They don't look like witches, whatever witches are supposed to look like. They are often old, shrivelled, hardy farm workers who toil with the rest of the villagers, bent over in the searing heat of the sun. Sometimes they are young and bounding, in trainers and bright, funky shirts, displaying their wares with the eager eyes of an entrepreneur. And, in any case, many of these witch doctors have a point.

Faced with the task of reading a favourite book to a room full of schoolchildren, the second President Bush often seems rather at a loss. Of course, when he gave his ill-fated, leaden recitation of "The Pet Goat" at a Florida elementary school on 11 September 2001, it was because he had rather more important things to think about. But now, as he nears the end of his final term in office, he can sit back and enjoy a few state visits while the rest of Washington focuses on the contest to replace him.

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Juan Diego Florez is a rare breed. A tenor, yes, but a very particular kind of tenor. There are various terms for his voice type. The Italians might call him a tenore lirico-leggero(light tenor) or, more fittingly, a tenore di grazia (graceful tenor). But none of this gives you much indication of what makes him so special. It has partly to do with a technique so effortless it is barely apparent, but more significant is an evenness of tone that enables him to access the stratospheric upper register without any apparent break. Top Cs and Ds are almost casually negotiated; scales and arpeggios glide off the vocal chords.

For many Mozambicans such as Fernando Martias, a Japanese donation last week of 25,000 durable Olyset mosquito nets to fight malaria is too little too late.

La Posta Vecchia, the US oil tycoon Jean Paul Getty's former Italian home, is an oasis of decadence on the Roman coast. Stephen Bayley checks in

A new and potentially revolutionary weapon in the fight against malaria has been developed by scientists who have found a way of killing the parasite within the mosquitoes that spread the disease.

HIS FACE twisted with anxiety, Dasenio Aldes pushed his way through the crowd queuing under the sun-bleached awning and motioned imploringly at the limp bundle in his arms. It was his 11-year-old son, Marcelino, and he was in a wretched state. Feverish, eyes glazed, the boy groaned weakly as he was placed on a stretcher and a needle was inserted into his scrawny vein.

QUITE APART from the possible social and cultural consequences of build- ing a dam in Turkey, the public health consequences for people who might end up living near the scheme must be considered. Our research team showed substantial health risks for children living near newly constructed dams (British Medical Journal, 11 September), particularly in respect of malaria but also for schistosomiasis. Given the concern about the resurgence of malaria in south-eastern Europe, questions need to be asked as to what public health interventions will be implemented to safeguard future health in the locality, if the project goes ahead.

Keep malaria at bay with mint

THE BATTLE against malaria, which kills about two millionpeople a year, has entered a new phase with the publication of the first genetic map of the infectious microbe.

Modern travel means nowhere in the world is out of bounds. But what dangers might be lurking out there?

HARRY REDKNAPP, the West Ham manager, is likely to unleash an exciting attacking partnership on the Dutch team Heerenveen as the Hammer's Intertoto Cup campaign brings a Uefa Cup place ever nearer.

The president of the George Formby Society responds to a critical article by Robert Chalmers