AIDS meeting. South African leader declines to join the chorus on HIV and AIDS

When South African President Thabo Mbeki rose to address the opening ceremony for the XIII International AIDS Conference here last Sunday, the thousands of researchers packed into Kingsmead Stadium hoped he would say three simple words: HIV causes AIDS. He didn't. Mbeki's failure to acknowledge directly that HIV causes AIDS has angered the country's AIDS researchers; many visiting scientists also expressed their dismay.