Protesters in their tens of thousands spoke out against world poverty today in Scotland.
Police expected between 100,000 and 120,000 people to take part in the Make Poverty History march and rally in Edinburgh.
Speakers at the rally included two Roman Catholic cardinals, the moderator of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, Bianca Jagger, pop star Daniel Bedingfield, and actor Peter Postlethwaite.
Campaigners set off from York today for the huge rally in Edinburgh designed to put presssure on world leaders meeting at the forthcoming G8 Summit at Gleneagles, Scotland.
Two chartered trains left the city this morning, carrying hundreds of demonstrators. Among them were Mothers' Union members from across the York Diocese, the organisation's worldwide president, Trish Heywood, and provincial presidents from Scotland, Uganda, north India, the Indian Ocean, Canada, and a Mothers' Union worker from Burundi.
Margaret Brookes, York Diocesan President, said the majority of the Mothers' Union's membership lived in countries burdened by debt repayment.
Those countries suffered from a lack of health care and education, unjust trade laws and the crippling effect of HIV and AIDS on family life. She said: "This is our opportunity to say we've got to do something."
Updated: 11:45 Saturday, July 02, 2005
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