Africa - Sir Bob vs Bush & Blair

President Bush has appeared Live on CNN giving an address in which he said, “We believe Africa is full of promise, talent and opportunity.” He spoke as several African leaders arrived for talks on the needs of the continent. The five representatives, from Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia and Niger, will discuss African debt relief, trade, AIDS and the promotion of democracy. All this comes in the wake of Sir Bob Geldoff’s call to protest and the setting up of Live8, in an attempt to highlight the plight of Africa. Tony Blair has also met with George W Bush in the last week and reached some agreement with the leader. But the US offer of ‘Trade not Aid’ may not satisfy those critical of the current status quo. And Status Quo is just one of the many bands that have been lined up for Sir Bob’s jamboree, with concerts announced in London, Edinburgh, Paris and elsewhere. But the call on a million to march and protest against the G8 meeting near Gleneagles, Scotland, has brought much criticism. Much of it surrounds the logistical nightmare that may ensue. And with a call by Sir Bob to ‘re-enact Dunkirk’ with a flotilla of boats from France, many have suggested he’s ‘lost the plot’. "We are asking people to recreate Dunkirk where people got in their boats to rescue our soldiers," he said. He also called on people in the city to throw open their homes to accommodate them.The issue of Africa, has at least entered the mainstream agenda. [15:53 GMT 13/06/2005]