With something of a tradition of inviting eminent world leaders to speak at their annual conference - Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai - the Labour Party will today hear from, erm, Bono. Yep, the U2 singer will be talking to delegates at Labour's seaside bash about the global campaign to combat the spread of AIDS, especially in Africa. He will also discuss his other favourite topics - third world debt and fair trade. Whether he will stick to the "don't mention the war" protocol remains to be seen, though presumably the Labour top guard won't mind if he mentions that the new album is out on 14 Nov.
Bono is no stranger to political conferences of course - having spoken on similar topics at both the Republican and Democrat party conventions in the US. Of course if it takes a bit of celebrity to get these global issues on the central agenda at such conferences, then good for Bono for finding time in his schedule to be there.