London/Johannesburg - Former Botswana president Festus Gontebanye Mogae, who received the 5-million dollar Mo Ibrahim African leadership award Monday, is a British-educated economist credited with using his country's mineral wealth to advance the lot of the poor.

He is also a champion of struggle against HIV/AIDS and was the first African leader, in a bid to combat the stigma around the pandemic on the continent, to publicly test for the virus.

Kabul - Taliban fighters killed a Western female aid worker for "spreading Christianity" on Monday as she was going to her office in the western part of Kabul, officials said.

Gayle Williams, 34, who had dual British-South African citizenship and was working with Serving Emergency Relief and Vocational Enterprises (SERVE) was killed while she walked to work in the Carte Say area of Kabul, police and the aid agency said.

Johannesburg - Britain's Princes William, 26, and Harry, 24, started a 1,700-kilometre rally in aid of charity through South Africa Saturday.

The two set off from Port Edward on the east coast of the country with some 80 others in the early morning sunshine on the eight-day Enduro Africa 2008 trek.

Each participant paid 1,500 pounds (2,600 dollars) to take part in the event, raising 300,000 pounds for charities such as Harry's Sentebale (don't forget me), founded in 2006, which helps AIDS orphans in the mountainous kingdom of Lesotho.

New Delhi, Oct 16 : Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora met B. P. Sonjica, Minister for Minerals and Energy of South Africa here today.

While recalling close, historic and warm ties between India and South Africa, the two Ministers discussed ways and means to establish cooperation in the oil and gas sector between the two countries.

New Delhi - South Africa on Wednesday said it supported civil nuclear cooperation with India and agreed to sell it uranium, more than a month after the Nuclear Suppliers' Group lifted an embargo on nuclear commerce with New Delhi.

Leaders at the third summit of IBSA (Brazil, India and South Africa) welcomed the decision to allow India trade in fissile materials and technology in a declaration released at the end of their summit in New Delhi.