Johannesburg - Prosecutors in South Africa said Wednesday they would seek leave to appeal a court's ruling last week that corruption and fraud charges against African National Congress (ANC) leader Jacob Zuma were invalid.

The National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA) refusal to drop the case against Zuma is likely to add to tensions between supporters of Zuma and arch-rival President Thabo Mbeki.

Zuma is expected to take over from Mbeki as president after general elections in April that the ANC is expected to easily win.

Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe was due to hold more talks with his party Wednesday on the handover of cabinet posts to prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai's party, as called for in Monday's historic power-sharing deal.

Instead of meeting Tsvangirai as scheduled to finalize the distribution of posts Mugabe met Tuesday with the politburo of his party, amid reports of some hardliners with his Zanu-PF refusing to hand over key ministries to Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change.

Washington, Sept. 17: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is fine-tuning the most basic element of his campaign to win the White House.

According to FOX News, Obama, whose slogan has long been “Change We Can Believe In,” has since the end of the Democratic National Convention in Denver in late August, altered his rallying cry to read as the “Change We Need.”

He advertises upcoming “Change We Need” rallies on his Web site. And he incorporates the modified phrase into his stump speeches.

New York, Sept. 17: Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin will meet with foreign leaders next week at the United Nations, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday

Citing an unnamed strategist with John McCain’s campaign, the paper said that McCain and Palin are expected to visit the U. N. next Tuesday, when President Bush will address the international body.

The meeting with heads of state will come during the annual opening of the U. N.’s General Assembly, the strategist said.

London, Sept 17: British Muslims must shed their “victim mentality” and turn more responsible towards their families while ignoring those who propagate conspiracy theories, a senior Muslim MP belong to the Labour Party has said.

Cautioning over the Islamic lessons taught to Muslim kids after school hours, he called on Imams to encourage parents to get more involved in mainstream schools.

Lahore, Sept 17: The PPP-led alliance government in Pakistan had turned out to be a divine punishment for masses, as the slogan chanters of “Roti, Kapra Aur Makan” have done nothing except bringing poverty and hunger to the nation, said an Islamic party leader in the country.

Jamaat-e-Islami deputy secretary-general Maqsood Ahmad said that the prices of petrol, diesel and gas in Pakistan had gone up despite the fact that the oil prices had dipped over 30 per cent in the international market in recent weeks.