Francis died in 1835. This date marks the decline of Metternich's influence in the Austrian Empire. Francis' heir was his son Ferdinand I, but he suffered from health issues. Ferdinand's accession preserved the Habsburg dynastic succession, but he was not capable of ruling. The leadership of the Austrian Empire was transferred to a state council composed of Metternich, Francis I's brother Archduke Louis, and Count Franz Anton Kolowrat, who later became the first Minister-President of the Austrian Empire. The liberal Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire forced Metternich's resignation. Metternich is remembered for his success in maintaining the status quo and the Habsburg influence in international affairs. No Habsburg foreign minister following Metternich held a similar position within the empire for such a long time nor held such a vast influence on European foreign affairs.


title: Austrian Empire

text: Historians generally consider the Metternich era as a period of stability: the Austrian Empire fought no wars nor did it undergo any radical internal reforms. However, it was also thought of as a period of economic growth and prosperity in the Austrian Empire. The population of Austria rose to 37.5 million by 1843. Urban expansion also occurred and the population of Vienna reached 400,000. During the Metternich era, the Austrian Empire also maintained a stable economy and reached an almost balanced budget, despite having a major deficit following the Napoleonic Wars.


title: Austrian Empire

text: From March 1848 through November 1849, the Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements, most of which were of a nationalist character. Besides that, liberal and even socialist currents resisted the empire's longstanding conservatism. Although most of the revolution plans failed, some changes were made; significant lasting reforms included the abolition of serfdom, cancellation of censorship and a promise made by Ferdinand I of Austria said to implement a constitution throughout the whole Empire.


title: Austrian Empire

text: After the death of Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg in 1852, the Minister of the Interior Baron Alexander von Bach largely dictated policy in Austria and Hungary. Bach centralized administrative authority for the Austrian Empire, but he also endorsed reactionary policies that reduced freedom of the press and abandoned public trials. He later represented the Absolutist (or "Klerikalabsolutist") direction, which culminated in the concordat of August 1855 that gave the Roman Catholic Church control over education and family life. This period in the history of the Austrian Empire would become known as the era of neo-absolutism, or Bach's absolutism.


title: Austrian Empire

text: The pillars of the so-called Bach system ("Bachsches System") were, in the words of Adolf Fischhof, four "armies": "a standing army of soldiers, a sitting army of office holders, a kneeling army of priests and a fawning army of sneaks". Prisons were full of political prisoners, like Czech nationalist journalist and writer Karel Havlíček Borovský who was forcibly expatriated (1851–1855) to Brixen. This exile undermined Borovský's health and he died soon afterwards. This affair earned Bach a very bad reputation amongst Czechs and subsequently led to the strengthening of the Czech national movement.


title: Austrian Empire

text: However, Bach's relaxed ideological views (apart from the neo-absolutism) led to a great rise in the 1850s of economic freedom. Internal customs duties were abolished, and peasants were emancipated from their feudal obligations.


title: Austrian Empire

text: In her capacity as leader of the German Confederation, Austria participated with volunteers in the First War of Schleswig (1848–1850).


title: Austrian Empire

text: Sardinia allied itself with France for the conquest of Lombardy–Venetia. Austria was defeated in the 1859 armed conflict. The Treaties of Villafranca and Zürich removed Lombardy, except for the part east of the Mincio river, the so-called Mantovano.


title: Austrian Empire

text: The Constitution of 1861 created a House of Lords () and a House of Deputies (). But most nationalities of the monarchy remained dissatisfied.


title: Austrian Empire

text: After the second war with Denmark in 1864, Holstein came under Austrian, Schleswig and Lauenburg under Prussian administration. But the internal difficulties continued. Diets replaced the parliament in 17 provinces, the Hungarians pressed for autonomy, and Venetia was attracted by the now unified Italy.


title: Austrian Empire

text: After the Austrian army was defeated in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the German Confederation was dissolved, the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 was adopted. By this act, the Kingdom of Hungary and the Empire of Austria as two separate entities joined on an equal basis to form the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The frequent abbreviation K.u.K. ("Kaiserliche und Königliche", "Imperial and Royal") does not refer to that dual monarchy but originated in 1745, when the "royal" part referred to the Apostolic Kingdom of Hungary. However, during World War I Austria-Hungary issued military stamps for use in occupied regions, with the text "K.u.K. Feldpost" or K.u.K. Militärpost.


title: Austrian Empire

text: The Napoleonic Wars dominated Austrian foreign policy from 1804 to 1815. The Austrian army was one of the most formidable forces the French had to face. After Prussia signed a peace treaty with France on 5 April 1795, Austria was forced to carry the main burden of war with Napoleonic France for almost ten years. This severely overburdened the Austrian economy, making the war greatly unpopular. Emperor Francis I therefore refused to join any further war against Napoleon for a long time. On the other hand, Francis I continued to intrigue for the possibility of revenge against France, entering into a secret military agreement with the Russian Empire in November 1804. This convention was to assure mutual cooperation in the case of a new war against France.


title: Austrian Empire

text: Austrian unwillingness to join the Third Coalition was overcome by British subsidies, but the Austrians withdrew from the war yet again after a decisive defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz. Although the Austrian budget suffered from wartime expenditures and its international position was significantly undermined, the humiliating Treaty of Pressburg provided plenty of time to strengthen the army and economy. Moreover, the ambitious Archduke Charles and Johann Philipp von Stadion never abandoned the goal of further war with France.


title: Austrian Empire

text: Archduke Charles of Austria served as the Head of the Council of War and Commander in Chief of the Austrian army. Endowed with the enlarged powers, he reformed the Austrian Army to preparedness for another war. Johann Philipp von Stadion, the foreign minister, personally hated Napoleon due to an experience of confiscation of his possessions in France by Napoleon. In addition, the third wife of Francis I, Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, agreed with Stadion's efforts to begin a new war. Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, located in Paris, called for careful advance in the case of the war against France. The defeat of French army at the Battle of Bailén in Spain on 27 July 1808 triggered the war. On 9 April 1809, an Austrian force of 170,000 men attacked Bavaria.


title: Austrian Empire

text: Despite military defeats of the Austrian army—especially the Battles of Marengo, Ulm, Austerlitz and Wagram—and consequently lost territory throughout the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (the Treaties of Campo Formio in 1797, Luneville in 1801, Pressburg in 1806, and Schönbrunn in 1809), Austria played a decisive part in the overthrow of Napoleon in the campaigns of 1813–14. It participated in a second invasion of France in 1815, and put an end to Murat's regime in south Italy.


title: Austrian Empire

text: The latter period of Napoleonic Wars featured Metternich exerting a large degree of influence over foreign policy in the Austrian Empire, a matter nominally decided by the Emperor. Metternich initially supported an alliance with France, arranging the marriage between Napoleon and Francis I's daughter, Marie-Louise; however, by the 1812 campaign, he had realised the inevitability of Napoleon's downfall and took Austria to war against France. Metternich's influence at the Congress of Vienna was remarkable, and he became not only the premier statesman in Europe but the virtual ruler of the Empire until 1848—the Year of revolutions—and the rise of liberalism equated to his political downfall. The result was that the Austrian Empire was seen as one of the great powers after 1815, but also as a reactionary force and an obstacle to national aspirations in Italy and Germany.


title: Austrian Empire

text: During this time, Metternich was able to maintain an elaborate balance between Prussia, the lesser German states, and Austria in the German Confederation. Thanks to his efforts, Austria was seen as the senior partner with Prussia keeping watch over Germany as a whole. Further, Metternich opposed the weakening of France in the years after Napoleon, and viewed the new monarchy in Paris as an effective tool in keeping Russia at bay. From 1815 to 1848, Metternich steered Austria Imperial foreign policy, and indeed the mood of Europe, and managed to keep peace on the continent despite the growing liberal and radical movements inside most major powers. His resignation in 1848, forced by moderates in the court, and revolutionaries in the streets, may have caused the spread of the revolutions throughout the monarchy. It is stipulated that Metternich's departure emboldened liberal factions in Austria and Hungary, but this cannot be confirmed for certain.


title: Austrian Empire

text: During the Crimean War Austria maintained a policy of hostile neutrality towards Russia, and, while not going to war, was supportive of the Anglo-French coalition. Having abandoned its alliance with Russia, Austria was diplomatically isolated following the war, which contributed to Russia's non-intervention in the 1859 Franco-Austrian War, which meant the end of Austrian influence in Italy; and in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War, with the loss of its influence in most German-speaking land.


title: Austrian Empire

text: Crown lands of the Austrian Empire after the 1815 Congress of Vienna, including the local government reorganizations from the Revolutions of 1848 to the 1860 October Diploma:


title: Austrian Empire

text: The old Habsburg possessions of Further Austria (in today's France, Germany and Switzerland) had already been lost in the 1805 Peace of Pressburg.


