October 29 2012
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Motshabi Hoaeane.
Making headlines:

President of South Africa Jacob Zuma drops a lawsuit over a rape cartoon.

Scientists have discovered a new test to improve HIV diagnosis in poor countries.

And, rebels in Sudan's Darfur confess to shelling the State capital.

South African President Jacob Zuma intends to drop a four-year-old lawsuit claiming nearly $600 000 in damages from a cartoonist who depicted him poised to rape "Lady Justice.

The Sunday Times, named as a defendant in the case, also said it had reached an agreement with Zuma's lawyers for the suit and all claims to be ended.

The presidency said in a statement that the president would like to avoid setting a legal precedent that may have the effect of limiting the public exercise of free speech, with the unforeseen consequences this may have on the South African media, public commentators and citizens.

It added, however, that it still saw the cartoon as an affront to the dignity of the president. The civil case had been due to start on Monday. Under the settlement, Zuma will pay part of the legal costs of the defendants, his office said.

Scientists have come up with a test for the virus that causes AIDS that is ten times more sensitive and a fraction of the cost of existing methods. This discovery offers the promise of better diagnosis and treatment in the developing world.

According to research from scientists at Imperial College in London published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the test uses nanotechnology to give a result that can be seen with the naked eye by turning a sample red or blue.

Molly Stevens, who led the research, said that this approach affords for improved sensitivity, doesn’t require sophisticated instrumentation and it is ten times cheaper than current tests.. This also means that infections would be able to be detected even in those cases where previous methods, such as the saliva test, were rendering a 'false negative' because the viral load was too low to be detected.

The test could also be reconfigured to detect other diseases, such as sepsis, Leishmaniasis, Tuberculosis and malaria, Stevens said.

Rebels in Sudan's Darfur region have admitted that they shelled a state capital in a rare attack on the government stronghold where international peacekeepers are also based.

Rebel spokesperson Gibreel Adam Bilal said that insurgents fired Katyusha rockets and other heavy weapons at El Fasher, capital of North Darfur state. He said that the rebels aimed to destroy El Fasher's air base in retaliation for government air strikes and attacks by pro-government militias in northern Darfur.

The government, however, didn’t immediately comment on the report and the claim could not be immediately independently verified.

Conflict in the country has continued despite the presence of the world's largest peacekeeping operation and many attempts to broker peace by the US, Qatar, as well as other stakeholders.

Also making headlines:

Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union president Joseph Mathunjwa says Lonmin Platinum executives ‘colluded’ with police in the arrest of its members.

Gauteng e-tolls may be implemented before year-end, as comments are sought on tariffs.

And, a South African-linked water innovation has won the Global Grand Honour Award of Applied Research at the International Water Association’s 2012 Project Innovation Awards.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.