Thousands of supporters of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe have staged a huge march in the capital, Harare. They were backing Mr Mugabe's bid for re-election next year. It was advertised as "a million man march". Harare residents say it was the biggest public demonstration in the capital for several years.
One of the organisers, liberation war veteran leader Jabulani Sibanda, said the march was meant to show the world that Zimbabweans were united. BBC southern Africa correspondent Peter Biles says many of those marching are thought to have been bussed into Harare from outlying areas.
After making their way through the city centre, the crowd moved on to the suburb of Highfield - a place of huge symbolic importance as it was the venue for Mr Mugabe's first speech in Zimbabwe when he returned home after the liberation war in 1980.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has been engaged in talks with the governing Zanu-PF party for some months now. But our correspondent says the political stalemate in the country has yet to be broken.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Protests took place in Khartoum following Friday prayers. Crowds of people have marched in the Sudanese capital Khartoum to call for a tougher sentence for a UK teacher jailed for insulting religion. Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, was jailed for 15 days on Thursday after allowing children in her class to name a teddy bear Muhammad. Some news agencies reported protesters had called for her to be shot.
Muslim Labour peer Lord Ahmed is to lead a parliamentary group to Sudan to try to secure Mrs Gibbons' release. Lord Ahmed expects to meet the president and possibly the chief justice, and is travelling at the invitation of the Sudanese government. A Foreign Office spokesman has said Ms Gibbons said she was "fine" when visited by consular staff on Friday. The marchers took to the streets after Friday prayers to denounce the sentence as too lenient.
The protesters gathered in Martyrs Square, outside the presidential palace in the capital, many of them carrying knives and sticks. Some news agencies reported thousands of people took part in the protest, but a BBC reporter at the scene said up to a thousand marchers turned out. According to some agencies, some of the protesters chanted: "Shame, shame on the UK", "No tolerance - execution" and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad".
One demonstrator told reporters that it was unacceptable to take a toy and call it Muhammad. "We can't accept it from anybody. Even if they can do that in Europe, they cannot do it here in Sudan. We ask our rulers and judges to review what they have said. Fifteen days is not enough."
Hundreds of riot police were deployed but they did not break up the demonstration. The Foreign Office said it was seeking more details about the protest. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been in touch with Mrs Gibbons' family for a second time, speaking to a close relative of the teacher. Foreign Secretary David Miliband has expressed "in the strongest terms" the UK's concern at her detention. On Friday afternoon a spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "Consular staff have visited her today and she said she is fine." He said there were no plans to issue advice to British nationals living and working in Sudan in the light of the trouble, but diplomatic staff were keeping "a close eye" on the situation.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said he could not "see any justification" for the sentence, calling it an "absurdly disproportionate response" to a "minor cultural faux pas". The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (Fosis), which represents more than 90,000 Muslim students in the UK and Ireland, said it was "deeply concerned" at what was a "gravely disproportionate" verdict. The federation's president, Ali Alhadithi, said: "What we have here is a case of cultural misunderstandings, and the delicacies of the matter demonstrate that it was not the intention of Gillian Gibbons to imply any offence against Islam or Muslims. "We hope that the Sudanese authorities will take immediate action to secure a safe release for Gillian Gibbons."
In September, Mrs Gibbons allowed her class of primary school pupils to name the teddy bear Muhammad as part of a study of animals and their habitats. The court heard that she was arrested on Sunday after another member of staff at Unity High School complained to the Ministry of Education.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
By Konstantin Rozhnov - Business reporter, BBC News.
Poverty campaigner Bob Geldof and Africa advocacy group Data have introduced an African Trade Initiative ahead of the EU-Africa summit. Its aim is "to ensure that Africa is able to grow through increased exports and regional trade". But Data argues European Union is "rushing" Africa into "potentially unfair" trade agreements.
Mr Geldof also told the BBC that the developed world had failed to deliver its promises on Africa."The initiative emphasizes the urgent need for further opening of EU and US markets to African products, reform of subsidies that harm African producers and enhanced aid for trade commitments that address Africa's supply-side challenges," Data said.
Among other things, the African Trade Initiative highlights EU efforts to introduce new trade deals with former Europe's colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. These Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) are set to replace earlier preferential trade agreements that linked the EU and a lot of its trading partners but have been ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization and expire at the end of the year. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda accepted EPA earlier this week.
