This news item must surely rate a protest song, the tune is obvious...
RtS

466 killed in a month by Ethiopian famine Police quell China mine riot Couple married on television split up Court trip was mother's ruin Yeltsin's pension bonus Phantom victory for Bush Ban for Manneken Pis beer

466 killed in a month by Ethiopian famine

AT least 466 people, most of them children, died from famine last month in the south-eastern Gode region of Ethiopia, local authorities said yesterday. It was the first official figure of deaths from the effects of a food shortage that is understood to be threatening the lives of 1.3 million people.

Sheikh Abdullahi, who is in charge of health in the region, said that in one district alone, Denan, 263 people died, including 191 children under five. In Gode, the regional capital, 203 people died. Sixty per cent were children under five. Mr Abdullahi said: "Such a disaster has never happened in the history of this region."

Aid organisations believe Ethiopia's famine this time is confined to several pockets, including Aadalhe, Iemi, Denan and Gudis, all within 100 miles of Gode. The region has not had rain for more than three years, and food crops are devastated.

5 April 2000: Threat of famine returns to Ethiopia

Police quell China mine riot

ARMED paramilitary police were called in to a bankrupt mine in Liaoning province north-eastern China, after laid-off workers launched violent protests.

Hong Kong reports said 20,000 workers smashed windows and blocked roads during riots over low redundancy payments at the Yangjiazhang molybdenum mine, near the coastal city of Huludao.

A mine official said: "The mine went bankrupt, and the workers were told to go home. We gave them redundancy money but they thought it was not enough. The situation was out of control, and [armed police] came to keep order." David Rennie, Beijing

Couple married on television split up

TWO strangers who married on television had their union annulled last night.

Darva Conger became Mrs Rick Rockwell in front of millions of viewers when a man she had never met picked her from 50 potential brides on a Fox television show called Who Wants to Marry a Multi-millionaire? in February. They were sent on a honeymoon cruise, during which they hardly met.

Miss Conger was soon to discover that her groom had been the subject of a restraining order won by a former girlfriend, who alleged that he hit her and threatened her. He denies the accusations. Ben Fenton

23 February 2000: Comedian makes a mockery of 'marry a millionaire' TV show

Court trip was mother's ruin

A MOTHER who attended an American court as a character witness for her son, who was facing the death penalty, was so drunk that she was jailed.

Alice Tirado, the mother of Francisco, 18, who had been convicted of the murder of two women, kidnapping and attempted murder during a gang initiation, was stopped as she went into the sentencing hearing in North Carolina and an alcohol test showed that she was more than three times over the drink-driving limit.

Judge William Gore sent her to jail on a temporary commitment order and ordered mental counselling.

Yeltsin's pension bonus

BORIS YELTSIN, the former Russian president, was presented with his pension book and documents yesterday.

Under the terms of a decree signed by Vladimir Putin, Mr Yeltsin will receive just over £250 a month. An ordinary citizen with his length of service could expect £14 a month.

1 January 2000: Former KGB man takes over as Yeltsin quits

Phantom victory for Bush

GEORGE W BUSH has thanked voters for supporting him in a primary in Kansas on Tuesday - but the poll was cancelled in February.

"Thank you Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Kansas," the Texas governor said in a news release. He won in the first two states but the inclusion of Kansas was admitted to be "a goof" by his campaign team. Kansas had cancelled its primary for lack of funds, and probably lack of relevance so late in the primary season.

Ban for Manneken Pis beer

A BELGIAN beer labelled with a picture of Manneken Pis, the Brussels statue of a boy urinating, has been banned in Ohio.

A spokesman for the Ohio Department of Commerce, said drink labels with "immodest, vulgar or sensuous images" are banned by the state.