Mbeki says no Aids policy change

The President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, has said that there are no immediate plans to commit more money to the country's programme for fighting Aids.

Addressing the South African parliament, Mr Mbeki said there would be no change in policy until a recent report by the country's Medical Research Council had been fully studied by a government task force.

The report which was released a week ago estimates that seven million South Africans could die of Aids-related illnesses in the next nine years unless the government does more to fight the pandemic.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service