Peter Mandelson, the EU trade commissioner, and Louis Michel, the EU development commissioner, have written in The Guardian that "critics of the EU's trade agreements are gambling with livelihoods in the developing world". But opponents argue EPA could damage some of the world's poorest countries, as their markets will be opened to unfair competition from EU.
"The African countries that have signed will get 100% access to EU markets, but in return they have had to agree to specific tariff reductions on EU products," Data said . Mr Geldof also said that "we should not enforce trade liberalization on the poor". Trade is the key to deal with the extreme poverty, but it is not happening because Africa's commodity-based economies are not attracting enough money, he said.
Mr Geldof thinks the developed countries should protect Africa through "aid for trade" scheme as US did for Europe after the WWII, and it will "stop people dying on our TV screens". The Old Economies used to be afraid of China, and now "people are excited about prospects of China and India", he said. "It's time for the Old Economies to come to Africa," Mr Geldof said.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
McCarthy played for Bafana Bafana at the 2006 Nations Cup. South Africa have ditched Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy for the 2008 African Nations Cup in Ghana. Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira also dumped defender Bradley Carnell and midfielders Delron Buckley and Macbeth Sibaya from the squad.
The Brazilian refused to reveal why a striker he had battled to get back into a goal-shy Bafana Bafana squad was suddenly surplus to requirements. McCarthy has not been informed that he would not be going to the tournament. Rumours swirled around the five-star hotel where the squad was named as to why the joint leading Bafana scorer with 29 goals had not made a squad to be captained by Blackburn team-mate, defender-cum-midfielder Aaron Mokoena.
Some observers suspected South Africa struck a deal with Blackburn manager Mark Hughes to leave McCarthy out as Premiership clubs brace for a mass exodus of stars for the tournament which starts on 20 January.
When Parreira took over charged with building a strong squad for the 2010 World Cup hosts, his first serious challenge was to woo temperamental McCarthy out of self-imposed retirement since the 2006 Nations Cup in Egypt.
McCarthy, who burst into prominence by scoring nine goals at the 1998 Nations Cup in Burkina Faso to help South Africa finish second, claimed he was wrongly accused by national association officials for stirring a bonuses storm.
Parreira eventually got his way after a five-minute meeting in England and McCarthy scored on his return against Zambia in Cape Town two months ago to draw level at the top of the goals list with retired Shaun Bartlett.
South Africa, the first of the 16 finalists to name their squad, have been drawn with Angola, Senegal and Tunisia in Group D at the Nations Cup finals.
SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Rowen Fernandez (Arminia Bielefeld, Germany), Moeneeb Josephs (Wits University), Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs)
Defenders: Brett Evans (Ajax Cape Town), Bevan Fransman (Moroka Swallows), Tsepo Masilela (Maccabi Haifa), Vuyo Mere (Mamelodi Sundowns) Benson Mhlongo (Mamelodi Sundowns), Aaron Mokoena (Blackburn Rovers), Bryce Moon (Ajax Cape Town), Nasief Morris (Panathinaikos)
Midfielders: Lance Davids (Djurgardens), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Lamontville Golden Arrows), Teko Modise (Orlando Pirates), Surprise Moriri (Mamelodi Sundowns), Steven Pienaar (Everton), Siphiwe Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs), Elrio van Heerden (Club Brugge)
Forwards: Lerato Chabangu (Mameodi Sundowns), Thembinkosi Fanteni (Ajax Cape Town), Katlego Mphela (SuperSport United), Excellent Walaza (Orlando Pirates), Sibusiso Zuma (Arminia Bielefeld)
BBC SPORTS REPORT.
The Ugandan justice system is tacitly condoning sexual violence against women and girls in the north of the country, Amnesty International says in a report. The vast majority of sexual abuse cases were not reported because most victims had lost hope that perpetrators would be jailed, the human rights group said. "Violence against women is endemic throughout Uganda," a spokesman said.
The 21-year conflict in the north with Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels had exacerbated the problem, he said. The LRA built a reputation for mutilating their victims and kidnapping thousands of children to serve as fighters, porters and sex slaves.
Despite last year's truce between the army and LRA, the region remains insecure and an estimated 1.5m people still remain in displacement camps. Forms of violence that Amnesty reports include rape, child sexual abuse and physical assault - perpetrated especially in camps.
