South Africa's Zuma mediates

South Aafrican President Jacob Zuma travelled to Zimbabwe yesterday to try to end power-sharing disputes, but the prospect of elections next year looks set to hamper his mission.

President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who have long been bitter rivals, agreed to share power after a disputed 2008 poll. But their unity government has been rocked by rifts over posts, and Mr Tsvangirai accuses Mr Mugabe of breaching their 2008 pact. An increasingly confident Mr Mugabe is now looking to the new elections he plans for mid-2011.