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The millions donated to Ethiopia in 1985 thanks to Live Aid were supposed to go towards relieving a natural disaster. In reality, donors became participants in a civil war. Many lives were saved, but even more may have been lost in Live Aid's unwitting support of a Stalinist-style resettlement project Isn't it better to do something rather than give in to despair or cynicism and do nothing? This is the reproachful question familiar to anyone who has criticised organisations that view themselves as dedicated to doing good in the world. To those UN agencies, relief organisations and development groups working...

Peaches Geldof has died today at the age of 25. The mother-of-two, daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates, was found by police at her house in Wrotham, Kent, at 1.35pm. Kent Police said the death was 'sudden' and 'unexplained'. In a heartbreaking statement her father Bob said: 'Peaches has died. We are beyond pain. She was the wildest, funniest, cleverest, wittiest and the most bonkers of all of us. 'Writing 'was' destroys me afresh. What a beautiful child. How is this possible that we will not see her again? How is that bearable? 'We loved her and will cherish...

Sir Bob Geldof has a message for the youth of the world: We’re all going to die!Some of us may be closer than othersSir Bob, musician-turned-activist, is best known, ironically, for his Live Aid concerts to eliminate African famine. Unlike most people, who embrace nihilism in their youth, he seems to have adopted it in a senior moment. In any event, he was back in South Africa last week to announce to a group of school children that the end of the world is nigh. Apparently all of his efforts and best intentions for saving the world were, well, pointless....

SIR Bob Geldof says the rock and roll age is dead. The Boomtown Rats star and Live Aid icon said: "The central problem is, for us, rock and roll was a social medium. "That period has passed because now there are many alternative social mediums. Rock and roll needs a context in which to exist. "It doesn't exist anymore. It's ceased to be culturally relevant. "The rock and roll age is dead, in my view. He added: "I'm amazed it died. No-one expected that, but I'm lucky I jumped in halfway through it.''

The singers Bono and Bob Geldof have incurred the wrath of Brian Johnson, a fellow rock star and frontman of AC/DC, over their celebrity activism. Johnson, the gravel-voiced British singer of Australia’s biggest rock band, has joined a growing group of critics of Geldof and the U2 singer over their very public charity work, saying they should stop lecturing audiences about charity work and instead do their good deeds in private. “I do it myself, I don’t tell everybody I’m doing it,” Johnson, 62, told Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper. “I don’t tell everybody they should give money – they can’t...

Audience gasps as Irish rock star tells Mary Coughlan she has great gamsControversial rock star Bob Geldof infuriated female delegates at the Global Irish Forum in Dublin Saturday when he told deputy Prime Minister Mary Coughlan that she had lovely legs. Coughlan visibly blushed when Geldof made his announcement and there was an audible gasp from members of the audience. Geldof "went way over the line," said one female delegate who asked not to be named. "That was a blatantly sexist remark about a woman who is doing a professional job at the very highest level." Another woman said she...

London — Rock star Bob Geldof called on the Group of Eight rich nations on Tuesday to honour their commitment to double aid to Africa by 2010. The G8 agreed the aid increase at its 2005 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, but a report last month by the Africa Progress Panel said that under current spending plans the G8 will fall 40 billion dollars short of its target. "They should be at a 50 per cent point in their commitment, but in fact the G8 are only at 14 per cent," former Boomtown Rats singer Geldof, who is lobbying the summit...

There’s a remarkable article in the current Time magazine by Bob Geldof, musician and activist, regarding a recent trip he made to Africa with President George W. Bush. Geldof, a liberal, disagrees with Bush on many things, especially Iraq. Geldof is also fair. He has observed what Bush has done in Africa, particularly on AIDS, and is enormously grateful for the president’s truly unprecedented actions. To cite just one example: in 2003, only 50,000 Africans were on HIV antiretroviral drugs; today, thanks to American relief, 1.3 million receive free medicine. In an illuminating article, there are, however, two items Geldof...

I gave the president my book. He raised an eyebrow. "Who wrote this for ya, Geldof?" he said without looking up from the cover. Very dry. "Who will you get to read it for you, Mr. President?" I replied. No response.

I gave the president my book. He raised an eyebrow. "Who wrote this for ya, Geldof?" he said without looking up from the cover. Very dry. "Who will you get to read it for you, Mr. President?" I replied. No response. The Most Powerful Man in the World studied the front cover. Geldof in Africa — " 'The international best seller.' You write that bit yourself?" "That's right. It's called marketing. Something you obviously have no clue about or else I wouldn't have to be here telling people your Africa story." It is some story. And I have always wondered...

