Ten thousand protest outside World Summit
Ten thousand environmentalists and social activists are protesting outside the World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa.
The protesters have set off in two marches from the shack-ridden township of Alexandra to the venue of the in the glittering Johannesburg suburb of Sandton.
They are aiming to highlight the economic disparities world leaders are meeting to address.
"We must liberate the poor of the world from poverty," South African President Thabo Mbeki said at a rally before one march. He called on the summit to set clear timetables for reaching its goals.
"It is easy for all of us to agree on nice words," he said. "Now has come the time for action."
South African security forces, with a long history of dealing with major demonstrations, reinforced an already tight security cordon around the conference grounds.
They brought in armoured vehicles, more police with riot helmets and shields and strung coils of barbed wire at key points within the steel-and-concrete perimeter fence.
Demonstrators dressed in red T-shirts and bandanas danced and sang old anti-apartheid songs as they gathered in Alexandra, a sprawling township of tin shacks and open sewers a long walk from Sandton, South Africa's icon of conspicuous consumption.
The 10-day summit has been focusing on ways to get water, electricity, education and health care to the world's poorest while protecting the environment. About 1.2 billion people lack clean drinking water and 2 billion are without sanitation.
