Mali

On April 15, 2006 JEAN MARIE MALI (nee Le Blanc) beloved wife of the late William W. Mali, devoted mother of Michael Mali, Christine Noble, Carol Lilley, and Claudia Buell, sister of Donald Le Blanc, also survived by 10 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. Friends may call at the family owned and operated Mac Nabb Funeral Home P.A., 301 Frederick Rd, Catonsville, MD (at Beltway Exit 13) on Tuesday April 18 from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M., where services will be held on Wednesday April 19 11 A.M. Interment Meadowridge Memorial Park.

Algerian forces claimed a decisive victory this weekend over al-Qaida-affiliated Islamist militants who took over a giant natural gas plant near the country's border with Mali last week and threatened to kill hostages and blow up the facility. But the resolution of the crisis may turn out to be the classic definition of a Pyrrhic victory - that is, one achieved at such high cost that another like it will likely lead to defeat. The Algerian government reacted swiftly and ruthlessly to the terrorists, eventually capturing or killing all the militants.

TOMBOUCTOU, Mali -- A low, wailing song reaches from the mosques of this ancient town of mud houses and sand dunes to the tent of Adama Alhadan, who sits in the flicker of a campfire, talking of rebellion."

Residents and vendors from the many corners and cultures of Baltimore descended on the campus of Polytechnic Institute/Western High this weekend for the annual Baltimore International Festival. "I just believe that people need to meet other people," said Maritza Smith, who traveled from Anne Arundel County to spread a blanket, sit under an umbrella and listen to ethnic bands perform. "It shows that, believe it or not, while we're all different, we all have something in common. Too many people don't know that.

Algerian forces claimed a decisive victory this weekend over al-Qaida-affiliated Islamist militants who took over a giant natural gas plant near the country's border with Mali last week and threatened to kill hostages and blow up the facility. But the resolution of the crisis may turn out to be the classic definition of a Pyrrhic victory - that is, one achieved at such high cost that another like it will likely lead to defeat. The Algerian government reacted swiftly and ruthlessly to the terrorists, eventually capturing or killing all the militants.

JOHN M. JOHNSON, III; devoted husband of Mali Johnson and beloved father of Jabrica and Kashiya. He is also survived by his mother Brenda Anderson. Friends may call at the FAMILY OWNED MARCH FUNERAL HOE WEST, INC., 4300 Wabash Avenue on Sunday after 10 A.M. where the family will receive friends on Mondday atr 11:30 A.M. Funeral services will follow at 12 noon. No viewing of remains.

Baltimoreans Bashi and Mitchell Ferguson call their theater company The Men of Nommo, based on the term for "the word" in the language of the Dogon people of Mali. Beginning Sunday, they will give the first of four performances -- scattered throughout the season -- of "Locks & Links," a choreopoem about the struggle of the African-American male, at the Theatre Project.Show times at the Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston St., are 7:30 p.m. this Sunday, and again Nov. 12, Dec. 3 and Feb. 11. Tickets are $14. Call (410)

Polio has spread to two more African countries that had been free of the crippling disease and threatens to become a major epidemic across west and central Africa, the World Health Organization said yesterday. The disease begins reaching its high season next month. The spread of polio to Guinea and Mali brings to 12 the number of previously polio-free African countries that have experienced an outbreak of the disease since January 2003. The spread deals a serious setback to the agency's efforts to eradicate the disease by year's end, a goal also hampered by a funding gap of $100 million.

THE QUESTION This week, the film Annapolis, which was not shot in our state capital, arrives at local theaters. Princeton, N.J., and Philly as stand-ins for Annapolis? What gives? Have you ever been so distracted by stand-in scenery that you couldn't enjoy the film? WHAT YOU SAY For me, nothing tops the setting chosen for the Pennsylvania hunting scenes in The Deer Hunter, the searing epic of the Vietnam War. The mountains chosen for the outdoor scenes were appropriate for the Canadian Rockies, but Pennsylvania?

When Johannes Pleah arrived in the United States last summer, he spoke only a few words of English -- yes and no, yellow and red.Almost a year later, nearing his ninth birthday, Johannes is reading everything he can get his hands on. He won a Dr. Seuss writing contest for Read Across America Day this year."