Less than three weeks after Al Gore, the environmental campaigner and former vice president, visited Istanbul to announce its participation in the round-the-world Live Aid concerts on July 7, organizers announced yesterday that the city had been dropped from the roster of nine sites because of a lack of interest coupled with security concerns in advance of general elections on July 22, Reuters reported.

Poverty campaigner Bob Geldof has condemned leaders of the G8 nations for coming up with a deal on Africa which he says is a "farce". He praised Tony Blair, who he said had "gone down all guns blazing" in an effort to get the eight nations to deliver on previous aid commitments. But he said he also felt sorry for the out-going PM as he had secured "no legacy stuff" in the two-day talks. And he launched a strongly-worded attack on the other summit leaders. At a joint press conference with fellow rock star and Live8 organiser, Bono, Mr Geldof...

LONDON/MPHANDULA, Malawi (Reuters) - Madonna feels responsible for the children of the world and has found herself a "big, big project" to help orphans in Malawi. Gwyneth Paltrow declares "I am African" in a new advertisement for a charity working in Africa. The continent has long been a favorite destination for celebrity campaigners, going back to 1954 when Danny Kaye became UNICEF's goodwill ambassador. U2's Bono and fellow Irish rocker Bob Geldof are Africa veterans, and more recently Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have brought Hollywood gloss to the continent. But the latest flood of stars searching for a good...

Live 8 hero Bob Geldof has been forced to cancel two concerts in Italy because of lack of public interest, after only 45 people turned up to see him perform in Milan, Italy's La Stampa newspaper reported on Saturday. Geldof walked out of Milan's 12,000-capacity Arena Civica on Friday without playing, given the paltry attendance. His manager explained that a concert for less than 400 people would not be viable, the newspaper said. The 54-year-old Irish rocker, who said he had flown in from South Africa for the gig, sought to placate angry fans afterwards by promising to give a...

LONDON (AFP) - Live 8 organisers including Irish rocker Bob Geldof has lambasted leaders of the Group of Eight rich nations for falling short of promises, made one year ago, to alleviate suffering in Africa. In July 2005, Geldof helped to organise 10 Live 8 concerts worldwide -- timed to coincide with the G8 summit hosted by Britain -- to help raise awareness of the plight of Africans living in poverty. Geldof, joined by fellow Live 8 performer and Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour, on Thursday issued a G8 progress update alongside campaigning body DATA -- which stands for Debt, AIDS,...

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Billions of dollars in aid will achieve "zero" in Africa unless governments on the continent are serious about fighting corruption and poverty, Irish rocker and humanitarian Bob Geldof said. The 54-year-old political activist, who will be performing in Johannesburg and Cape Town this week, said he saw "many, many optimistic signs and just as many crap signs" that African governments were cleaning up their act. "The rich world can pour endless billions into the continent of Africa but none of this will work unless African governments are serious," Geldof told a news conference in Johannesburg. "Corruption is...

LONDON (AFP) - Charities have accused celebrities of "hijacking" the Make Poverty History campaign and said pledges to cut the gap between rich and poor nations has had little impact. In a year-end assessment of the campaign, The Independent quoted aid workers expressing disappointment that there had been scant progress made on promises made at the Group of Eight richest nations meeting in Scotland in July. Dave Timms, from British anti-poverty charity the World Development Movement, told the newspaper the campaign had some "good elements" in raising public awareness but described it as "perhaps bravely naive". "People like us who...

Bob Geldof gets Nobel honour Award announced at Live8 DVD launch Bob Geldof has been named the 2005 Nobel Man Of Peace. The title is voted for by a committee of all the living Nobel Peace Prize winners, in honour of "his unflagging work and powerful voice on behalf of the poor of Africa over the last 20 years and in particular the last 12 months." "He has harnessed world opinion to make political leaders act immediately, improving the lives of millions." He will be presented with the honour in Rome on November 24 at the World Summit of Nobel...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Is there trouble in aging rocker/self-proclaimed political activist paradise of late? Just when you thought it was finally safe to at least take in a U2 concert without being subjected to more political rhetoric when all you wanted was to sit back and enjoy the music and put the troubles of the world aside for three measley hours and you're already halfway through the concert without one word from anyone on stage that's even remotely political and you're thinking to yourself that you can finally chill out and just groove to...

Yaoundé, Cameroon LIVE 8, that extraordinary media event that some people of good intentions in the West just orchestrated, would have left us Africans indifferent if we hadn't realized that it was an insult both to us and to common sense. We have nothing against those who this month, in a stadium, a street, a park, in Berlin, London, Moscow, Philadelphia, gathered crowds and played guitar and talked about global poverty and aid for Africa. But we are troubled to think that they are so misguided about what Africa's real problem is, and dismayed by their willingness to propose solutions...