At a meeting of the G8, the Bush administration agreed to cancel at least $40 billion in debt owed to international lenders by the world's 18 poorest countries, most of them in Africa.(The Week ...)(Brief Article)

At a meeting of the G8, the Bush administration agreed to cancel at least $40 billion in debt owed to international lenders by the world's 18 poorest countries, most of them in Africa. In earlier negotiations with Britain, the United States had pressed to have the lenders write off the loans entirely; Britain argued that rich nations should repay the debts themselves. The final deal struck by the world's eight wealthiest countries represented something of a compromise, but it leaned strongly toward Blair's position: The debts were canceled, but the United States and others agreed to compensate the World Bank and the African Development Bank for forfeiting ...