Mugabe: power talks ‘inconclusive’

Zimbabwe's embattled president Robert Mugabe has said that 14 hours of power-sharing talks with the country's opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, which began yesterday morning and are being mediated by South African president Thabo Mbeki, were "inconclusive". However, he said discussions would continue and he was "confident" a deal could be reached.

The Harare talks were said last night to be at a critical stage, with discussion of exactly how much power Mr Mugabe will retain. Mr Tsvangirai refused to comment as he left the hotel.

Under the deal brokered by Mr Mbeki, Tsvangirai, who won presidential elections earlier this year, will become PM, while Mugabe remains as president with immunity from prosecution.