Lesotho declares emergency, appeals for food aid

The tiny African kingdom of Lesotho declared a state of emergency yesterday and appealed for more food aid, saying thousands of people would otherwise face severe shortages because of prolonged drought.

Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili said the mountainous territory's population of around two million required 57,000 tonnes of food products to feed some 600,000 people who would need aid until the 2005 harvest.