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No beef relief for Blair

France and South Africa are just two of nearly 50 countries who have yet to begin taking back British beef since the European Union lifted its ban on UK beef exports.

Other countries yet to begin accepting British again include the United States, Malta, Singapore, Russia and Switzerland.

South Africa has said it is keeping its ban "under review in the light of developments in the EU".

Most of the countries approached by the government have yet to decide whether to begin buying British beef again.

But the government has had some successes, with Hong Kong, Cyprus, Gibraltar and the Falklands Islands all happy with the safeguards like the date-based export scheme now covering British beef.

As well as raising the issue of beef the prime minister will use the visit to pledge British aid to help to combat Africa's Aids crisis.

Mr Blair and his wife, Cherie, flew into Durban on Friday for the gathering of 54 heads of government.

Before the meeting Mr Blair commissioned an expert report on the Aids crisis, the results of which he said he found "deeply shocking".

The extent of the crisis is so extreme that the avergae life expectancy in the nine African countries worst affected is dropping by about 20 years, from the 60s to the 40s.

Mr Blair will reveal details of the £100m the UK government is pledging to help tackle the problem.

Roughly £22m will be used to fight the disease in developing countries, £14m to help discover a vaccine, while the rest of the funds will be used to set up an Africa task force and help train volunteer workers.

Mr Blair said: "Because we have made such progress at home, there is a danger of complacency about the sheer scale of the problem abroad.

"Over 90% of all HIV/Aids cases are in developing countries.

"This is a disaster for them in economic, social and human terms, and it requires a real effort from the developed world to deal with it."

International Development Minister George Foulkes will visit Unlazi, in Kwa Zulu Township, to see an Aids project where British money is being spent.

Mugabe gay outburst

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe has launched a verbal assault on Mr Blair and his government at the summit.

The president said: "Tony Blair has three homosexuals in his cabinet." He went on to suggest that people who were "queer" thought differently.

Referring to the Labour government, he said: "They are moving Britain away from the path where she was a peace-maker."

The Zimbabwe foreign minister is meeting Robin Cook later on Friday.

The president's latest outburst follows earlier remarks in which Mr Mugabe said that the UK Government had set "gay gangsters" on him on a recent visit to London.

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