Some 1.5m people still live in camps because of the conflict. The victims told Amnesty researchers that the abusers included government forces, law enforcement officers, official authorities, local council leaders, spouses and relatives.
"The situation remains grim, despite the recent cessation of hostilities," said Godfrey Odongo, Amnesty's researcher in Kampala. "The horrific violence committed during the many years of conflict in northern Uganda continues to aggravate discrimination against women and girls in the area today," he said.
The report says police are often reluctant to investigate cases involving soldiers and Ugandan law does not recognise marital rape as a criminal offence.
"Adding insult to injury, the justice system operating in northern Uganda is grossly inadequate in ensuring the protection of these women and girls - almost always allowing the perpetrators to walk free," Mr Odongo said.
Police sometimes demand money to investigate cases and victims are can be asked to pay costs such as providing lunch for investigating officers or to feed the suspect in detention, the report says. Amnesty called for immediate government action to ensure that justice was served in cases of sexual violence.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
A haemorrhagic fever that has killed 16 people and infected more than 50 others in Uganda has been confirmed as the deadly Ebola virus. The casualties are all in the region of Bundibugyo, on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. DR Congo has been battling for five months to contain an Ebola outbreak close to its border with Angola.
Symptoms of the epidemic include high temperature, bloody diarrhoea and visible haemorrhaging. There is no known cure for Ebola, which is fatal in around 80% of cases. Ugandan health officials originally suspected that the Marburg virus was responsible for the deaths, but laboratory testing has shown it to be Ebola. The authorities say they are taking steps to isolate existing cases.
"From the beginning we've been isolating cases... but we can't say it's contained," Reuters news agency quotes Dr Sam Okware, head of Uganda's haemorrhagic fever task force, as saying. "There may be other people in those villages unknown to us," he said.
The virus is thought to be transmitted through the consumption of infected bush meat and can also be spread by contact with the blood secretions of infected people. Some 174 people have died in DR Congo but only 13 of these have been confirmed as having Ebola.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
By Oluwashina Okeleji - BBC Sport, Lagos.
Nigeria may have little to celebrate in 2008 with no sports budget.A financial crisis in Nigerian sport could have severe consequences for the national football teams. The country's parliament has refused to approve the 2008 sports budget, unless the Nigeria Sports Commission (NSC) can account for the money it that it was allocated this year. Of the 43 million dollars allocated, the NSC has accounted for only six million dollars.
The NSC has a deadline of Thurday to explain how the 2007 budget was spent. If it fails to do so, there may be no budget released for 2008. The country's teams in all sports at the Olympic Games in Beijing would also be without state support. The chair of the Senate Committee on Sports, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri said: "This administration will not tolerate corruption.
"The NSC has failed to account for the five billion naira allocated it and this committee will not sit down and listen to you. The Super Eagles will need state support for the Nations Cup "This government has zero tolerance for corruption and we want to know how the money was spent before we can even have a look, allocate and approve the 2008 budget." President Umaru Yar'Adua has pledged to stamp out corruption in the country.
The senate committee also told Sports Minister Abdulrahman Hassan Gimba to resolve the long-running problems between the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) and Nigeria Football League (NFL) as a condition before the 2008 sports budget is considered.
"We will not also look at the budget if the crisis between the NFA and NFL is not resolved," he said.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
By Bill Wilson - Business reporter, BBC News, Johannesburg.
For most countries, securing the rights to host the World Cup means national promotion, a chance to show off the latest technological and engineering innovations, and the chance to cash in on a summer tourism and consumer spending boom. However, for South Africa to secure the 2010 event much more was a stake - both commercially and socially. Staging the globe's showcase football event has become intertwined with rebuilding the economy, banishing the divisions of apartheid, and establishing a new national identity.
This vision of a World Cup that aids the economically disadvantaged is being driven by the head of the 2010 organising committee, Danny Jordaan, a former lecturer, politician and anti-apartheid activist. "Our pursuit of the football World Cup was part of a broader agenda," he explains, speaking at the Soccerex football business convention in Johannesburg. "South Africa, after 1990, faced the challenge of building a brand for our country." And Mr Jordaan says the decision was made, strongly supported by Nelson Mandela, to build a new "national brand" through hosting major sporting events.
