Harare/Johannesburg - Dozens of women activists were arrested in the Zimbabwean capital Harare Monday for protesting over the suffering caused by a severe economic crisis.

Riot police broke up a demonstration by at least 300 women from the Women's Coalition of Zimbabwe outside a hotel, where southern African leaders were meeting to discuss Zimbabwe's political impasse with the country's rival leaders.

Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on Friday ratcheted back an earlier threat not to participate in a regional meeting on the crisis in Zimbabwe, saying party leader Morgan Tsvangirai would attend, despite still lacking a passport.

"Yes, he is attending. But he still doesn't have his passport," MDC spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka said, referring to Monday's meeting of a group of leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the 15-nation regional political alliance.

Johannesburg  - South Africans are splitting their sides over a video showing a po-faced politician disappearing into thin air with a loud crack when his chair broke during a TV interview.

The chairman of parliament's portfolio committee on finance, Nhlanhla Nene, was giving an interview to SABC public television on the morning of Finance Minister Trevor Manuel's budget policy statement Tuesday when the mishap occurred.

Johannesburg - The split in South Africa's ruling African National Congress took an increasingly nasty turn Thursday, with supporters of the biggest faction loyal to party leader Jacob Zuma threatening to kill dissidents planning to form a rival party.

A group of Zuma supporters demonstrated outside a hall in a township south of Johannesburg where former ANC chairman and splinter faction leader Mosiuoa Lekota was due to address a rally.

"Kill Shilowa, kill Lekota," they were quoted by SAPA news agency as chanting.

Johannesburg  - South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said Tuesday he was confident the country would ride out the international financial storm and announced a increase in government spending, while predicting slower growth.

Presenting his annual medium-term budget policy statement, Manuel said: "The storm has arrived, it is fiercer than anyone could have imagined, and its course cannot be predicted. But we saw the signs early and we took appropriate action. We can say to our people... the thunder will pass."

Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai avoided a regional meeting on the impasse in Zimbabwe on Monday, and demanded instead a crisis summit on the situation.

President Robert Mugabe was in Swaziland on Monday to give his side on the breakdown in his unity talks with Tsvangirai to a small group of Southern African Development Community (SADC) members, led by Swazi King Mswati III.

South Africa's President Kgalema Motlanthe and senior officials from Mozambique and Democratic Republic of Congo were also attending the summit, at which former South African president Thabo Mbeki was due to report back on his latest failed mediation attempt in Zimbabwe.