Zimbabwe mediator South African President Thabo Mbeki arrived in Harare for
power-sharing talks amid growing optimism over an agreement, witnesses
said.

HARARE, ZIMBABWE (AUGUST 9, 2008) REUTERS -
Speculation has been rising that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will secure a deal in a meeting on
Sunday. Mugabe's spokesman said earlier talks between Zimbabwe's ruling party
and the opposition had reached a milestone, but he declined to comment on
whether a power-sharing deal was imminent.
    "This is an important milestone that has been registered in the
inter-party dialogue," Mugabe spokesman George Charamba told state media
without giving details.
    Mugabe's ZANU-PF and Tsvangirai's MDC began talking more than two weeks
ago to resolve a crisis that came to a head after the 84-year-old Mugabe was
re-elected in a widely condemned June poll boycotted by the opposition.
    Mugabe said on Thursday the talks were going well but dismissed as
nonsense media reports about a draft agreement under which Tsvangirai would
run the country as prime minister while Mugabe would become ceremonial
president.