PRETORIA - Trade unionist Zwelinzima Vavi writes a letter to the South African Human Rights Commission expressing his respect for the Constitution, but does not apologise for his "kill for Zuma" statement. SAHRC spokesman Vincent Moaga announces that the commission will meet Vavi, the general secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, to discuss his letter.

CAPE TOWN - Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel takes over the reins at the troubled Land Bank from his colleague, Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs, Lulu Xingwana. She will be removed from the bank's business affairs, and hand over to the National Treasury, where officials have begun working on a takeover plan, following intervention from the presidency to save the ailing bank.

CAPE TOWN - South African President Thabo Mbeki appoints African National Congress (ANC) deputy leader Kgalema Motlanthe to his cabinet after months of pressure from the ruling party. The ANC executive have asked Mbeki to bring Motlanthe into cabinet to manage the transfer of power when Mbeki steps down at the expiry of his term next year. Motlanthe, a powerful ally of party leader Jacob Zuma, was appointed to South Africa's parliament in May as part of plans for him to enter government. The former student activist, trade unionist and soldier in the ANC's disbanded military wing UmKhonto we Sizwe was elected the party's deputy president when Zuma became president in December last year.

AFRICA & WORLD

WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tells African nations that they must do more to make Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe accountable for his actions, saying the political and economic crisis there is "Africa's challenge." Addressing African leaders at a conference in Washington aimed at boosting trade with the continent, Rice refers to the "heartbreaking plight" of the Zimbabwean people, "In the Mugabe regime we see the page of history that Africa must turn. A leader for independence which inherited a nation full of promise, but which has devolved into a tyranny that values nothing but power."

WASHINGTON - US trade representative, Susan Schwab, urges sub-Saharan African countries to join the United States in pushing for a world trade deal that requires India, Brazil, China and other major developing countries to further open their markets. Schwab says South Africa is the only member of the African Growth and Opportunity Act partnership forum with the US being asked to make tariff cuts. The rest are excluded because of their status as poorer developing countries and negotiators are considering special tariff treatment for South Africa, says Schwab.

PARIS - Leaders from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East launch a 43-nation Union for the Mediterranean, pledging practical cooperation among erstwhile enemies on water, energy and education. Urging Mediterranean states to emulate Europe's model of reconciliation and cooperation, French President Nicolas Sarkozy says the birth of the new organisation that was his brainchild on taking office last year iss "a dream come true."

DUBAI - Dubai will invest about $100-million in several Ethiopian economic sectors beginning in October, say a visiting group of financiers. Sultan Ahmed Ben Sulayem, head of the Dubai World delegation, says the Dubai government firm will invest in mining, trade, agriculture, real estate and catering. Sovereign wealth funds like Dubai World have been enriched by record oil and commodity prices, and are looking to emerging markets, as well as the richer economies, for new opportunities.

MOGADISHU - The killing and kidnapping of aid workers in Somalia threatens to wreck all attempts to resolve a humanitarian disaster that could soon rival its famine in the early 1990s, warns the United Nations. Most aid agencies are discussing suspending their operations in areas hit by mounting insecurity and a wave of assassinations that has targeted senior local humanitarian workers. Relief is still getting through, but the United Nations World Food Programme says the surge in violence is threatening the entire humanitarian response to the emergency.