title: Austrian Empire

text: From 1850 Kingdom of Croatia, Kingdom of Slavonia and Military Frontier constitute a single land with disaggregated provincial and military administration, and representation.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: Mar-a-Lago ( from the Spanish for "sea to lake") is a resort and national historic landmark in Palm Beach, Florida, owned by former U.S. president Donald Trump. Trump acquired Mar-a-Lago in 1985 and referred to it as his "Winter White House" and "Southern White House" during his presidential tenure. Since 1994, the 126-room, mansion has become the "Mar-a-Lago Club", a members-only club with guest rooms, a spa, and other hotel-style amenities. Trump has designated Mar-a-Lago as his primary residence since 2019. It is located in Palm Beach County on the Palm Beach barrier island, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Florida's Intracoastal Waterway to the west.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: Mar-a-Lago was built for businesswoman and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post, former owner of General Foods Corporation, between the years 1924 to 1927. At the time of her death in 1973, Post bequeathed the property to the National Park Service, hoping it could be used for state visits or as a Winter White House, but because the costs of maintaining the property exceeded the funds provided by Post, and because it was difficult to secure the facility (as it is located in the flight path of Palm Beach Airport), the property was returned to the Post Foundation by an act of Congress in 1981.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: Mar-a-Lago was purchased by Trump for around $10 million. He used the mansion as a residence for eight years, before converting it into the Mar-a-Lago Club. His family maintains private quarters in a separate, closed-off area of the house and grounds. Trump frequently visited Mar-a-Lago during his tenure as president of the United States. He would host meetings with international leaders there, including Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe and Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: It is the second-largest mansion in the state of Florida (after Versailles in Windermere). In 2018, "Forbes" estimated the value of the estate at around $160 million, claiming it had appreciated since Trump's purchase.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: "Mar-a-Lago" means "sea-to-lake" in Spanish, referring to the fact that the resort extends the entire width of Palm Beach, from the Atlantic Ocean to what is now the Intracoastal Waterway–formerly Lake Worth.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to the Post Cereals business, paid for the house to be built with her husband Edward F. Hutton. She hired Marion Sims Wyeth to design it and Joseph Urban to create interior design and exterior decorations. Post spent US$7 million (equivalent to $ million in ), and it was finished in 1927.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: The house has 58 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms, a pietra dura marble-top dining table, 12 fireplaces, and three bomb shelters. Mar-a-Lago was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1980.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: On April 18, 2012, members of the American Institute of Architects' Florida chapter ranked Mar-a-Lago fifth on the "Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places" list.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: Post, who died in 1973, willed the estate to the United States government as a Winter White House for presidents and visiting foreign dignitaries. Richard Nixon preferred the Florida White House in Key Biscayne, however, and Jimmy Carter was not interested. The federal government soon realized the immense cost of maintenance and the difficulty of maintaining security for diplomats, and returned it to the Post Foundation in 1981. It was then listed for sale for $20 million. Dina Merrill and Post's two other daughters did not maintain the property in the meantime, anticipating a sale, but there was so little interest that its demolition to build smaller homes was approved.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: Donald Trump learned about the estate after unsuccessfully trying to purchase and combine two apartments in Palm Beach for his family. He offered the Post family $15 million for it, but they rejected it. Trump purchased the land between Mar-a-Lago and the ocean from Jack C. Massey, the former owner of KFC, for $2 million, stating he intended to build a home that would block Mar-a-Lago's beach view. The threat caused interest in the property to decline, and Trump ended up getting the property for $7 million in 1985. Different sources have put the combined total cost of the purchase at around $10 million. The minimum acceptable bid had been $20 million, and the interior furnishings were appraised at $8 million.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: After purchasing the estate, Trump did extensive renovations, adding a ballroom. The club also has five clay tennis courts and a waterfront pool. His wife at the time, Ivana Trump, was put in charge of running the property.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: In the early 1990s, Trump faced financial difficulties. While negotiating with his bankers, he promised to divide Mar-a-Lago into smaller properties, alarming Palm Beach residents, so the city council rejected his plan to do so. Trump instead turned the estate into a private club in 1994, fighting off what he considered to be excessive restrictions.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: The new club hosted concerts by Céline Dion and Billy Joel and had beauty pageant contestants as guests. Mar-a-Lago has frequently hosted the International Red Cross Ball, an annual "white tie, tails, and tiara" event. Founded by Post, it has a history of support of the mission of the American Red Cross.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: According to financial disclosure forms filed by Trump, the Mar-a-Lago Club had $29.7 million in gross revenues in the period June 2015 through May 2016. The club had revenues of $25.1 million for calendar year 2017, $22 million in 2018, and $21.4 million in 2019.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: In a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, it was revealed that Trump inflated the value of Mar-a-Lago to $739 million, when the property should actually be valued at $75 million.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: President Trump referred to Mar-a-Lago as his "Winter White House", and on occasion his "Southern White House", which is what Post originally intended for the property.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: During Trump's presidency a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) was operational at Mar-a-Lago; it was removed after he left office. The SCIF was used for communications with the White House Situation Room and Pentagon. The Mar-a-Lago Crowd, an informal group organized by President Trump which oversaw many of the activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs during the Trump administration, frequently met at the club.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: Donald Trump's first visit to Mar-a-Lago as president of the United States took place on the weekend of February 3–6, 2017. On Saturday, he hosted the Diamond Red Cross Ball at Mar-a-Lago Club, while on Sunday, he watched Super Bowl LI at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. On the weekend of February 10–12, 2017, President Trump and his wife Melania hosted Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe and his wife. This was the first use of Mar-a-Lago to entertain an international leader, a task that has traditionally been held in the White House. On this occasion one of President Trump's first international security crises happened, that of a North Korean missile launch. Trump and Abe conferred in full view of the other diners.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: During the third weekend visit to Mar-a-Lago on February 17–20, President Trump conducted a campaign rally at the Orlando Melbourne International Airport. He also conducted interviews for a replacement National Security Advisor and named General H. R. McMaster as Flynn's successor on February 20, 2017.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: After President Trump's fourth weekend visit on March 3–5, 2017, questions were raised about the access his paying club members have to him and his entourage. A number of Democratic senators asked the President to release visitor logs of Mar-a-Lago and as well as a list of the members of the private club. Subsequently, the "Mar-a-Lago Act" was introduced, legislation requiring publication of logs of visitors at the White House and other places where the president conducts business. After a lawsuit was filed, a judge ordered, in July 2017, that these logs be released in September.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: President Trump's fifth presidential visit took place on March 17–18. Guests included Melania's parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: During his next visit April 6–9, President Trump hosted the Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping for the first two days. At Mar-a-Lago, the decision to strike a Syrian airfield was made. The following Easter weekend was also spent with family members at Mar-a-Lago.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: On April 4, 2017, prior to paramount leader Xi's visit, ShareAmerica, a website run by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs, published a blog post describing Mar-a-Lago's history. On April 5, 2017, the U.S. embassy in the United Kingdom's website shared snippets of the original blog post on its own blog, and the U.S. embassy in Albania's Facebook page shared the original post. On April 24, 2017, Democratic senator Ron Wyden, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, and ethics observers like former ambassador Norman Eisen, questioned the use of official government resources promoting a private property owned by Trump. By April 25, 2017, ShareAmerica and both U.S. embassies in the United Kingdom and Albania removed their respective posts. ShareAmerica, replaced their post with the following statement, "The intention of the article was to inform the public about where the president has been hosting world leaders. We regret any misperception and have removed the post."


