JOHANNESBURG – The Democratic Alliance is seeking a meeting with Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils over allegations in the Hlophe affair that the National Intelligence Agency is spying on members of the judiciary. The allegations are contained in a complaint by all 11 judges of the Constitutional Court to the Judicial Service Commission, which claims Hlophe tried to influence the court's decision on cases involving African National Congress president Jacob Zuma. If allegations are true, the party's parliamentary chief whip Ian Davidson says will constitute further proof of the politicisation of key state institutions, and illustrate that the checks and balances that are the hallmark of a well-functioning democracy have been seriously eroded.

CAPE TOWN – Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa has urged the US Senate to pass a bill that will more than triple spending to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa and other parts of the world. The US House of Representatives passed the legislation in April, but it has stalled in the Senate amid opposition, which has called for more of the money to go to treat people already infected with HIV rather than prevention efforts and other purposes. Tutu has written letters to Senate leaders asking them to redouble efforts to bring it to the Senate floor for a vote.

AFRICA & THE WORLD

TUNIS – Amnesty International has accused Tunisia of failing to curb torture of detainees held on suspicion of security and terrorism offences. The human rights group issued a report, "In the Name of Security: Routine Abuses in Tunisia" alleging specific cases of torture, including beatings, hoodings, sleep deprivation and electric shocks. The Tunisian government has repeatedly asserted that it abides by its international human rights obligations.

WASHINGTON – US lawmakers are trying to pass legislation to remove former South African President Nelson Mandela from a US list of terrorists by his 90th birthday. The State Department report that it and the Justice Department fully support the bill, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives on May 8 and is awaiting Senate approval. The former South African president and some in the now-ruling African National Congress are still blacklisted under U.S. laws and need special permission to enter the United States more than a decade after the apartheid struggle ended.

DÜSSELDORF – German prosecutors have found no evidence linking the country's industrial giant ThyssenKrupp to corruption in South Africa's arms deal. Having established that there is no case against anyone under investigation, the public prosecutor's office in Düsseldorf closed the investigation without sanction or cash settlement, and informed the South African and Angolan authorities of the outcome and withdrew all requests for legal support previously made.

NEW YORK – The U.N. Security Council has unanimously agreed to take its first formal action on Zimbabwe by condemning violence against the opposition and ruling that a free and fair presidential run-off is impossible. The political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe has sent millions of refugees flooding into neighbouring countries. The African Union and Southern African Development Community were discussing the situation after Tsvangirai's pullout. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said that even if the run-off went ahead it will not legitimise Mugabe's government.