SOUTH AFRICA: MBEKI PLEDGES LEADERSHIP ON AIDS President Thabo Mbeki, who has questioned the safety of commonly prescribed AIDS drugs and the causes of the disease, said he was prepared to provide greater leadership on the issue and urged people to practice safe sex to help combat the country's deadly epidemic. His remarks came a week after his cabinet announced that it would offer AIDS drugs to all H.I.V.-infected pregnant women at public hospitals to prevent the transmission of the AIDS virus to unborn babies. 젨 Rachel L. Swarns (NYT)