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: In November 2017, President Trump returned to Mar-a-Lago for a Thanksgiving celebration, and one month later he returned for his tenth presidential visit during his Christmas vacation.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: In 2018, President Trump visited Mar-a-Lago eight times prior to the seasonal closing in May. During this time he had a summit meeting with Shinzō Abe on April 17–18.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: In November 2018, President Trump returned to Mar-a-Lago for Thanksgiving. One month later, President Trump canceled his planned Christmas vacation in Mar-a-Lago following the federal government shutdown. In November 2019, he returned to Mar-a-Lago for Thanksgiving, and a month later returned for Christmas.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: On March 7, 2020, President Trump hosted Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro for a working dinner, where the two leaders discussed the U.S.-led effort to oust Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, a future trade deal and peace for the Middle East. Also at the dinner was Bolsonaro's press secretary, , whose wife informed others on social media on March 11, 2020, that he had tested positive for COVID-19 after he had returned from the United States via Miami to Brazil. Others attending the dinner included Vice President Mike Pence, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: When President Trump was in residence as president, the Palm Beach region became a zone of temporary flight restrictions affecting flights and air operations severely within a 30 nautical mile (55.56 km) radius. Coast Guard and Secret Service secured the two waterway approaches, ocean and lake, and Secret Service cordoned off streets to Mar-a-Lago during the president's visits. The Coast Guard also attached an elite Maritime Safety and Security Team with unique capabilities that specialized in maritime security. By the third weekend in February 2017, nearby Palm Beach County Park Airport (Lantana Airport) had been shut down for three consecutive weekends, accumulating significant financial losses for multiple businesses.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: The primary business occupying the estate is the Mar-a-Lago Club, which opened in 1994 and operates as resort and hotel for dues-paying members, and rents out estate venues for private events. Operating the mansion as a club in this way, while continuing to live on the premises, allows Trump to significantly reduce his tax bill, by identifying a range of items used to maintain the mansion and his lifestyle as being legitimate business expenses.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: Membership at the Mar-a-Lago Club required a $200,000 initiation fee. In 2012, reportedly in response to reduced demand following the Bernie Madoff scandal which affected many affluent Palm Beach residents, the fee was lowered to $100,000. The fee returned to $200,000 in January 2017 after Trump was elected president, with $14,000 annual dues. Overnight guests paid up to $2,000 a night.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: The membership list of Mar-a-Lago has long been shrouded in secrecy. The 2020 book "The Grifter's Club" had access to old membership records from the club, which confirmed that Jeffrey Epstein had been a member until 2007, and reveals that he was expelled "after Epstein harassed the daughter of a member", according to another Mar-a-Lago member. The book alleges that the girl was a teenager at the time, and confirms that Epstein is listed in club membership records as "Account closed 10/07", in contrast to cases of members resignations, where "Resigned" is normally noted.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: As of January 2017, the club was nearly at its maximum capacity of 500 paying members and was admitting twenty to forty new members a year. Members as of 2017 include oil executive Bill Koch, financier Thomas Peterffy, New Jersey Democratic Party leader George Norcross, lobbyist Kenneth Duberstein, real estate developers Bruce E. Toll and Richard LeFrak, media executive Christopher Ruddy, talk show host Howie Carr, talk show host Michael Savage's wife, and NFL coach Bill Belichick.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: In protest against Trump's remarks on the August 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, six nonprofit organizations canceled scheduled gala events at the club. The charities canceling included the American Red Cross and the American Cancer Society.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: The club has been frequently cited for health code violations. In January 2017, Florida inspectors noted 15 infractions that included unsafe seafood, insufficiently refrigerated meats, rusty shelving, and cooks without hairnets. Since 2013, it has faced 51 health code violations.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: On March 30, 2019, Yujing Zhang, a Chinese national, was arrested and charged with unlawful entry to the premises and making false statements to federal law enforcement officials.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: On March 13, 2021, "Air Mail Weekly" published a story by gonzo journalist Nimrod Kamer on ways to sneak into Mar-a-Lago.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: In August 2022, the "Pittsburg Post-Dispatch" reported that a Ukrainian-born Russian speaker who used a fake name and claimed to be a Rothschild family heiress had frequented the residence over a year's time, even posing there for photos with Trump and Senator Lindsey Graham.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: Trump received a $17 million insurance payment for hurricane damage to Mar-a-Lago after the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, for damage to the "landscaping, roofing, walls, painting, leaks, artwork in the tapestries, tiles, Spanish tiles, the beach, the erosion", as he described. Anthony Senecal, Trump's former butler at the resort and later its "in-house historian" said some trees behind the resort had been flattened and some roof tiles were lost, but "That house has never been seriously damaged. I was there for all [the hurricanes]."


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: On October 3, 2006, Trump raised a American flag on an flagpole at Mar-a-Lago. Town zoning officials asked Trump to adhere to town zoning codes that limit flagpoles to a height of . This dispute led the town council of Palm Beach to charge Trump $1,250 for every day the flag stayed up. Trump filed a lawsuit against the Town of Palm Beach. Trump eventually dropped his lawsuit over the flag, and in exchange the town waived its fines. As part of a court-ordered mediation, Trump was allowed to file for a permit and keep a pole that was both shorter than the original pole and located on a different spot on his lawn. The agreement also required him to donate $100,000 to veterans' charities, and resulted in a change to town ordinances allowing out-of-town club members.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: In 1993, Trump and the city of Palm Beach signed an agreement that allowed Trump to turn the residence into a private club. In November 1996, Trump requested the Palm Beach council to lift the restrictions contained in the agreement that limited media photography, filmmaking, land sales, membership, and traffic at the club, and prevented him from applying for tax exemptions on the property for three years. The council denied the request. According to "Vanity Fair", before the meeting "Trump and his attorney had already implied that he and his club had been discriminated against because many of its members were Jewish, and, worse, that the council members who had placed the conditions on him had not placed those restrictions on their own clubs." In December 1997, Trump filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida alleging that the town discriminated against him and his club because the club accepted Jewish and African-American members and because town officials had financial stakes in competing clubs.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: Trump has repeatedly filed lawsuits against Palm Beach County over aircraft going to and from Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) allegedly affecting Mar-a-Lago.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: Trump first filed such a lawsuit in 1995; that action was settled in 1996, with the county agreeing to collaborate with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and to change flight patterns so the noisiest jet aircraft flew over a wider area. As part of the settlement, Trump leased 215 acres from the county, on which he built the 18-hole Trump International Golf Club. In July 2010, Trump filed another lawsuit aiming to stop the airport from constructing a second commercial runway. That suit was dismissed.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: Trump filed a third suit against the county in January 2015, seeking $100 million in damages for "creating an unreasonable amount of noise, emissions and pollutants at Mar-a-Lago". Trump claims that officials pressured the FAA to direct air traffic to PBI over Mar-a-Lago in a "deliberate and malicious" act.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: In November 2015, a Florida Circuit Court judge ruled against most of Trump's arguments, dismissing four of the six claims and allowing the others to proceed. Trump dropped the lawsuit after winning the presidency, as the estate would likely have a no-fly zone imposed by the FAA. In January 2017, Palm Beach exempted Mar-a-Lago from a ban on landing helicopters on residential properties while Trump was president, including his own fleet and Marine One.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: In September 2019, Mar-a-Lago became the primary residence for Donald and Melania Trump, who previously held primary residence in New York City. The legality of this has been disputed because, in 1993, Trump signed a "use agreement" with the town of Palm Beach, Florida, that changed Mar-a-Lago's designation from a single-family residence to a private club and specified that guests, including Trump, could not stay there more than three non-consecutive weeks per year.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: In December 2020, neighbors of Mar-a-Lago delivered a demand letter to the town of Palm Beach, stating that the town should notify Trump that he cannot use the estate as his residence. Trump argues that he can live at Mar-a-Lago permanently as a bona fide employee.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: Upon departing the White House in January 2021, Trump transported a large volume of presidential records to Mar-a-Lago, despite storage of such materials being subject to the Presidential Records Act. Seeking to preserve presidential communications and correspondence with world leaders, the National Archives and Records Administration arranged to retrieve 15 boxes of material from Mar-a-Lago in January 2022. These included documents clearly marked as classified, prompting the Department of Justice to restrict any details regarding the contents of the 15 boxes.


