Har! That dog won't hunt.Three million children will die in the poorest countries of sub-Saharan Africa as a result of the failure of the global community to meet its promise of slashing the death rates of children under age 5 by 2015, the United Nations is to reveal Wednesday. With Tony Blair Tuesday struggling to persuade George W. Bush to back Britain's ambitious plans for Africa, the U.N. Development Program said the human cost to Africa in child deaths would be the equivalent of twice the combined under-5 population of New York, London and Tokyo.[...]
In 2000 the U.N. announced that by 2015 the global community would cut infant mortality by two-thirds, halve the number of people living on less than a dollar a day and put every child in school.
On the basis of current UNDP projections, there will be 5 million under-5 deaths in Africa, compared with 2 million if the goals were achieved; 115 million children deprived of an education; and 219 million extra people living below the poverty line.[...]
[British Prime Minister Tony] Blair also seemed to acknowledge that he faced an uphill battle in persuading President Bush to back mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions or to accept that the science on global warming shows the urgency for action.
[...]
Blair [...] was lobbying Christian right and Republican senators Tuesday to help create a political backdrop in the United States before which Bush would be willing to act.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
Security forces opened fire on stone-throwing demonstrators Wednesday in Ethiopia, killing more than 20 people in a third day of protests over election results, hospital officials said.
Hundreds more were injured, many with gunshot wounds, doctors said.[...]
Information Minister Bereket Simon, who is also the ruling party spokesman, said he did not have an accurate death toll but blamed the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy for the protests.
"Today, some of their followers _ and some who wanted to use this opportunity for looting _ have gathered in some parts of Addis and disrupted the smooth functioning of life. So the government had to use the anti-riot police to resolve the situation," Bereket said, adding that seven buses were destroyed and businesses and banks were damaged.
Bereket rejected claims the police used excessive force.
"These people were committed to disrupting the smooth functioning of civil life and law and order, so we had to protect people," he said.
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