Annan criticizes Bush for withholding U.N. money

United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan this week criticized President Bush for withholding $34 million in funding for the United Nations Population Fund, Xinhau News Agency reports. The Bush administration last week said it would withhold the funding for the third year in a row because UNPF operates programs in China. Bush contends that UNPF supports China's policy of coerced abortions to maintain its goal of one child per family. Annan--and most other world leaders--say the UNPF money would be used for a host of health and wellness programs worldwide, including combating HIV in developing countries. Annan says the fund is doing "very essential work on reproductive health" and notes that the United States is the only nation in the world to withhold funding for "non-budgetary reasons."