leader, the Dalai Lama, was calling off a visit to South Africa because he did not expect to get a visa. Archbishop Tutu had invited him to his 80th birthday celebrations. Archbishop Tutu accused the ANC government of behaving as badly as the apartheid system it had fought in the 1980s.

"People believe that we South Africans would automatically be on the side of those who are being oppressed. Tibet is being oppressed. Our government, representing me, says it will not support Tibetans who are being oppressed viciously by the Chinese."

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

The government in Tokyo has announced that the Japanese whaling fleet will return to the Antarctic this year. The fisheries minister said it'll be protected by

escort

vessels. Our environment correspondent Richard Black reports.

The last time Japanese whaling ships went to the Antarctic earlier this year, they were driven out by boats of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The choice for next time was either to send a stronger fleet or to withdraw. With the national budget drained by March's earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster, many observers thought withdrawal was the likely option. It was openly discussed by government advisers.

Sea Shepherd has pledged to be there too. This was the closest Japan has come in 25 years to ending its Antarctic whaling programme.

Richard Black reporting

World News from the BBC