"When a country has come from a struggle between black and white people we want them to then come together and pursue the promotion of the country together - the World Cup is such a project," he explains. But Mr Jordaan says the main economic focus, which includes the many World Cup projects, must be on those who were economically excluded in the past. And he believe the fact football's governing body Fifa had awarded the tournament to South Africa "debunked the myth" that global commercial considerations - as opposed to local needs - were the prime motivators in awarding the event.
The organisers insist work on most of the new stadia is on target."Fifa does not have to make billions from the event - the World Cup is strong enough to go to any sort of society" he says. "Also, the revenues for Fifa are not generated by the commercial activities in the host nation, but because global brands based in Japan, the US, or Europe want to be associated with the World Cup name, and pay for the privilege."
Mr Jordaan says that 2010 organisers are operating with a World Cup budget of 3.2bn Rand ($457m; £222m) and the intention is to create jobs and encourage the formation of more small, medium and micro enterprises. "We must create access to the economy for all our people," he explains. "Apartheid excluded 90% of the population from taking part in the daily economic life of our country. "To strengthen the economy you must create access for all parts of society."
Part of the way economic access can be improved is through creating jobs in infrastructure projects around the World Cup, including building stadiums as well as improving things like roads, and water, electricity and gas supplies. "Hosting the World Cup places us within a time frame and a given budget. It installs discipline," says Mr Jordaan. "It also invites the world media to oversee what we are doing and become project managers."
And those "project managers" have not always been kind to South Africa, with many of them still warning that it still may all end in tears. "Every country that has hosted a World Cup has faced its own unique challenges - we are not different to any other nation," says Mr Jordaan, who has a wealth of experience in South African football administration. "The gap in infrastructure is big with countries like Germany," he continues. "So we have to pay more attention to our infrastructure, and each host city now has to report on their progress each month, and our technical team goes and visits the host cities on a regular basis. "But I am confident we will deliver the stadiums."
However, Mr Jordaan admits that problems remained in Cape Town, where a new stadium has proved controversial, and in his home city of Port Elizabeth, where the target date might not be met. "With two stadiums we have problems but with eight we have none - so we are 80% there," he counters. And he remains positive on the crime issue, despite a former Austrian footballer being shot dead on a golf course outside Durban prior to Sunday's World Cup draw. "There is a mismatch between perception and reality," insists Mr Jordaan. "We have said again and again, when we have a major event, the people around the event are secure. You have to have a security plan whether you are staging the World Cup in Germany or South Africa."
He points out that South Africa has staged the rugby and cricket World Cups, as well as major athletics events successfully without incident. Mr Jordaan adds: "Everyone at the World Cup draw was safe and secure. Of course we have concerns - but every country in the world has crime issues. "Crime is opportunistic wherever it occurs, but we have the confidence our sporting event track record will stand the test of time." Mr Jordaan drew a parallel between his days fighting apartheid, and the strange circumstances in which South Africa were denied the 2006 World Cup.
"The experience of having setbacks but continuing to struggle - it is part of the culture I come from. "You have to never surrender and to hope again." And he says that Nelson Mandela - who was a major force in South Africa finally securing the 2010 event - still retained his passion for football that first flourished while he was a prisoner on Robben Island. FIFA boss Sepp Blatter is keeping an eagle eye on preparations. "As head of state he understood the importance of sport in building the country up into a new society."
"In South Africa we have had all the major events - Rugby World Cup, Cricket World Cup and now Football World Cup - driven by that inspiration." However, Mr Jordaan says that there was now pressure on the South Africa national team, as a host country had not failed to qualify for the World Cup second round since 1954. "The success of a World Cup depends on the performance of the home team," he says. "We are faced with a new challenge - we must make sure that we are not the first host in a long time to drop out in the first round. "But I want to make clear that my role is to prepare a World Cup for 32 countries to play in, not only one for South Africa."
BBC NEWS REPORT.
By Martin Plaut - BBC News.
President Kabila's government has suspended some mining contracts. A major international donor conference for the Democratic Republic of Congo is being held in Paris. It is the first opportunity for the international community to pledge aid for the country since 2006 polls that confirmed Joseph Kabila as president. There is no doubting DR Congo's desperate need for investment. No sooner does one leave the capital, Kinshasa, than roads turn from tarmac to mud and there are few modern facilities.
