Awwal 04, 1432 H/Feb 07, 2011, SPA -- The U.S. Embassy says a deal to give Malawi $350 million in aid will not be signed this week as planned, according to AP. Benjamin Canavan, the U.S. Embassy spokesman in Malawi, said Monday that talks to complete the Millennium Challenge Corporation agreement announced in July are under way. He would not say why the signing has been delayed, or when the deal would be finalized. The Millennium Challenge Corporation is a program from the Bush era that links foreign aid to good governance. The delay comes after the German government announced it was decreasing aid to Malawi following Malawi's failure to repeal laws that criminalize homosexuality and its enactment of laws seen as restricting media freedoms. Malawi is among the world's poorest countries.
