Jolie speaks about schools, not babies or Brad

JOHANNESBURG - Heavily-pregnant Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has broken her silence from her African hideaway, but she wasn't talking babies or Brad Pitt.

Jolie, whose trip to Namibia has sparked a blaze of interest in the international media, took time to promote one of her favourite causes: boosting educational opportunities for the world's poor.

Talking to reporters in a teleconference with British finance minister Gordon Brown, Jolie said it was time for the world to get behind the Global Campaign for Education, a new plan aimed at giving 100 million children in poor countries the chance to go to school.

"I'm just thrilled to have this opportunity to help bring this to the forefront of peoples' minds this week... It is a rare occasion that I am really thanking the press," said Jolie.

She and Pitt have seen their Namibian hotel besieged by paparazzi photographers eager for pictures of the couple's expected child.

Jolie's call came as US activists increased pressure for support for the education initiative, which got a boost this month when Brown announced the British government would spend US$15 billion over 10 years to train teachers and build and equip schools in poor countries.

Brown said the onus was now on other developed countries to pitch in, adding that he was sure both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund would both sharpen the world's focus on the need for education.

"We have to raise US$10 billion per year if we are to ensure that every child has access to education," Brown said.

The appeal for help for the world's underprivileged children marked a return to form for Jolie, who together with Pitt has in recent weeks played a cat-and-mouse game with reporters desperate for news of their first child, expected in mid-May.

The celebrity couple issued a plea for privacy at their Namibian hotel on the cold shores of the Atlantic, but since then has allowed selected media, including a US television network, access.

Jolie declined to discuss her own baby but said schools for the world's children remained close to her heart.

"It has been proven that a basic primary education can completely change the lives of people around the world," said Jolie, who has made numerous visits to refugee camps in her role as a UN goodwill ambassador and has adopted a son from Cambodia and a daughter from Ethiopia.

"It's not just my voice, it's everybody's voice ... this is the best investment we can make."

- REUTERS