Twenty-seven years ago, in 1976 the youth of South Africa stood up to wage a fight against the injustices of apartheid.

April 17 is a day that could have gone down in the history of South Africa as a turning point in the manner that government views the AIDS epidemic and how it deals with it.

In what could be seen as a move to an out-of-court settlement, Rustenburg Platinum Mine withdrew its challenge, for the meantime, against the Chief Inspector of Mines and the Minerals and Energy Affairs Ministry.

One of the latest research studies in the ongoing search for innovative technologies and strategies to help prevent HIV infection is the development and testing of microbicides.

A feasibility study in preparation for Phase 3 clinical trials involving microbicides is underway at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, in Soweto.

We follow up on the story we aired in our last Living with AIDS slot. A major court challenge against the Chief Inspector of Mines, Mavis Anne Hermanus and the Ministry of Minerals and Energy Affairs, brought by Rustenburg Platinum Mines gets underway in the Pretoria High Court tomorrow (Tue, May 27). A decision made by the Chief Inspector of Mines in January 2001, to classify the death of a HIV positive miner, Jose Mulungu Cossa, as a mine fatality and the resultant levy imposed on the mine, are at the centre of the court challenge. Khopotso Bodibe reports on this significant matter.

A court case that could have a significant impact on the protection of the rights of workers living with HIV is to be heard in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday, the 27th of May. This is a matter between Rustenburg Platinum Mines and the Chief Inspector of Mines together with the Ministry of Minerals and Energy Affairs, wherein the mine is the applicant. Khopotso Bodibe gives us more details on the case.

Today the challenge brought by Rustenburg Platinum Mine against Mavis Anne Hermanus '€“ the Chief Inspector of Mines '€“ and the Ministry of Minerals and Energy Affairs will finally be heard in the Pretoria High Court. In the following report, the spokesperson of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) explains to Khopotso Bodibe the consequences of ruling in favour of the mine.

Last week, ahead of Workers'€™ Day 2003 - which is being celebrated today - the National Union of Metalworkers'€™ of South Africa (NUMSA) demanded that employers provide anti-retroviral drugs to HIV positive employees.

In South Africa the spread of HIV has largely been associated with men'€™s sexual athleticism, their unwillingness to use condoms and the uneven gender relations that often render women unable to negotiate safe sex.

The chairperson of the South African Medical Association, Dr Kgosi Letlape, has often said that doctors are ethically bound to serve their patients; that the government'€™s policy of no treatment for AIDS is not acceptable to the medical profession; and that doctors must stand up for the health of their patients. And stand up for the health of their patients is exactly what doctors did at various hospitals and clinics nationwide this past Monday and Tuesday. Doctors at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto also took part in this solidarity action. Khopotso Bodibe was there.

Prof. Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is concluding a week-long fact-finding mission to South Africa, which is expected to culminate in the signing off on a document that will see the first funds of a promised total of $US 150 million (R1.2 billion) released to the government.