title: Mar-a-Lago

text: On May 11, 2022, the Justice Department sent Trump a grand jury subpoena, requesting any additional documents marked classified. A later subpoena requested surveillance footage from the club. On August 8, 2022, FBI agents presented a search warrant and searched Trump's residence at Mar-a-Lago, part of the continuing investigation into the potential mishandling of classified documents. The Secret Service "facilitated access" for the FBI.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: Lady Bird is a 2017 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Greta Gerwig in her solo directorial debut. Set in Sacramento, California from fall 2002 to fall 2003, the film tells the story of a high school senior and her strained relationship with her mother. It stars Saoirse Ronan in the title role with Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Lois Smith in supporting roles.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: "Lady Bird" premiered at the 44th Telluride Film Festival on September 1, 2017 and was theatrically released in the United States on November 3, 2017, by A24. The film received widespread critical acclaim, with reviewers praising Gerwig's screenplay and direction, and the performances of Ronan and Metcalf. It was considered by many critics as one of the best films of 2017 and one of the best films of the 2010s. "Lady Bird" was chosen by the National Board of Review, the American Film Institute, and "Time" magazine as one of the top ten films of 2017. At the 90th Academy Awards, it earned five nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress (for Ronan), Best Supporting Actress (for Metcalf), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Director. At the 75th Golden Globe Awards, the film won two awards—Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) and Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy (for Ronan)—and was nominated for two others. It was also nominated for three British Academy Film Awards.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: In the fall of 2002, Christine McPherson is a senior at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic high school in Sacramento, California. She gives herself the nickname "Lady Bird." Despite her family's financial struggles, she longs to attend a prestigious college in "a city with culture" somewhere on the East Coast. Her mother, Marion, does not believe Christine's dreams are possible and tells her that she is ungrateful for what she has. An argument between Christine and Marion prompts the former to jump from a moving car, breaking her arm. Christine and her best friend Julie join their school theater program, where Christine develops a crush on Danny, who attends the adjacent boys' school. They begin dating, and Christine disappoints Marion by spending her last Thanksgiving before graduation with Danny's wealthy family instead of her own. After the opening night of the school production of "Merrily We Roll Along", Christine and Danny break up when she catches him kissing a boy in a bathroom stall.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: At Marion's behest, Christine begins working at a coffee shop where she meets Kyle, a popular student at the boys' school. Christine ditches tryouts for the new school play to bond with Jenna Walton, a popular girl, and they vandalize a nun's car. As she grows closer to Kyle and Jenna, Christine begins spending less time with Julie and drops out of the theater program. She consoles Danny one day when he tearfully expresses his fear of coming out, and they become friends again.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: At a house party, Christine and Kyle kiss, and they both confess that they are virgins. After they have sex for the first time, Kyle reveals that he is not actually a virgin, upsetting Christine and prompting her to seek comfort from her mother. After Christine is suspended from school for speaking up at an anti-abortion assembly, Jenna tries to visit her at home. Jenna discovers that Christine claimed Danny's grandmother's house as her own to impress her. Christine admits to the lie, and Jenna agrees to forgive her because of their mutual friendship with Kyle, although their friendship becomes strained.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: Christine learns that her father, Larry, has been out of a job and battling depression for years. Despite Marion's insistence that their family cannot afford the fees, Christine secretly applies to East Coast colleges with her father's help. She is accepted into UC Davis but feels it is too close to home. She later learns she is on the wait list for a university in New York City but does not share the news with Marion.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: Christine sets out for prom with Kyle, Jenna, and Jenna's boyfriend, but the latter three decide to go to a house party instead. Christine initially agrees, but then asks them to drop her off at Julie's, where the two rekindle their friendship and go to prom together.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: After graduation, Danny accidentally mentions the wait list in front of Marion, who stops speaking to Christine for the rest of the summer. Her parents take her to the airport, but Marion refuses to go inside to say goodbye. Marion begins crying while leaving the airport and drives back, only to discover that Christine has already gone through security. She cries in Larry's arms, who consoles her.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: After arriving in New York, Christine finds several letters addressed to her in her luggage. The letters were written and initially discarded by her mother, but secretly collected and passed along by her father. She begins using her given name again and is hospitalized after drinking heavily at a party. Leaving the hospital, she visits a Presbyterian church service and is moved to tears. She calls home and leaves an apologetic voicemail for her mother, thanking her for everything she has done for her.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: Gerwig spent years writing the screenplay. At one point it was over 350 pages long, and had the working title "Mothers and Daughters". In 2015, Gerwig and her team secured financing from IAC Films, who produced the film alongside Scott Rudin Productions. Gerwig's manager, Evelyn O'Neill, also served as a producer.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: Although the film has been described as "semi-autobiographical", Gerwig has said that "nothing in the movie literally happened in my life, but it has a core of truth that resonates with what I know". To prepare the cast and crew, Gerwig gave them her old high-school yearbooks, photos, and journals, as well as passages written by Joan Didion, and took them on a tour of her hometown. She told Sam Levy, director of photography on the film, that she wanted it to feel "like a memory," and said that she "sought to offer a female counterpart to tales like "The 400 Blows" and "Boyhood."" The film was Gerwig's first as a solo director; in 2008, she had co-written and co-directed "Nights and Weekends" with Joe Swanberg.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: In September 2015, Gerwig met with Saoirse Ronan at the Toronto International Film Festival, where they were promoting "Maggie's Plan" and "Brooklyn" respectively. They read through the script in a hotel room, with Ronan reading the part of Lady Bird, and Gerwig reading the other characters. Gerwig realized by the second page that Ronan was the right choice for the title role. In January 2016, Ronan was cast. Gerwig met with Lucas Hedges and offered him his choice of the male parts. He chose Danny. Gerwig cast Laurie Metcalf after watching her theater work; the rest of the cast—including Tracy Letts, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein, John Karna and Jordan Rodrigues—was announced in September 2016.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: Principal photography was scheduled to begin in March 2016, but was delayed to August due to Ronan's commitments to a performance of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible". Filming began on August 30, 2016, in Sacramento, California for one week. Five weeks were spent on location in Los Angeles, with additional shooting in New York City and filming wrapped on October 1, 2016. Gerwig had wanted to shoot the film on Super 16 film, but due to budget constraints she ultimately shot on the Arri Alexa Mini. In post-production, the filmmakers emphasized digital noise to create the effect of a copy of a photograph.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: Ronan dyed her hair red for the role, and did not wear makeup to cover her acne; she has said she saw the film as "a really good opportunity to let a teenager's face in a movie actually look like a teenager's face in real life". Gerwig, using a technique she learned from filmmaker Rebecca Miller, arrived an hour before everyone else to put the cast and crew at ease by knowing exactly how the day would run. She also banned cellphones on the set, a policy borrowed from her partner, filmmaker Noah Baumbach.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: In July 2017, A24 acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film. The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on September 1, 2017, and screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2017, and at the New York Film Festival on October 8, 2017. Focus Features acquired international distribution rights to the film. It was released theatrically in the United States on November 3, 2017, in the United Kingdom on February 16, 2018, and in Ireland on February 23, 2018.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: "Lady Bird" grossed $49 million in the United States and Canada, and $30 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $79 million.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: In its limited opening weekend, it grossed $364,437 from four theaters, for a per-theater average of $91,109. It had the second best theater average of 2017, and the highest ever for a film in limited release directed by a woman. The film expanded to 37 theaters in its second weekend, and grossed a three-day total of $1.2 million, finishing tenth at the box office. In its third weekend, the film expanded to 238 theaters, and grossed a three-day total of $2.5 million, finishing eighth at the box office.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: The film had its official wide release on November 24, playing in 724 theaters and making $4.1 million over the weekend ($5.4 million over the five-day Thanksgiving frame), finishing eleventh. Expanding to 1,194 theaters the following week the film grossed $4.3 million, returning to eighth place. "Lady Bird" also became A24's highest-grossing film domestically, ahead of "Moonlight", which made $27.9 million. The weekend of January 27, 2018, following the announcement of the film's five Oscar nominations, it made $1.9 million (an increase over the previous week's $1.1 million).


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: "Lady Bird" received a standing ovation at its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, and was praised for Ronan and Metcalf's performances, and Gerwig's direction. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 99% based on 398 reviews, with an average rating of 8.80/10. The website's critical consensus reads ""Lady Bird" delivers fresh insights about the turmoil of adolescence and reveals debuting writer-director Greta Gerwig as a fully formed filmmaking talent." On November 27, 2017, it became the most-reviewed film ever to remain at 100% on the site with 164 positive reviews, beating previous record holder "Toy Story 2", which had 163 positive reviews at the time. It stayed at 100% until its 196th review was negative. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 93 out of 100, based on reviews from 50 critics, indicating "universal acclaim."


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: A.O. Scott of "The New York Times" described "Lady Bird" as "big-screen perfection ... exceptionally well-written, full of wordplay and lively argument. Every line sounds like something a person might actually say, which means that the movie is also exceptionally well acted." Todd McCarthy of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote the film was "modestly scaled but creatively ambitious" and "succeeds on its own terms as a piquant audience pleaser", and gave praise to Ronan, who he said "just seems to keep getting better all the time." Peter Debruge of "Variety" praised Gerwig's direction and script as well as Ronan's performance. Mick LaSalle of the "San Francisco Chronicle" wrote the film was "simply beautiful" and "warm and inspired", hailing the performances of Ronan and Metcalf as well as Gerwig's direction and screenplay.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: "The Washington Post"s Ann Hornaday described the film as a "triumph of style, sensibility and spirit" while similarly praising Ronan's performance and Gerwig's direction. Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" rated the film 3.5 out of four stars in which he deemed it as "simply irresistible" and complimented the film's plot and narrative while highlighting the performances of Ronan and Metcalf in which he stated as an "Oscar calling" and Gerwig's direction as "full-blown triumph". He also declared it as one of the year's best films. Richard Roeper of the "Chicago Sun-Times" called the film "unique and original and fresh and wonderful" and "appealing" while lauding the performances (particularly Metcalf and Letts) in which he remarked that "There’s no level of acting on a higher plane than what [Metcalf] and [Letts] achieve in this film. This is what greatness looks like." Alonso Duralde of "TheWrap" remarked that "Gerwig the actress skillfully pivots between the wacky and the poignant, so it's no surprise that Gerwig the auteur so delicately balances hilarity and heartbreak".


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: In "Paste", Jim Vorel argued that the film portrays an abusive maternal relationship and noted the similarities of Marion's behavior to those with borderline personality disorder.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: "Lady Bird" garnered a variety of awards and nominations. The film was chosen by the National Board of Review, the American Film Institute, and "Time" magazine as one of the top 10 films of 2017. In 2018, "Lady Bird" was awarded The ReFrame Stamp in the 2017 Narrative & Animated Feature category.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: At the 90th Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Gerwig, Best Actress for Ronan, and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Metcalf. It did not win in any of the five categories in which it was nominated.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: The film also received eight nominations at the 23rd Critics' Choice Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Acting Ensemble. At the 75th Golden Globe Awards, it was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (won), Best Actress – Musical or Comedy for Ronan (won), Best Supporting Actress for Metcalf, and Best Screenplay. At the 24th Screen Actors Guild Awards, it was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for Ronan, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for Metcalf, and Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: In a series of articles regarding the best of the 2010s in film, IndieWire ranked "Lady Bird" as the 10th best film of the decade. "Rolling Stone" ranked it 23rd, "The A.V. Club" ranked it 10th, "Business Insider" ranked it 5th, and "Consequence of Sound" ranked it 90th. It was the 13th most overall mentioned on best of decade lists tying with "" according to Metacritic. In 2018, IndieWire writers ranked the script the eighth best American screenplay of the 21st century.


