South Africa

PRETORIA - President Jacob Zuma urges police station commanders to speak up about the problems they face in the war against South Africa's rocketing crime rate. "You must not fear," says Zuma at an unprecedented meeting with 1 000 station commanders in Pretoria. The President says he believes it is important to meet the police officials who deal with the public on a daily basis. "The local police station is the everyday face of the police service among our people. People's perceptions of how good or how bad the police are based largely on interactions that occur at the local police station. "Crime statistics remain "harsh", he says, reaffirming government's commitment to bring down crime rates. On stage with Zuma sat Ministers in the Presidency Trevor Manuel and Collins Chabane as well as Justice Minister Jeff Radebe and Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa.

PRETORIA - Independent Democrats (ID) leader Patricia de Lille welcomes President Jacob Zuma's comments about HIV/Aids made during a CNN TV interview. Zuma says his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, contradicted government and party directives on HIV/Aids. This is a step in the right direction in terms of restoring South Africa's international reputation, she says. "However, what is far more important is that Zuma, as the leader of the African National Congress (ANC) and government, apologises to the relatives and friends of the estimated 330 000 South Africans that died because of the ANC government's failure to provide them with antiretrovirals (ARVs) between 2000 and 2005," De Lille remarks. "After that, Parliament should convene a truth commission into the hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths. It is a massive indictment on the ANC that, at a time when Mbeki's so-called ‘personal views' were leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of poor South Africans, people like Joel Netshitenzhe, Trevor Manuel and particularly Zuma, who was sacked as Mbeki's deputy only in 2005, either openly supported Mbeki or remained silent. "The apology from Zuma should also coincide with the removal of [former Health Minister] Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, who continues to serve as a Member of Parliament for the ANC, from her position," De Lille says.

Africa & the world

VENEZUELA - Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez call for a new global definition of terrorism. Meeting after the end of a summit of African and South American leaders in Venezuela, the two men signed a declaration urging that a global conference be held to sketch out new terms defining terrorism. Neither has spoken publicly about the document, which rejects "attempts to link the legitimate struggle of the people for liberty and self-determination" with terrorism, according to a Venezuelan government website. Chavez faces US and Colombian charges that he backs FARC Marxist rebels in Colombia. He denies the allegations. Gaddafi, who has ruled Libya for 40 years, professing "Islamic socialism", has been accused of harbouring terrorists. The two rallied hundreds of Venezuelans on the country's Margarita Island, where Chavez presented Gaddafi with a replica of a sword of South American independence hero Simon Bolivar. "We're writing new pages of history," Chavez says.

NEW YORK - The United Nations (UN) World Food Programme (WFP) says it is facing "moment of distress" in feeding the world's hungry, with billions of dollars needed amid a severe funding shortfall owing to the global financial crisis. "It is critical that people understand the extent of the problem," WFP executive director Josette Sheeran says on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting. The number of hungry people will pass one-billion this year for the first time, the WFP says, adding that it only has $2,6-billion in confirmed funding for its $6,7-billion 2009 budget. The global recession and stubbornly high commodity prices across
much of the developing world have put food beyond the reach of the world's poorest, and climate change and weather-related disasters may spread misery, the agency says. The Group of Eight wealthy nations said at a July summit in L'Aquila, Italy, that it would spend $20-billion over three years to spur agricultural investment in poorer States to fight hunger. Sheeran says that the "historic commitment . . . must be followed by concrete actions necessary to ensure the world produces enough food and all people have enough to eat".