JOHN M. JOHNSON, III; devoted husband of Mali Johnson and beloved father of Jabrica and Kashiya. He is also survived by his mother Brenda Anderson. Friends may call at the FAMILY OWNED MARCH FUNERAL HOE WEST, INC., 4300 Wabash Avenue on Sunday after 10 A.M. where the family will receive friends on Mondday atr 11:30 A.M. Funeral services will follow at 12 noon. No viewing of remains.

NEW YORK -- A three-alarm fire swept through a wooden home in the Bronx, killing eight children and one adult and injuring at least 17. It was the city's deadliest residential blaze in decades, said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Firefighters responded quickly to the fire, which started about 11 p.m. Wednesday, blocks from Yankee Stadium. By then, the bodies of several children and one adult were lying on the ground, officials said. Minutes earlier, neighbors had tried to catch two children who had been dropped from upper windows of the three-story structure by their mother, who then jumped.

On April 15, 2006 JEAN MARIE MALI (nee Le Blanc) beloved wife of the late William W. Mali, devoted mother of Michael Mali, Christine Noble, Carol Lilley, and Claudia Buell, sister of Donald Le Blanc, also survived by 10 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. Friends may call at the family owned and operated Mac Nabb Funeral Home P.A., 301 Frederick Rd, Catonsville, MD (at Beltway Exit 13) on Tuesday April 18 from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M., where services will be held on Wednesday April 19 11 A.M. Interment Meadowridge Memorial Park.

THE QUESTION This week, the film Annapolis, which was not shot in our state capital, arrives at local theaters. Princeton, N.J., and Philly as stand-ins for Annapolis? What gives? Have you ever been so distracted by stand-in scenery that you couldn't enjoy the film? WHAT YOU SAY For me, nothing tops the setting chosen for the Pennsylvania hunting scenes in The Deer Hunter, the searing epic of the Vietnam War. The mountains chosen for the outdoor scenes were appropriate for the Canadian Rockies, but Pennsylvania?

Award Yonathan Zohar Yonathan Zohar, director of the Center of Marine Biotechnology at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, will receive the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Albert Einstein Visiting Professorship Award in 2006. Zohar will be one of 15 distinguished scholars invited to visit the Chinese institutes to give lectures and carry out academic exchanges with Chinese scientists. At UMBI, Zohar's research specializes in aquaculture and improvement of fisheries stock.

On February 22, 2005 NORMA B. (nee Schwartz); beloved wife of the late Elliot Malis; devoted mother of Ira H. Malis of Owings Mills, MD and Andrew M. Malis of Owings Mills, MD; loving mother-in-law of Michelle and Elizabeth Malis; beloved sister of Joan Plotnick of Boca Raton, FL. Also survived by three loving grandchildren. Services at SOL LEVINSON & BROS INC., 8900 Reisterstown Rd at Mt Wilson Lane, on Thursday, February 24 at 1 P.M. Interment Beth El Memorial Park, Randallstown, MD. Please omit flowers.

Award Yonathan Zohar Yonathan Zohar, director of the Center of Marine Biotechnology at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, will receive the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Albert Einstein Visiting Professorship Award in 2006. Zohar will be one of 15 distinguished scholars invited to visit the Chinese institutes to give lectures and carry out academic exchanges with Chinese scientists. At UMBI, Zohar's research specializes in aquaculture and improvement of fisheries stock.

Angry parents and tax rebels summed up Monday's County Council meeting in one word: politics.Against the wishes of virtually all who spoke during a 2 -hour public hearing, a divided and contentious council voted down a resolution demanding more fiscal accountability fromthe local school board."

Polio has spread to two more African countries that had been free of the crippling disease and threatens to become a major epidemic across west and central Africa, the World Health Organization said yesterday. The disease begins reaching its high season next month. The spread of polio to Guinea and Mali brings to 12 the number of previously polio-free African countries that have experienced an outbreak of the disease since January 2003. The spread deals a serious setback to the agency's efforts to eradicate the disease by year's end, a goal also hampered by a funding gap of $100 million.

"I think you should read Sundiata: Lion King of Mali by David Wisniewski. It is a wonderful story that teaches valuable lessons. One is that you should never judge a person by the way that they appear physically. When Sundiata was young, he could not walk or talk, but he grew to become a great leader. The book also has astonishing and beautiful pictures and a detailed map, which shows the important things and places Sundiata finds on his adventures." -- Elizabeth Kimble Jeffers Hill Elementary "My favorite book is Ming Lo Moves the Mountain by Arnold Lobel.