title: Lady Bird (film)

text: In February 2018, on an episode of "The A24 Podcast", Gerwig expressed interest in making spiritual successors to "Lady Bird", saying "I would like to do a quartet of Sacramento films" modeled on the Neapolitan Novels of Elena Ferrante.


title: Malawi

text: Malawi (; or [maláwi]; : "Malaŵi"), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south and southwest. Malawi spans over and has an estimated population of 19,431,566 (as of January 2021). Malawi's capital (and largest city) is Lilongwe. Its second-largest is Blantyre, its third-largest is Mzuzu and its fourth-largest is its former capital, Zomba. The name "Malawi" comes from the Maravi, an old name for the Chewa people who inhabit the area. The country is nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa" because of the friendliness of its people.


title: Malawi

text: The part of Africa now known as Malawi was settled around the 10th century by migrating Bantu groups . Centuries later, in 1891, the area was colonised by the British and became a protectorate of the United Kingdom known as Nyasaland. In 1953, it became a protectorate within the semi-independent Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The Federation was dissolved in 1963. In 1964, the protectorate was ended: Nyasaland became an independent country under Queen Elizabeth II, and was renamed "Malawi". Two years later it became a republic. It gained full independence from the United Kingdom, and by 1970 had become a totalitarian one-party state under the presidency of Hastings Banda, who remained in this role until 1994. Today, Malawi has a democratic, multi-party republic headed by an elected president. Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party led the Tonse Alliance grouping of nine political parties and won the court-mandated Presidential Election rerun held on 23 June 2020 after the May 2019 Presidential Election was annulled due to massive electoral irregularities. The country's military, the Malawian Defence Force, includes an army, a navy, and an air wing. Malawi's foreign policy is pro-Western. It maintains positive diplomatic relations with most countries, and participates in several international organisations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the African Union (AU).


title: Malawi

text: Malawi is one of the world's least-developed countries. The economy is heavily based on agriculture, and it has a largely rural and rapidly growing population. The Malawian government depends heavily on outside aid to meet its development needs, although the amount needed (and the aid offered) has decreased since 2000. The Malawian government faces challenges in its efforts to build and expand the economy, improve education, healthcare, and environmental protection, and become financially independent despite widespread unemployment. Since 2005, Malawi has developed several policies that focus on addressing these issues, and the country's outlook appears to be improving: Key indicators of progress in the economy, education, and healthcare were seen in 2007 and 2008.


title: Malawi

text: Malawi has a low life expectancy and high infant mortality. HIV/AIDS is highly prevalent, which both reduces the labour force and requires increased government expenditures. The country has a diverse population that includes native peoples, Asians, and Europeans. Several languages are spoken, and there is an array of religious beliefs. Although in the past there was a periodic regional conflict fuelled in part by ethnic divisions, by 2008 this internal conflict had considerably diminished, and the idea of identifying with one's Malawian nationality had reemerged.


title: Malawi

text: The area of Africa now known as Malawi had a very small population of hunter-gatherers before waves of Bantu peoples began emigrating from the north around the 10th century. Although most of the Bantu peoples continued south, some remained and founded ethnic groups based on common ancestry. By 1500 AD, the tribes had established the Kingdom of Maravi that reached from north of what is now Nkhotakota to the Zambezi River and from Lake Malawi to the Luangwa River in what is now Zambia.


title: Malawi

text: Soon after 1600, with the area mostly united under one native ruler, native tribesmen began encountering, trading with and making alliances with Portuguese traders and members of the military. By 1700, however, the empire had broken up into areas controlled by many individual ethnic groups. The Indian Ocean slave trade reached its height in the mid-1800s, when approximately 20,000 people were enslaved and considered to be carried yearly from Nkhotakota to Kilwa where they were sold.


title: Malawi

text: Missionary and explorer David Livingstone reached Lake Malawi (then Lake Nyasa) in 1859 and identified the Shire Highlands south of the lake as an area suitable for European settlement. As the result of Livingstone's visit, several Anglican and Presbyterian missions were established in the area in the 1860s and 1870s, the African Lakes Company Limited was established in 1878 to set up a trade and transport concern working closely with the missions, and a small mission and trading settlement were established at Blantyre in 1876 and a British Consul took up residence there in 1883. The Portuguese government was also interested in the area so, to prevent Portuguese occupation, the British government sent Harry Johnston as British consul with instructions to make treaties with local rulers beyond Portuguese jurisdiction.


title: Malawi

text: In 1889, a British protectorate was proclaimed over the Shire Highlands, which was extended in 1891 to include the whole of present-day Malawi as the British Central Africa Protectorate. In 1907, the protectorate was renamed Nyasaland, a name it retained for the remainder of its time under British rule. In a prime example of what is sometimes called the "Thin White Line" of colonial authority in Africa, the colonial government of Nyasaland was formed in 1891. The administrators were given a budget of £10,000 (1891 nominal value) per year, which was enough to employ ten European civilians, two military officers, seventy Punjab Sikhs and eighty-five Zanzibar porters. These few employees were then expected to administer and police a territory of around 94,000 square kilometers with between one and two million people.


title: Malawi

text: That same year, slavery came to its complete cessation when Sir Harry Johnston, the Commissioner of Nyasaland made his significant effort to put an end to the trade.


title: Malawi

text: In 1944, the Nyasaland African Congress (NAC) was formed by the Africans of Nyasaland to promote local interests to the British government. In 1953, Britain linked Nyasaland with Northern and Southern Rhodesia in what was the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, often called the Central African Federation (CAF), for mainly political reasons. Even though the Federation was semi-independent, the linking provoked opposition from African nationalists, and the NAC gained popular support. An influential opponent of the CAF was Hastings Banda, a European-trained doctor working in Ghana who was persuaded to return to Nyasaland in 1958 to assist the nationalist cause. Banda was elected president of the NAC and worked to mobilise nationalist sentiment before being jailed by colonial authorities in 1959. He was released in 1960 and asked to help draft a new constitution for Nyasaland, with a clause granting Africans the majority in the colony's Legislative Council.


title: Malawi

text: In 1961, Banda's Malawi Congress Party (MCP) gained a majority in the Legislative Council elections and Banda became Prime Minister in 1963. The Federation was dissolved in 1963, and on 6 July 1964, Nyasaland became independent from British rule and renamed itself Malawi, and that is commemorated as the nation's Independence Day, a public holiday. Under a new constitution, Malawi became a republic with Banda as its first president. The new document also formally made Malawi a one-party state with the MCP as the only legal party. In 1971, Banda was declared president-for-life. For almost 30 years, Banda presided over a rigidly totalitarian regime, which ensured that Malawi did not suffer armed conflict. Opposition parties, including the Malawi Freedom Movement of Orton Chirwa and the Socialist League of Malawi, were founded in exile.


title: Malawi

text: Malawi's economy, while Banda was president, was often cited as an example of how a poor, landlocked, and heavily populated country deficient in mineral resources could achieve progress in both agriculture and industrial development. While in office, and using his control of the country, Banda constructed a business empire that eventually produced one-third of the country's GDP and employed 10% of the wage-earning workforce.


title: Malawi

text: Under pressure for increased political freedom, Banda agreed to a referendum in 1993, where the populace voted for a multi-party democracy. In late 1993, a presidential council was formed, the life presidency was abolished and a new constitution was put into place, effectively ending the MCP's rule. In 1994 the first multi-party elections were held in Malawi, and Banda was defeated by Bakili Muluzi (a former Secretary General of the MCP and former Banda Cabinet Minister). Re-elected in 1999, Muluzi remained president until 2004, when Bingu wa Mutharika was elected. Although the political environment was described as "challenging", it was stated in 2009 that a multi-party system still existed in Malawi. Multiparty parliamentary and presidential elections were held for the fourth time in Malawi in May 2009, and President Mutharika was successfully re-elected, despite charges of election fraud from his rival.


title: Malawi

text: President Mutharika was seen by some as increasingly autocratic and dismissive of human rights, and in July 2011 protests over high costs of living, devolving foreign relations, poor governance and a lack of foreign exchange reserves erupted. The protests left 18 people dead and at least 44 others suffering from gunshot wounds.


title: Malawi

text: In April 2012, Mutharika died of a heart attack. Over a period of 48 hours, his death was kept secret, including an elaborate flight with the body to South Africa, where the ambulance drivers refused to move the body, saying they were not licensed to move a corpse. After the South African government threatened to reveal the information, the presidential title was taken over by Vice-President Joyce Banda (not related to the former president Banda).


title: Malawi

text: In 2014 Malawian general election Joyce Banda lost the elections (coming third) and was replaced by Peter Mutharika, the brother of ex-President Mutharika. In the 2019 Malawian general election president Peter Mutharika was narrowly re-elected. In February 2020 Malawi Constitutional Court overturned the result because of irregularities and widespread fraud. In May 2020 Malawi Supreme Court upheld the decision and announced a new election will be held on July 2. This was the first time election was legally challenged. Opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera won 2020 Malawian presidential election and he was sworn in as the new president of Malawi.