Years of conflict have left most of its people desperately poor. The Paris meeting is a chance for donors to meet these needs. Human rights organisation Global Witness warns that unless donors speak out against corruption and the looting of state assets, it would be like pouring money into a black hole.
The head of the World Bank office in DR Congo, Jean-Michel Happi, told the BBC he believes these concerns will be addressed. "We are confident because it is a firm commitment of this government to go forward in this direction and secondly, the donors have put progress in the good governance compact as an important milestone of their assistance programme."
A key area to watch will be the minerals sector. DR Congo's mines are among the richest in the world, but Global Witness says there is real concern about how some of the contracts were granted. It has called on the government to cancel contracts which are found have been illegally awarded.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Ivory Coast's president has been greeted by large crowds as he makes a symbolic three-day visit to former rebel strongholds in the north. The president's itinerary included the town of Ferkessedougou, the birthplace of his rival during four years of civil conflict, Guillaume Soro. The two men are now reconciled and Mr Soro serves as prime minister.
In a speech there, Mr Gbagbo emphasised that, with the war over, the time for political campaigning was coming soon. Long-delayed elections are due to be held by mid 2008, as agreed in the peace deal signed by the two leaders in March this year.
The deal put an end to the uprising by New Forces rebels which began when they seized a large swathe of northern territory in September 2002, accusing President Gbagbo of discriminating against northerners and Muslims.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
A British teacher charged in Sudan with insulting religion, inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs has entered the court building. Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, was reported to appear very shaken and stunned as she was escorted by police officers into the Khartoum building. If convicted, she could face a prison sentence, a fine or 40 lashes.
She was arrested in the city after allowing her class of primary school pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad. Mrs Gibbons was arrested on Sunday after several parents made complaints to Sudan's Ministry of Education.
When she arrived at the building on Thursday she was taken with about 20 officers into one court before being ushered into another room - in scenes described as "chaotic". Embassy officials were not granted access to her, and it was not clear whether her legal team would be allowed in. Foreign Secretary David Miliband is due to meet the Sudan ambassador in London to discuss the case.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he was "surprised and disappointed" that the teacher had been charged following blasphemy claims. Earlier, Sudanese state media said prosecutors had completed their investigation and decided to charge Mrs Gibbons under Article 125 of the Sudanese criminal code.
The Muslim Council of Britain reacted angrily to the news, saying it was "appalled" and demanded Mrs Gibbons' immediate release.
"This is a disgraceful decision and defies common sense. There was clearly no intention on the part of the teacher to deliberately insult the Islamic faith," said Secretary-General Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, in a strongly-worded statement. "We call upon the Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir, to intervene in this case without delay to ensure that Ms Gibbons is freed from this quite shameful ordeal," said Dr Bari.
The Sudanese Embassy in London had said the situation was a "storm in a teacup" and signalled that the teacher could be released soon, attributing the incident to a cultural misunderstanding. But Sudan's top clerics have called for the full measure of the law to be used against Mrs Gibbons and labelled her actions part of a Western plot against Islam.
Mrs Gibbons was arrested on Sunday after several parents made complaints to Sudan's Ministry of Education.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade has suggested a committee of African leaders to help heal Zimbabwe's rift with its former colonial power the UK. The UK prime minister is not attending next month's EU-Africa summit in Portugal, as Zimbabwe's leader has been invited despite his EU travel ban.
In response, President Robert Mugabe said that Zimbabweans had "never feared talking" to the British.
Mr Wade made the proposal on a trip to Harare to meet Mr Mugabe. "I think the problem should be an African problem and involve all African countries," Mr Wade told reporters after the meeting.
The UK accuses Mr Mugabe of human rights abuses and rigging elections.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
"DONT CURSE THE DARK - LIGHT A CANDLE" !
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By Alex Last - BBC News, Lagos.
Nigeria's government has agreed to review all privatisation deals approved by the former president. The administration of Olusegun Obasanjo, who stood down in May, is accused of failing to follow due process in selling off state assets. Parliament has been inundated with petitions to review the sell-offs. President Umaru Yar'Adua has already rescinded the controversial sale of two oil refineries made during the last days of Mr Obasanjo's government.
The privatisation of state-owned businesses was central to Nigeria's economic reform programme, initiated by Mr Obasanjo. Umaru Yar'Adua was hand-picked by Olusegun Obasanjo But throughout the privatisation process, there were serious concerns as to how the sales - worth hundreds of millions of dollars - were being handled and who the beneficiaries were.
