World Digest: Pakistan's high court to probe presidential amnesty

PAKISTAN

High court to probe presidential amnesty

Pakistan's Supreme Court said Tuesday that it will soon begin examining an expired amnesty covering the president and key allies. The decision launches a process that could unseat the U.S.-allied leader at a time when the Obama administration needs stability in Islamabad to help crack down on the Taliban.

Highlighting the dangers, a suicide bomber killed an anti-Taliban lawmaker in the Swat Valley -- the latest in a string of bombings as the army presses offensives in insurgent strongholds close to the Afghan border.

President Asif Ali Zardari has been under mounting pressure to resign or relinquish key powers to the prime minister and assume a ceremonial role. Those calls came to the fore with Saturday's expiration of an amnesty that had been granted to him and more than 8,000 other politicians and bureaucrats under his predecessor, Pervez Musharraf.

A statement issued Tuesday said the Supreme Court has received petitions calling the amnesty a violation of fundamental rights. It said the court has notified all concerned parties that it will start proceedings on the cases Monday.

-- Associated Press

SOUTH AFRICA

Government extends reach of AIDS drugs

South Africa, which has the world's highest HIV caseload, will provide life-prolonging antiretroviral drugs to significantly more people infected with the virus starting next year, President Jacob Zuma said Tuesday in a speech marking World AIDS Day.

The announcement signaled a new era in the approach to AIDS in South Africa, where at least 5.7 million people are infected with HIV and Zuma's predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, was accused of failing to address the problem.

"Let there be no more shame, no more blame, no more discrimination and no more stigma," Zuma said.