title: Malawi

text: Malawi is a unitary presidential republic under the leadership of President Lazarus Chakwera The current constitution was put into place on 18 May 1995. The branches of the government consist of executive, legislative and judicial. The executive includes a President who is both Head of State and Head of Government, first and second Vice Presidents and the Cabinet of Malawi. The President and Vice President are elected together every five years. A second Vice President may be appointed by the President if so chosen, although they must be from a different party. The members of the Cabinet of Malawi are appointed by the President and can be from either inside or outside of the legislature.


title: Malawi

text: The legislative branch consists of a unicameral National Assembly of 193 members who are elected every five years, and although the Malawian constitution provides for a Senate of 80 seats, one does not exist in practice. If created, the Senate would provide representation for traditional leaders and a variety of geographic districts, as well as special interest groups including the disabled, youth, and women. The Malawi Congress Party is the ruling party together with several other parties in the Tonse Alliance led by Lazarus Chakwera while the Democratic Progressive Party is the main opposition party. Suffrage is universal at 18 years of age, and the central government budget for 2021/2022 is $2.4 billion from $2.8 billion for the 2020/2021 financial year.


title: Malawi

text: The independent judicial branch is based upon the English model and consists of a Supreme Court of Appeal, a High Court divided into three sections (general, constitutional, and commercial), an Industrial Relations Court and Magistrates Courts, the last of which is divided into five grades and includes Child Justice Courts. The judicial system has been changed several times since Malawi gained independence in 1964. Conventional courts and traditional courts have been used in varying combinations, with varying degrees of success and corruption.


title: Malawi

text: Malawi is composed of three regions (the Northern, Central, and Southern regions), which are divided into 28 districts, and further into approximately 250 traditional authorities and 110 administrative wards. Local government is administered by central government-appointed regional administrators and district commissioners. For the first time in the multi-party era, local elections took place on 21 November 2000, with the UDF party winning 70% of the available seats. There was scheduled to be a second round of constitutionally mandated local elections in May 2005, but these were cancelled by the government.


title: Malawi

text: In February 2005, President Mutharika split with the United Democratic Front and began his own party, the Democratic Progressive Party, which had attracted reform-minded officials from other parties and won by-elections across the country in 2006. In 2008, President Mutharika had implemented reforms to address the country's major corruption problem, with at least five senior UDF party members facing criminal charges. In 2012, Malawi was ranked 7th of all countries in sub-Saharan Africa in the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, an index that measures several variables to provide a comprehensive view of the governance of African countries. Although the country's governance score was higher than the continental average, it was lower than the regional average for southern Africa. Its highest scores were for safety and rule of law, and its lowest scores were for sustainable economic opportunity, with a ranking of 47th on the continent for educational opportunities. Malawi's governance score had improved between 2000 and 2011. Malawi held elections in May 2019, with President Peter Mutharika winning re-election over challengers Lazarus Chakwera, Atupele Muluzi, and Saulos Chilima. In 2020 Malawi Constitutional Court annulled President Peter Mutharika's narrow election victory last year because of widespread fraud and irregularities. Opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera won 2020 Malawian presidential election and he became the new president.


title: Malawi

text: Former President Hastings Banda established a pro-Western foreign policy that continued into early 2011. It included good diplomatic relationships with many Western countries. The transition from a one-party state to a multi-party democracy strengthened Malawian ties with the United States. Significant numbers of students from Malawi travel to the US for schooling, and the US has active branches of the Peace Corps, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Agency for International Development in Malawi. Malawi maintained close relations with South Africa throughout the Apartheid era, which strained Malawi's relationships with other African countries. Following the collapse of apartheid in 1994, diplomatic relationships were made and maintained into 2011 between Malawi and all other African countries. In 2010, however, Malawi's relationship with Mozambique became strained, partially due to disputes over the use of the Zambezi River and an inter-country electrical grid. In 2007, Malawi established diplomatic ties with China, and Chinese investment in the country has continued to increase since then, despite concerns regarding the treatment of workers by Chinese companies and competition of Chinese business with local companies. In 2011, relations between Malawi and the United Kingdom were damaged when a document was released in which the British ambassador to Malawi criticised President Mutharika. Mutharika expelled the ambassador from Malawi, and in July 2011, the UK announced that it was suspending all budgetary aid because of Mutharika's lack of response to criticisms of his government and economic mismanagement. On 26 July 2011, the United States followed suit, freezing a US$350 million grant, citing concerns regarding the government's suppression and intimidation of demonstrators and civic groups, as well as restriction of the press and police violence.


title: Malawi

text: Malawi has been seen as a haven for refugees from other African countries, including Mozambique and Rwanda, since 1985. These influxes of refugees have placed a strain on the Malawian economy but have also drawn significant inflows of aid from other countries. Donors to Malawi include the United States, Canada, Germany, Iceland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, the UK and Flanders (Belgium), as well as international institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, the African Development Bank and UN organizations.


title: Malawi

text: Malawi is a member of several international organizations including the Commonwealth, the UN and some of its child agencies, the IMF, the World Bank, the African Union and the World Health Organization. Malawi tends to view economic and political stability in southern Africa as a necessity and advocates peaceful solutions through negotiation. The country was the first in southern Africa to receive peacekeeping training under the African Crisis Response Initiative.


title: Malawi

text: , international observers noted issues in several human rights areas. Excessive force was seen to be used by police forces, security forces were able to act with impunity, mob violence was occasionally seen, and prison conditions continued to be harsh and sometimes life-threatening. However, the government was seen to make some effort to prosecute security forces who used excessive force. Other legal issues included limits on free speech and freedom of the press, lengthy pretrial detentions, and arbitrary arrests and detentions. Societal issues found included violence against women, human trafficking, and child labour. Corruption within the government is seen as a major issue, despite the Malawi Anti-Corruption Bureau's (ACB) attempts to reduce it. The ACB appears to be successful at finding and prosecuting low level corruption, but higher level officials appear to be able to act with impunity. Corruption within security forces is also an issue. Malawi had one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world. In 2015 Malawi raised the legal age for marriage from 15 to 18. Other issues that have been raised are lack of adequate legal protection of women from sexual abuse and harassment, very high maternal mortality rate, and abuse related to accusations of witchcraft.


title: Malawi

text: , homosexuality has been illegal in Malawi. In one 2010 case, a couple perceived as homosexual faced extensive jail time when convicted. The convicted pair, sentenced to the maximum of 14 years of hard labour each, were pardoned two weeks later following the intervention of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. In May 2012, then-President Joyce Banda pledged to repeal laws criminalising homosexuality. It was her successor, Peter Mutharika, who imposed a moratorium in 2015 that suspended the country's anti-gay laws pending further review of the same laws. On 26 June 2021, the country's LGBT community held the first Pride parade in the country's Capital City, Lilongwe.


title: Malawi

text: Malawi is a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique to the south, southwest, and southeast. It lies between latitudes 9° and 18°S, and longitudes 32° and 36°E.


title: Malawi

text: The Great Rift Valley runs through the country from north to south, and to the east of the valley lies Lake Malawi (also called Lake Nyasa), making up over three-quarters of Malawi's eastern boundary. Lake Malawi is sometimes called the Calendar Lake as it is about long and wide. The Shire River flows from the south end of the lake and joins the Zambezi River farther south in Mozambique. The surface of Lake Malawi is at above sea level, with a maximum depth of , which means the lake bottom is over below sea level at some points.


title: Malawi

text: In the mountainous sections of Malawi surrounding the Rift Valley, plateaus rise generally above sea level, although some rise as high as in the north. To the south of Lake Malawi lie the Shire Highlands, gently rolling land at approximately above sea level. In this area, the Zomba and Mulanje mountain peaks rise to respective heights of .


title: Malawi

text: Malawi's capital is Lilongwe, and its commercial centre is Blantyre with a population of over 500,000 people. Malawi has two sites listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Lake Malawi National Park was first listed in 1984 and the Chongoni Rock Art Area was listed in 2006.


title: Malawi

text: Malawi's climate is hot in the low-lying areas in the south of the country and temperate in the northern highlands. The altitude moderates what would otherwise be an equatorial climate. Between November and April, the temperature is warm with equatorial rains and thunderstorms, with the storms reaching their peak severity in late March. After March, the rainfall rapidly diminishes, and from May to September wet mists float from the highlands into the plateaus, with almost no rainfall during these months.


title: Malawi

text: Animal life indigenous to Malawi includes mammals such as elephants, hippos, antelopes, buffaloes, big cats, monkeys, rhinos, and bats; a great variety of birds including birds of prey, parrots and falcons, waterfowl and large waders, owls and songbirds. Lake Malawi has been described as having "one of the richest lake fish faunas in the world", being the home for some 200 mammals, 650 birds, 30+ mollusk, and 5,500+ plant species.


title: Malawi

text: Seven terrestrial ecoregions lie within Malawi's borders: Central Zambezian miombo woodlands, Eastern miombo woodlands, Southern miombo woodlands, Zambezian and mopane woodlands, Zambezian flooded grasslands, South Malawi montane forest-grassland mosaic, and Southern Rift montane forest-grassland mosaic.


title: Malawi

text: There are five , four and two other in Malawi. The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 5.74/10, ranking it 96th globally out of 172 countries.


