U.N. expert tells African nations to forget about debt

A top economic adviser to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged African countries Monday to default on their debts if rich lender countries refused to cancel them. American economist Jeffrey Sachs made the recommendation to a hunger conference on the eve of a summit of the African Union. ''The time has come to end this charade. The debts are unaffordable,'' said Sachs [more]