South African leaders tonight urged negotiators to build on the basis for a power-sharing agreement to resolve the political crisis in Zimbabwe.

South African President Thabo Mbeki is heading to Zimbabwe, where the government today said coalition talks he is mediating between President Robert Mugabe’s party and the opposition have reached a “milestone”.

Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe shrugged off calls for his resignation today as his chief spokesman told Western critics to “go hang”.

A spokesman for Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe today dismissed Western criticism of its widely disputed elections.

The main opposition party to Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe today claimed it was winning the country’s election by a huge margin.

Zimbabwe’s Electoral Commission belatedly began announcing official results of elections today in which the opposition claimed to have beaten President Robert Mugabe.

Zimbabwe is preparing for what many hope will be a landmark election on Saturday which will finally remove president Robert Mugabe from power.

Zimbabwe’s presidential spokesman called on African leaders not to punish him for the country’s troubles, repeating Robert Mugabe’s charges that the West was to blame.

Zimbabwe’s main opposition party reported an upsurge in violence against its supporters as the government reiterated warnings that it would clamp down on unrest.

ZIMBABWE yesterday accused the US of stepping up its campaign to oust President Robert Mugabe with “tantalising” offers of aid to ease the suffering of the southern African nation’s largely impoverished population.

President Robert Mugabe has invited UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to inspect a so-called urban clean-up campaign for himself, after Annan’s envoy slammed the destruction of slums, the state-run Herald newspaper reported today.

The Zimbabwe government today denied rumours about the supposed death of President Robert Mugabe, with a spokesman describing the 81-year-old “as fit as a teenager”.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe moved to dispel rumours that he is in poor health when he made a public appearance to welcome delegates from 69 international organisations to a conference on monuments and heritage sites.