Key Quotes for 2005

A world perspective in bite-size chunks
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Last update: Wednesday 25th March
 
Already 50000 people are dying every day from the effects of poverty. In Africa, 70% of the population depends on agriculture for a living. If that’s affected by rainfall, then potentially 70% of the population is affected. That’s 490 million people.
EnvironmentThe Baptist Times – 14th July 2005
 
This year the G8 has only pledged $25 billion (£13.8bn) of aid. This is not very much in global terms. Last year, the G8 nations gave $56.6 billion (£31.4bn). But they spent $611 billion (£339.4bn) on defence, $300 billion (£166.6bn) was spent on war in Iraq and the US spent half of the proposed $25 billion (£192.9bn), some $13.6 billion (£7.5bn), on armaments.

MoneyThe Baptist Times – 14th July 2005
 
The typical sounds of the streets at night in Guatemala City echo the fear that is the product of an increasingly violent society. There were 408 reported murders of children and youth in the first ten months of 2002, a 27% increase and a figure still rising.

CrimeThe Toybox Charity – August 2005
 
Less than 8% of people attend Sunday worship in any week. Less then a quarter are members of any church, and fewer than a tenth of children attend a Sunday school. In most counties of England the non-church goers represent over 90% of the population.
ChurchThe Briefing – August 2005
 
The number of abortions carried out in England and Wales increased by almost 4,000 last year. Figures from the Department of Health showed that 185,400 abortions were performed on women living in England and Wales in 2004 – a rise of 2.1% from 181,600 in 2003.
Social IssuesThe Universe – 31st July 2005
 
85 black Sudanese boy slaves were recently freed from their Arab masters. All reported that they were forced to work without pay, were frequently beaten and subjected to racial insults. More than 80% said they had been forced to practice Islam against their will, while 18% claimed they had been raped by their masters, or those known to him.
Odd FactsLifetimes – September 2004
 
Approximately a quarter of runaways in the UK each year some 20-000 children are under the age of 11. The average age of a runaway in the UK is 14, in India it is 9 or 10. One quarter of runaways in the UK will sleep in unsafe places putting themselves at serious risk of harm. In the UK around one in 14 children who run away will survive through stealing, begging, drug dealing and prostitution.

Social IssuesThe Sentinel – 4th July 2005
 
Over the past 50 years improvements in agricultural technologies have led to a dramatic increase in food output. This can be seen in terms of the reduction in the price of food over that period – the cost of food has fallen by about 75%.

Food and DrinkThe Independent – 12th July 2005
 
£2 feeds a child in India for a week. In comparison, £5 helps two children in the UK make a call to a free telephone helpline. £100 supports a street child in India through primary school with books, uniform, essential medicines and a midday meal.
MoneyThe Sentinel – 4th July 2005
 
A study in the British Medical Journal found people who used a mobile when driving were four times more likely to have a serious crash.

Odd FactsThe Independent – 12th July 2005
 
A survey for Cancer Research UK, also found that 65% of men had no idea that being overweight increased their chance of developing cancer. Only 22%of men ate the recommended minimum of five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. It was also found that two thirds (65%) failed to meet the recommended target of 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week.

HealthThe Sentinel – 4th July 2005
 
A total of 1888 motorists in England and Wales were given a £30 fine for driving while using a hand-held mobile phone in December 2003.
CrimeThe Independent – 12th July 2005
 
British men seem to like what they see in the mirror – with a quarter in denial about their weight problem. Just 1% considered themselves obese and 39% said they were over weight – but national statistics show that 65% of men are actually overweight or obese. The vast majority – 54%, considered themselves a normal weight and 6% thought they were under weight.

HealthThe Sentinel – 4th July 2005
 
Most cases of arranged marriages involve women with some girls as young as 13. Although experts suggest up to 15% of cases may involve men marrying against their will.

Social IssuesThe Sentinel – 13th July 2005
 
Some 6% of teenage schoolchildren claim to have carried a gun in the past year with one in 10 admitting to having carried a knife. The study of 11 to 15 year olds also found as many as one in 10 of the boys said they had carried a real or replica gun in the last 12 months.
Social IssuesThe Sentinel – 4th July 2005
 
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