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 - At least six people were believed to have died in a plane crash near Johannesburg Tuesday.

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.