He had been found by a graveyard near a main road outside the city of Blantyre and taken to a police station on Thursday.

It is likely that he was suffering from a mental illness or epilepsy as he was carrying a health card and may have been returning from hospital, the journalist says.

A mob who had heard about the “vampire” rumours invaded the police station and dragged him outside.

His death brings the number of those killed for being suspected “vampires” to eight since September.

Malawi is a poor country, where 90% of people live in rural areas and education is rudimentary, so the population is suggestible to rumours, Ms Ashton said.

Clinical psychologist Chiwoza Bandawe, from the University of Malawi, explained further:

Given the fact that we’re conservative and generally superstitious or a culture that believes in mysterious magical explanations for things then people will tend to attribute their difficulty on what they call blood suckers.

It’s almost a symbolic representation of the life, their blood, their hope being drawn out of them, being sucked out of them.”

He said that tragically it was people with mental health problems who were often targeted.

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Source: BBC

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The UN says it has pulled staff out of two districts as the vampire scare sweeps across the south of the country.

According to reports, the victims were killed by vigilante mobs who suspected them of drinking human blood as part of magic rituals.

A night-time curfew has been imposed by the government to prevent any more deaths.

The curfew restricts movement to 10 hours a day, from 07:00 until 17:00 local time.

The UN said in a report that the vampirism rumours appear to have originated from Mozambique, and spread across the border to the Malawi districts of Mulanje and Phalombe.

It is unclear what sparked the fears, but – according to a UN report seen by news agency Reuters – villagers had set up road blocks as they tried to hunt the “vampires” down.

As a result, it had instructed all staff to temporarily relocate to a safer area.

Malawian President Peter Mutharika has vowed to launch an investigation into the killings, with his office releasing an official statement saying the matter was “of grave concern” to the entire government”.

Many aid agencies and NGOs work in Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries,

Education standards are low, with belief in witchcraft widespread. A spate of vigilante violence linked to vampire rumours also erupted there in 2002.

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Source: BBC

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Dozens more were injured in the crush at Lilongwe’s Bingu national stadium.

The stampede reportedly happened as thousands of people tried to find seats ahead of a friendly between top sides Nyasa Big Bullets and Silver Strikers.

President Peter Mutharika has offered his condolences and said the government will do all it can to assist the families of the bereaved.

He said he was shocked to learn of the tragedy.

The BBC’s Frank Kandu in Malawi said gates at the 40,000-capacity stadium were supposed to open at 06:30 local time (04:30GMT) to allow free entry of people – but there was a delay of about three hours.

However, thousands had already turned up, and some forced their way in.

Inspector General of Police Lexan Kachama told Reuters news agency he expected the number of casualties to rise.

The football match was being held as part of events to mark the 53rd anniversary of Malawi’s independence from British colonial rule.

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Source: BBC

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The country’s High Court made the ruling today.

The singer already has two children from the African country – David, adopted in 2006, and Mercy, adopted in 2009.

Malawian judiciary spokesman Mlenga Mvula said the singer was inside the court in Lilongwe when the ruling was given.

“In fact, at the time we were granting her the permission she was in the courtroom with her lawyers,” Mr Mvula said.

But less than two weeks ago Madonna denied reports she’d applied to adopt any more children, during a charity visit to Malawi.

On 25 January, a Malawian government spokesperson told news outlets the 58-year-old singer had appeared in court and had “filed an application expressing interest” to adopt two children.

But Madonna said she was only there for charity purposes.

“The rumours of an adoption process are untrue,” she said in a statement.

“I am in Malawi to check on the children’s hospital in Blantyre and my other work with Raising Malawi and then heading home.”

Madonna founded the children’s charity Raising Malawi in 2006, the same year she adopted David.

Last summer, she took David and Mercy to visit the orphanages where they lived before being adopted.

The star has two other children – Lourdes and Rocco – from previous relationships.

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Source: BBC

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Nollywood actor, Chidi Mokeme, recently expressed sadness about his upbringing and the discipline he got from his parents.

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