U.N. chief: Rich nations must help Africa

Living in poverty
A new report from the secretary-general said a number of countries have made notable progress on some goals — but not a single African country is likely to achieve all the goals by the target date.

According to the report, two-fifths of Africa's population still live on less than $1 a day, the continent has 12 percent of the world's population but accounts for just 1 percent of global gross domestic product, and its volume of external trade represents just 2 percent of global trade.

There is also serious concern that international assistance to help the badly struggling Palestinian economy is in jeopardy. The main donors met Monday morning on the sidelines of the Africa session, and ahead of that meeting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held a session with Ban on Sunday afternoon and then with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Led by Europe, international donors in December pledged $7.4 billion over three years to help Palestinians as new peace talks began with Israel.

"We'll have an opportunity to make certain that everybody is paying attention to their Paris commitments to the Palestinians and also to get a report from Prime Minister Fayyad on how things are going on the ground," Rice said on her way into the meeting.

Asked whether the Arabs were coming through with their pledges, Rice said: "Yes, I believe people are very attentive to their pledges but this will give us another opportunity."

The General Assembly's annual ministerial meeting opens Tuesday with speeches by Ban;  President Bush, making his last appearance before the world body; and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, also representing the European Union.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — whose nuclear program will be discussed on the sidelines of the session — was scheduled to speak on Tuesday afternoon along with Sudan's Vice President Ali Osman Taha.

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