Africa: Leaders ask for more aid

African leaders meeting in Egypt on Tuesday begged for cash ahead of July's Group of Eight (G8) summit, but poor attendance showed tepid faith in the continent's ability to achieve the stability and transparency meant to underpin the meeting. A report of the organisation's activities over the past year, and its recommendations for the following, stressed the continent will need another $50-billion to $75-billion in aid if it is to reach the United Nations millennium goal of halving global poverty by 2015.