title: Malawi

text: Malawi is among the world's least developed countries. Around 85% of the population lives in rural areas. The economy is based on agriculture, and more than one-third of GDP and 90% of export revenues come from this. In the past, the economy has been dependent on substantial economic aid from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other countries. Malawi was ranked the 119th safest investment destination in the world in the March 2011 Euromoney Country Risk rankings.


title: Malawi

text: In December 2000, the IMF stopped aid disbursements due to corruption concerns, and many individual donors followed, resulting in an almost 80% drop in Malawi's development budget. However, in 2005, Malawi was the recipient of over US$575 million in aid. The Malawian government faces challenges in developing a market economy, improving environmental protection, dealing with the rapidly growing HIV/AIDS problem, improving the education system, and satisfying its foreign donors that it is working to become financially independent. Improved financial discipline had been seen since 2005 under the leadership of President Mutharika and Financial Minister Gondwe. This discipline has since evaporated as shown by the purchase in 2009 of a private presidential jet followed almost immediately by a nationwide fuel shortage which was officially blamed on logistical problems but was more likely due to the hard currency shortage caused by the jet purchase. The overall cost to the economy (and healthcare system) is unknown.


title: Malawi

text: In addition, some setbacks have been experienced, and Malawi has lost some of its ability to pay for imports due to a general shortage of foreign exchange, as investment fell 23% in 2009. There are many investment barriers in Malawi, which the government has failed to address, including high service costs and poor infrastructure for power, water, and telecommunications. , it was estimated that Malawi had a GDP (purchasing power parity) of $22.42 billion, with a per capita GDP of $1200, and inflation estimated at 12.2% in 2017.


title: Malawi

text: Agriculture accounts for 35% of GDP, industry for 19% and services for the remaining 46%. Malawi has one of the lowest per capita incomes in the world, although economic growth was estimated at 9.7% in 2008 and strong growth is predicted by the International Monetary Fund for 2009. The poverty rate in Malawi is decreasing through the work of the government and supporting organisations, with people living under the poverty line decreasing from 54% in 1990 to 40% in 2006, and the percentage of "ultra-poor" decreasing from 24% in 1990 to 15% in 2007.


title: Malawi

text: Many analysts believe that economic progress for Malawi depends on its ability to control population growth.


title: Malawi

text: In January 2015 southern Malawi was devastated by the worst floods in living memory, stranding at least 20,000 people. These floods affected more than a million people across the country, including 336,000 who were displaced, according to UNICEF. Over 100 people were killed and an estimated 64,000 hectares of cropland were washed away.


title: Malawi

text: The economy of Malawi is predominantly agricultural. Over 80% of the population is engaged in subsistence farming, even though agriculture only contributed to 27% of GDP in 2013. The services sector accounts for more than half of GDP (54%), compared to 11% for manufacturing and 8% for other industries, including natural uranium mining. Malawi invests more in agriculture (as a share of GDP) than any other African country: 28% of GDP.


title: Malawi

text: The main agricultural products of Malawi include tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, sorghum, cattle and goats. The main industries are tobacco, tea and sugar processing, sawmill products, cement and consumer goods. The industrial production growth rate is estimated at 10% (2009). The country makes no significant use of natural gas. , Malawi does not import or export any electricity, but does import all its petroleum, with no production in country. Beginning in 2006, the country began mixing unleaded petrol with 10% ethanol, produced in-country at two plants, to reduce dependence on imported fuel. In 2008, Malawi began testing cars that ran solely on ethanol, and initial results are promising, and the country is continuing to increase its use of ethanol.


title: Malawi

text: , Malawi exports an estimated US$945 million in goods per year. The country's strong reliance on tobacco places a heavy burden on the economy as world prices decline and the international community increases pressure to limit tobacco production. Malawi's dependence on tobacco is growing, with the product jumping from 53% to 70% of export revenues between 2007 and 2008. The country also relies heavily on tea, sugar, and coffee, with these three plus tobacco making up more than 90% of Malawi's export revenue. Because of a rise in costs and a decline in sales prices, Malawi is encouraging farmers away from tobacco towards more profitable crops, including spices such as paprika. The move away from tobacco is further fueled by likely World Health Organisation moves against the particular type of tobacco that Malawi produces, burley leaf. It is seen to be more harmful to human health than other tobacco products. India hemp is another possible alternative, but arguments have been made that it will bring more crime to the country through its resemblance to varieties of cannabis used as a recreational drug and the difficulty in distinguishing between the two types. This concern is especially important because the cultivation of Malawian cannabis, known as Malawi Gold, as a drug has increased significantly. Malawi is known for growing "the best and finest" cannabis in the world for recreational drug use, according to a recent World Bank report, and cultivation and sales of the crop may contribute to corruption within the police force.


title: Malawi

text: Other exported goods are cotton, peanuts, wood products, and apparel. The main destination locations for the country's exports are South Africa, Germany, Egypt, Zimbabwe, the United States, Russia, and the Netherlands. Malawi currently imports an estimated US$1.625 billion in goods per year, with the main commodities being food, petroleum products, consumer goods, and transportation equipment. The main countries that Malawi imports from are South Africa, India, Zambia, Tanzania, the US, and China.


title: Malawi

text: In 2006, in response to disastrously low agricultural harvests, Malawi began a programme of fertilizer subsidies, the Fertiliser Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) that was designed to re-energise the land and boost crop production. It has been reported that this programme, championed by the country's president, is radically improving Malawi's agriculture, and causing Malawi to become a net exporter of food to nearby countries. The FISP fertiliser subsidy programmes ended with President Mutharika's death; the country quickly faced food shortages again, and farmers developed reluctance to purchase fertilisers and other agricultural inputs on the open markets that remained.


title: Malawi

text: In 2016, Malawi was hit by a drought, and in January 2017, the country reported an outbreak of armyworms around Zomba. The moth is capable of wiping out entire fields of corn, the staple grain of impoverished residents. On 14 January 2017, the agriculture minister George Chaponda reported that 2,000 hectares of crop had been destroyed, having spread to nine of twenty-eight districts.


title: Malawi

text: , Malawi has 31 airports, seven with paved runways (two international airports) and 24 with unpaved runways. , the country has of railways, all narrow-gauge, and, as of 2003, of roadways in various conditions, paved and unpaved. Malawi also has of waterways on Lake Malawi and along the Shire River.


title: Malawi

text: , there were 10.23 million mobile phone connections in Malawi. There were 4.03 million Internet users in 2022 (Datareportal). Also, there was one government-run radio station (Malawi Broadcasting Corporation) and approximately a dozen more owned by private enterprises.


title: Malawi

text: Radio, television and postal services in Malawi are regulated by the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA). Malawi television is improving. The country boasts 20 television stations by 2016 broadcasting on the country's digital network MDBNL e.g.[3] This includes Times Group, Timveni, Adventist, and Beta, Zodiak and CFC. In the past, Malawi's telecommunications system has been named as some of the poorest in Africa, but conditions are improving, with 130,000 land line telephones being connected between 2000 and 2007. Telephones are much more accessible in urban areas, with less than a quarter of land lines being in rural areas.


title: Malawi

text: Malawi devoted 1.06% of GDP to research and development in 2010, according to a survey by the Department of Science and Technology, one of the highest ratios in Africa. This corresponds to $7.8 per researcher (in current purchasing parity dollars).


title: Malawi

text: In 2014, Malawian scientists had the third-largest output in Southern Africa, in terms of articles cataloged in international journals. They published 322 articles in Thomson Reuters' Web of Science (Science Citation Index expanded) that year, almost triple the number in 2005 (116). Only South Africa (9,309) and the United Republic of Tanzania (770) published more in Southern Africa. Malawian scientists publish more in mainstream journals – relative to GDP – than any other country of similar population size. This is impressive, even if the country's publication density remains modest, with just 19 publications per million inhabitants cataloged in international journals in 2014. The average for sub-Saharan Africa is 20 publications per million inhabitants. Malawi was ranked 107th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, up from 118th in 2019.


title: Malawi

text: Malawi's first science and technology policy dates from 1991 and was revised in 2002. The "National Science and Technology Policy" of 2002 envisaged the establishment of a National Commission for Science and Technology to advise the government and other stakeholders on science and technology-led development. Although the Science and Technology Act of 2003 made provision for the creation of this commission, it only became operational in 2011, with a secretariat resulting from the merger of the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Council. The Science and Technology Act of 2003 also established a Science and Technology Fund to finance research and studies through government grants and loans but, , this was not yet operational. The Secretariat of the National Commission for Science and Technology has reviewed the "Strategic Plan for Science, Technology, and Innovation" (2011–2015) but, as of early 2015, the revised policy had not yet met with Cabinet approval.


