Bono And Geldof Put Pressure On Bush.... Campaigning anti-poverty rockers Bono and Bob Geldof teamed up this week (begs04Jun07) to put pressure on U.S. President George W. Bush ahead of the G-8 summit in Germany.The pair, accompanied by Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour, discussed efforts to alleviate poverty in the developing world ahead of the meeting of world leaders in Rostock, which kicked off on Wednesday (06Jun07).Bush has praised Bono in the past for his humanitarian work, hailing him "an amazing guy". However, he was forced to miss out on talks with his political colleagues about development spending today (08Jun07) after he was taken ill with a stomach complaint. Leaders agreed a $60 billion (£30 billion) pledge to fight diseases such as Aids in Africa and restated promises to double development spending on the continent.Meanwhile the campaigning rocker has blasted the G8's pledge to spend $60 billion (£30 billion) on the fight against Aids, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa - insisting only a fraction of that sum will be spent.The leaders of the G8 nations made the vow at the summit in Germany today (08Jun07) - revealing half the amount would be provided by the U.S.But Bono and anti-poverty campaigners believe only $3 billion will be new money - and that the G8 aren't doing all they can to alleviate third world suffering.He says, "I think it is deliberately the language of obfuscation. It is deliberately misleading."
Tagged in Bono