Michelle Obama encourages mentoringHuffington Post -- Michelle Obama toured the Detroit area today, urging mentoring as a way to inspire young people to succeed and continue their education. She spoke at the Detroit Institute of Art at a Detroit Mentoring Luncheon. Her speech focused on the difference that individuals can make, even during troubling times. "What we all know in our lives and through our experiences is that there's no magic dust that is sprinkled on us that gives us success," the First Lady said...
France backs Africa's global role
BBC -- The French president has called for Africa to be given a bigger say in world affairs and better representation on the UN Security Council. President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking at a two-day France-Africa summit in Nice, also said Africa would be a key source of global growth in the coming decades. He pledged to push for Security Council reform next year. Thirty-eight heads of state and some 200 business leaders are at the summit, the first to be hosted by Mr Sarkozy...
Trinidad and Tobago's first female prime ministerJohn Yearwood, Miami Herald -- When Kamla Persad-Bissessar shattered the glass ceiling to become this country's first female prime minister, she had her pick of splashy sites for her swearing-in: the stately presidential mansion, the multimillion-dollar diplomatic center or the gleaming new waterfront convention center. She nixed them all. Instead, Persad-Bissessar will be sworn in at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the foreign ministry building across the street from a park where her supporters will be able to congregate...
G8 summit communique drops pledge on aid to Africa
Larry Elliot, Guardian -- The west's seven richest countries are planning to abandon a pledge to double aid to the poorest countries in Africa by this year, the Guardian has learned. A leaked draft communique for this month's Canadian-hosted Muskoka summit contains no mention of the commitment made at the 2005 Gleneagles summit to provide an extra $25bn (£17bn) a year for Africa as part of a $50bn increase in financial assistance. The apparent watering down of the pledge follows strong lobbying from France and Italy, which are way off track to meet their 2010 aid goals, and provides an early test for David Cameron at his first G8 summit. Britain has been at the forefront of attempts to increase western aid to Africa over the past five years, with both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown insisting that the Gleneagles promise be included in successive G8 communiques...
No comments:
Post a Comment