Hopes to share power grow

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai arrived at a Harare hotel for power-sharing talks yesterday that could end a post-election political crisis, a witness said.

Talks began last month in the aftermath of Mugabe's re-election unopposed in June in a poll condemned around the world and boycotted by Tsvangirai because of attacks on his supporters.

Mugabe, in power since 1980, greeted reporters with a smile but made no comment as he arrived at the hotel, where Zimbabwe mediator South African President Thabo Mbeki was on hand.