Ethiopia asks for urgent food aid

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The Ethiopian government has asked the international community for emergency food aid for 6.2 million people. The request came at a meeting of donors to discuss the impact of a prolonged drought affecting parts of East Africa. BBC correspondent Mike Wooldridge witnessed Ethiopia’s famine in the 80s. Now he’s back, Marco Werman talks with him. Download MP3

• BBC coverage

Lucy in the sky with diamonds

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Two women named Lucy are in the news today. One is the schoolgirl who inspired the Beatles’ song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”; the other is a 3 million-year-old skeleton. Anchor Marco Werman makes the connection.

Fighting blindness in Ethiopia

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Health problems that afflict the world’s poor have received unprecedented attention in recent years. Governments and foundations alike are pouring billion of dollars into the fights against diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. But medical workers who focus on lesser known diseases say their efforts remain as difficult as ever. Reporter Odette Yousef traveled to Ethiopia to follow the struggles of one American organization that’s fighting trachoma, a leading cause of blindness in Africa.