Now in response to a flood of petitions, the new government, in conjunction with the National Assembly, has said it will launch a full review of the privatisation programme since the start of the Obasanjo administration in 1999. The decision was taken after a meeting between the vice-president and Nigerian legislators. To be honest, agreeing to launch an official review is one thing, but it is quite another for a review to actually take place - and for any recommendations to be followed up with action.
Still, earlier this year President Yar'Adua did revoke the controversial sale of two oil refineries made to allies of Mr Obasanjo during his last few days in office. Interestingly, in the previous administration one of the other key figures in the privatisation programme was the former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar. That was, at least, until he decided to become an opposition leader and self-styled champion of democracy when he ran for president earlier this year in defiance of Mr Obasanjo's wishes.
Mr Abubakar is currently battling in court to have the election result overturned and give himself another chance of taking charge of the country.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Their lawyers had said they were exercising free speech. Three Rwandan media executives have had their sentences reduced for inciting violence against ethnic Tutsis during the genocide when 800,000 people died. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda reduced the life sentences of Ferdinand Nahimana and Hassan Ngeze to 30 and 35 years respectively.
Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza's jail term was reduced from 35 to 32 years. Nahimana and Barayagwiza set up a radio station which broadcast lists of people to be killed in 1994.
Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) urged Hutus to "exterminate the cockroaches" in the wake of the assassination of President Juvenal Habyarimana on 6 April 1994. Barayagwiza was also a leading member of the Coalition for the Defence of the Republic (CDR) - a Hutu extremist party.
Ngeze was the editor of an extremist Hutu magazine called Kangura. He was convicted for the publication's incitement to hatred but also for his role in the killings of Tutsis in his home town of Gisenyi. The Tanzanian-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) originally sentenced the men in 2003.
The presiding appeal judge, Fausto Pocar, said the appeal tribunal had overturned the conclusion of the initial trial judges that there had been "an understanding" between the accused - RTLM, the CDR and Kangura with a view to committing genocide. Since 1997 ICTR has convicted 29 genocide ringleaders and acquitted five people.
About 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered in just 100 days in 1994.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
By Martin Plaut - BBC Africa analyst.
South Africa has an estimated 1.5 million Aids orphans. Corruption and poor oversight have undermined South Africa's fight against HIV/ Aids, a new report says . The authors, the Institute of Security Studies and Transparency International, say there has been a "potentially lethal cocktail of mismanagement". They blame South Africa's president for questioning the link between HIV and Aids and say his stance has had an impact on the whole health system.
South Africa has the highest incidence of Aids in the world. The report, titled A Lethal Cocktail, says 30% of the population is infected. Politicisation of the disease has created numerous channels for abuse and is undermining attempts to counter it, the report says.
The authors conclude that it has become difficult to disentangle corruption from mismanagement and system failure as the root causes of the poor response to Aids. Much of the responsibility is laid at the door of President Thabo Mbeki, whose well-known questioning of the link between the HIV virus and Aids has resulted in activists labelling him an "Aids denialist".
The report says that his stand has had an impact throughout the health system, creating numerous channels for abuse. The authors cite an example of a doctor dismissed for allowing a rape charity to use a disused hospital, because they were distributing anti-retroviral drugs. The local politician accused the doctor concerned of endangering black lives and threatening to turn South Africa into a banana republic.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
By Oluwashina Okeleji - BBC Sport, Lagos.
Nigeria coach Berti Vogts is confident that his team will finish top of their 2010 World Cup and Nations Cup qualifying group. The Super Eagles are drawn with South Africa, Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea in Group 4. Vogts says that Nigeria have learned many lessons from their failure to qualify for last year's World Cup finals in Germany. "It's a good group for us and we will take advantage of that," he told BBC Sport.
Despite being pitted against the 2010 World Cup hosts, Vogts said: "It doesn't bother me to play South Africa. "What I know is that we have to beat them very clearly and qualify. "We respect the teams in our group and I know they respect us too."
Nigeria will renew their rivaly with Sierra Leone, who emerged 1-0 winners in Freetown six years ago when the two teams met in a 2002 World Cup qualifier. But Vogts is not overly concerned about the presence of the Leone Stars this time around. "We don't worry about what happened but rather what we can do right," he said. "We now have the chance to prove ourselves again and this is going to be the real test of our character."
