Millennium Summit Focuses on Africa

Burdened by debt, war, poverty and AIDS, Africa is getting special attention at the U.N. Millennium Summit with world leaders calling for a new commitment to bring the continent out of its misery and give its people hope. ``One more day of delayed action is a day too late for our people,'' pleaded Botswana's President Festus Mogae, whose country is among those hardest hit by AIDS. ``Our people are crying out for help. Let us respond while there is time.'' Mogae appealed Thursday for ``tangible and adequate resources'' to educate his people about the virus, test and counsel them and provide them with the expensive drugs that are combatting it. A third of Botswana's adults are infected with HIV. About 150 world leaders - the greatest assembly of presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and other rulers in history - listened as British Prime Minister Tony Blair, President Clinton, Cuba's Fidel Castro and a long line of others addressed the unprecedented session Wednesday. Qatar's emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, opened the summit's second day by urging the United Nations to get more involved in Mideast peace efforts - a call that came as leaders, including German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, planned meetings with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to try to persuade him to make decisions needed to conclude a peace agreement.