Finance summit continues in Tanzania

Presidents from eastern and southern Africa are to hold a second day of talks in Tanzania with the heads of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

On the opening day, the World Bank President, James Wolfensohn, said proposals to cancel the debts of the world's poorest nations would bankrupt the institutions. He said writing off the debt would require shareholders to approve a massive injection of capital, or else risk leaving the bank without the funds needed to provide fresh loans to developing nations.

A quarter of loans advanced by the two institutions are to African countries. The summit also considered how best to combat the epidemics of HIV and AIDS which are devastating many African nations.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service