Allowing star players like Okocha to arrive late is now a thing of the past While fans are talking about the implications of the draw, Vogts is concentrating on January's Nations Cup finals. "My focus is on the Nations Cup. "After the competition, we'll think about the World Cup and how to qualify."
Vogts has ordered his players to report for their Nations Cup training camp a fortnight before the start of the tournament. "There will be no exceptions. All players must be there on time," Vogts said. According to the rules of football's world governing body Fifa, clubs have to release players to their national teams 14 days before a continental championship.
BBC SPORTS REPORT.
Kenyan Muslim leaders have dismissed as propaganda allegations that an opposition party promised to introduce Sharia for Muslims if it won elections. The National Muslim Leaders Forum said its deal with the Orange Democratic Movement was to end the current discrimination against Muslims.
Christian leaders have been calling for the pact to be made public to end angry speculation ahead of December's polls. Roughly one-third of Kenya's population of 34 million is Muslim. Recent opinion polls show 45% of those interviewed support ODM's Raila Odinga compared to 43% who favour President Mwai Kibaki, who is running on a Party of National Unity ticket.
Muslim leaders decided to make the pact public after a document circulated on the internet claimed that Mr Odinga's ODM had pledged to introduce Sharia in parts of the country where Muslims are in the majority. The ODM is hoping Mr Odinga can hold on to his poll lead "There was a fear that Muslims will force their faith on other people, Islam does not allow suppression of other religions and we will be the last to advocate for this," said Abdullahi Abdi of the National Muslim Leaders Forum.
Instead the memorandum of understanding, signed in August, states that Mr Odinga has pledged to defend Muslims against harassment and victimisation by state security forces who claim to be fighting terrorism. If the ODM leader wins, he promises to set up a commission to investigate renditions of Muslims to Somalia, Ethiopia and the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay on the island of Cuba.
The document also commits Mr Odinga to initiate policies to redress the present marginalisation of Muslims living in the Coast and North-East provinces.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Nearly 200 workers die in South African mines every year. South African mine workers are planning a one-day nationwide strike in protest at poor safety in the country's mines. About 240,000 workers may take part in the strike, scheduled for 4 December, the first countrywide strike by miners. More than 180 workers have been killed this year in the country's mines, slightly fewer than 200 deaths in 2006.
Unions and miners will meet with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on Tuesday ahead of a final decision on the strike. "We expect a final decision today," the National Union of Mineworkers' general secretary Frans Baleni said. The CCMA has the power to permit a strike.
South Africa is Africa's biggest gold exporter and the strike would stop work at global firms such as AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields and Harmony. The world's top platinum producers Anglo Platinum and Impala Platinum also have operations in South Africa. A miner was killed at Gold Field's Driefontein mine on Saturday, while another worker died at the firm's Kloof mine on Friday.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he will not attend an EU-Africa summit after Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe confirmed he would be there. The gathering in Portugal in December is seen as crucial to reviving Europe's relations with the African continent.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso insisted the talks were bigger than any personality clash. Mr Brown said his boycott comes after a decade of thwarted attempts by the UK to offer assistance in Zimbabwe. Other European leaders agree with Mr Brown's views on the Mugabe regime and its abuse of human rights, but none has so far followed suit in boycotting the summit.
At his Downing Street press conference, Mr Brown said: "I will not be attending this summit. "Given the circumstances of the last 10 years and our attempts to give assistance in Zimbabwe, which have been thwarted and resisted, it is not possible for us to attend this summit and sit down with President Mugabe."
Mr Brown highlighted how the country had gone from one of the richest in Africa to one where poverty affects 80% of the population, 4 million Zimbabweans are now refugees in South Africa and inflation is running into hundreds of per cents.
The collapse of the Zimbabwean economy and society therefore was something for which President Mugabe and his policies have got to take full responsibility, he added. Downing Street said Britain would send someone to the talks but Mr Brown and his senior ministers had been ruled out.
Earlier, a spokesman for the European Commission reflected the majority EU view, saying: "If Mr Mugabe confirms his participation at the EU-Africa summit, President Barroso will use the occasion to raise the issue of human rights with Zimbabwe.
"The commission hopes that this will be raised both by European and African partners."
BBC NEWS REPORT.