title: Malawi

text: Malawi is conscious of the need to attract more foreign investment to foster technology transfer, develop human capital and empower the private sector to drive economic growth. In 2012, most foreign investments flowed to infrastructure (62%) and the energy sector (33%). The government has introduced a series of fiscal incentives, including tax breaks, to attract more foreign investors. In 2013, the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre put together an investment portfolio spanning 20 companies in the country's six major economic growth sectors, namely:


title: Malawi

text: In 2013, the government adopted a "National Export Strategy" to diversify the country's exports. Production facilities are to be established for a wide range of products within the three selected clusters: oilseed products, sugar cane products, and manufacturing. The government estimates that these three clusters have the potential to represent more than 50% of Malawi's exports by 2027. In order to help companies adopt innovative practices and technologies, the strategy makes provision for greater access to the outcome of international research and better information about available technologies; it also helps companies to obtain grants to invest in such technologies from sources such as the country's Export Development Fund and the Malawi Innovation Challenge Fund.


title: Malawi

text: The Malawi Innovation Challenge Fund is a competitive facility, through which businesses in Malawi's agricultural and manufacturing sectors can apply for grant funding for innovative projects with the potential for making a strong social impact and helping the country to diversify its narrow range of exports. The first round of competitive bidding opened in April 2014. The fund is aligned on the three clusters selected within the country's "National Export Strategy": oilseed products, sugar cane products, and manufacturing. It provides a matching grant of up to 50% to innovative business projects to help absorb some of the commercial risks in triggering innovation. This support should speed up the implementation of new business models and/or the adoption of technologies. The fund is endowed with US$8 million from the United Nations Development Programme and the UK Department for International Development.


title: Malawi

text: Among the notable achievements stemming from the implementation of national policies for science, technology and innovation in recent years are the:


title: Malawi

text: Malawi has a population of over floor(/1e6) million, with a growth rate of 3.32%, according to estimates. The population is forecast to grow to over 45 million people by 2050, nearly tripling the estimated 16 million in 2010. Malawi's estimated 2016 population is, based on most recent estimates, 18,091,575.


title: Malawi

text: Malawi's population is made up of the Chewa, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, and Ngonde native ethnic groups, as well as populations of Chinese and Europeans.


title: Malawi

text: The official language is English. Major languages include Chichewa, a language spoken by over 48% of the population, Chinyanja (12.8%), Chiyao (15.1%), and Chitumbuka (22.2%). Other native languages are Malawian Lomwe, spoken by around 250,000 in the southeast of the country; Kokola, spoken by around 200,000 people also in the southeast; Lambya, spoken by around 45,000 in the northwestern tip; Ndali, spoken by around 70,000; Nyakyusa-Ngonde, spoken by around 300,000 in northern Malawi; Malawian Sena, spoken by around 270,000 in southern Malawi; and Tonga, spoken by around 170,000 in the north.


title: Malawi

text: All students in public elementary school receive instruction in Chichewa, which is described as the unofficial national language of Malawi. Students in private elementary schools, however, receive instruction in English if they follow the American or British curriculum.


title: Malawi

text: Malawi is a majority Christian country, with a significant Muslim minority. Government surveys indicate that 87% of the country is Christian, with a minority 11.6% Islamic population. The largest Christian groups in Malawi are the Roman Catholic Church, of which 19% of Malawians are adherents, and the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) to which 18% belong. The CCAP is the largest Protestant denomination in Malawi with 1.3 million members. There are smaller Presbyterian denominations like the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Malawi and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Malawi. There are also smaller numbers of Anglicans, Baptists, evangelicals, Seventh-day Adventists, and the Lutherans.


title: Malawi

text: Most of the Muslim population is Sunni, of either the Qadriya or Sukkutu groups, with a few who follow the Ahmadiyya.


title: Malawi

text: Other religious groups within the country include Jehovah's Witnesses (over 95,000), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with just over 2,000 members in the country at the end of 2015, Rastafari, Hindus, Baháʼís, (0.2%) and around 300 Jews. Atheists make up around 4% of the population, although this number may include people who practice traditional African religions that do not have any gods.


title: Malawi

text: Malawi has central hospitals, regional and private facilities. The public sector offers free health services and medicines, while non-government organizations offers services and medicines for fees. Private doctors offer fee-based services and medicines. Health insurance schemes have been established since 2000. The country has a pharmaceutical manufacturing industry consisting of four privately owned pharmaceutical companies. Malawi's healthcare goal is for "promoting health, preventing, reducing and curing disease, and reducing the occurrence of premature death in the population".


title: Malawi

text: Infant mortality rates are high, and life expectancy at birth is 50.03 years. Abortion is illegal in Malawi, except to save the mother's life. The Penal Code punishes women who seek illegal or clinical abortion with 7 years in prison, and 14 years for those perform the abortion. There is a high adult prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS, with an estimated 980,000 adults (or 9.1% of the population) living with the disease in 2015. There are approximately 27,000 deaths each year from HIV/AIDS, and over half a million children orphaned because of the disease (2015). Approximately 250 new people are infected each day, and at least 70% of Malawi's hospital beds are occupied by HIV/AIDS patients. The high rate of infection has resulted in an estimated 5.8% of the farm labour force dying of the disease. The government spends over $120,000 each year on funerals for civil servants who die of the disease. In 2006, international superstar Madonna started Raising Malawi, a foundation that helps AIDS orphans in Malawi, and also financed a documentary about the hardships experienced by Malawian orphans, called "I Am Because We Are". Raising Malawi also works with the Millennium Villages Project to improve education, health care, infrastructure and agriculture in Malawi.


title: Malawi

text: There is a very high degree of risk for major infectious diseases, including bacterial and protozoal diarrhoea, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, malaria, plague, schistosomiasis, and rabies. Malawi has been making progress on decreasing child mortality and reducing the incidences of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; however, the country has been "performing dismally" on reducing maternal mortality and promoting gender equality. Female genital mutilation (FGM), while not widespread, is practiced in some local communities.


title: Malawi

text: On 23 November 2016, a court in Malawi sentenced an HIV-positive man to two years in prison with forced labour after having sex with 100 women without disclosing his status. Women rights activists asked the government to review the sentence calling it too "lenient". Some of the major health facilities in the country are Blantyre Adventist Hospital, Mwaiwathu Private Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Central, and Kamuzu Central Hospitals.


title: Malawi

text: In 1994, free primary education for all Malawian children was established by the government, and primary education has been compulsory since the passage of the Revised Education Act in 2012. As a result, attendance rates for all children have improved, with enrollment rates for primary schools up from 58% in 1992 to 75% in 2007. Also, the percentage of students who begin standard one and complete standard five has increased from 64% in 1992 to 86% in 2006. According to the World Bank, it shows that youth literacy had also increased from 68% in 2000 to 75% in 2015. This increase is primarily attributed to improved learning materials in schools, better infrastructure and feeding programs that have been implemented throughout the school system. However, attendance in the secondary school falls to approximately 25%, with attendance rates being slightly higher for males. Dropout rates are higher for girls than boys, attributed to security problems during long walks to school, as girls face a higher prevalence of gender-based violence.


title: Malawi

text: Education in Malawi comprises eight years of primary education, four years of secondary school and four years of university. There are four public universities in Malawi: Mzuzu University (MZUNI), Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), the University of Malawi (UNIMA) and Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST). There are also private universities, such as Livingstonia, Malawi Lakeview, Catholic University of Malawi, Central Christian University, African Bible College, UNICAF University, and MIM. The entry requirement is six credits on the Malawi School Certificate of Education, which is equivalent to O levels.


title: Malawi

text: The status of women throughout the world, including Malawi, is measured using a wide range of indices that cover areas of social, economic, and political contexts. Focusing primarily on the time period between 2010 and the current day, the status of women in Malawi will be analyzed through a range of statistical indices.


title: Malawi

text: The current social status of women in Malawi is effectively estimated through indices such as female access to schooling, maternal mortality rate, and life expectancy of women from birth. These indices offer a wide lens of information on women's rights and life in Malawi. Women's access to schooling in Malawi as an index highlights how within the state, the ratio of male to female students for many age groups and for total students by gender shows women's access to schooling maintains on par with men's access. Female students in Malawi, though, see consistent declines as the age increases, signifying the failure of compulsory education amongst female students in Malawi. The life expectancy of women from birth in Malawi has seen significant growth over the past decade as the life expectancy of women in 2010 was approximately 58 years old whilst the most recent data from 2017 finds that women in Malawi's average life expectancy grew to 66 years. The maternal mortality rate in Malawi which is particularly low even when compared with states at similar points in the development process.


title: Malawi

text: The economic status of women in Malawi is gauged using indices such as the inheritance rights for women, unemployment, and labour force participation for females, along with the extent of the wage gap present between men and women in the Malawian economy. The inheritance rights index gauges the ability of women to effectively own and maintain the property in comparison with their male counterparts. The current inheritance rights in Malawi are found to be equal in their dispersion between male/female children and for male/female surviving spouses. Contrary to the equality found in inheritance rights in Malawi, labour force participation and unemployment highlight the challenges for female employment in the state. The current state of female labour participation details how a higher percentage of the male population is currently employed despite the female population having a higher total employed population and a very similar unemployment rate. This gap continues with wages in Malawi as the state continues to score towards the bottom of the list when compared to states across the world. Along with their poor international ranking, the state scores poorly when compared to other sub-Saharan countries as the highest-ranked sub-Saharan state, Rwanda, scored a 0.791 on a 0–1 scale while Malawi scored 0.664.