Zimbabwe power-sharing talks to resume on Tuesday

Power-sharing talks between Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and his rival opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will resume on Tuesday after the two rivals failed to reach an agreement.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said difficult issues in power-sharing talks to resolve the country's crisis "will be overcome" and negotiations would resume the following day.

Asked earlier whether the discussions would conclude on Monday, Tsvangirai said, "I hope so."

Arthur Mutambara, the head of a smaller opposition faction, also participated in the talks, which are being mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki.

The meetings follow a day's worth of talks in the same location on Sunday that ended with Mugabe declaring he was "confident" a deal was within reach.

Earlier on Monday, Mugabe gave a speech to the nation in which he warned the opposition not to be "used by enemies" and called for "unity guided by basic principles".

The speech was in commemoration of Heroes' Day, held to honour those who died in the country's guerrilla war that led to independence in 1980.

During the speech, Mugabe also "congratulated all the parties to the negotiations for exhibiting this sense of collective and shared responsibility," while thanking Mbeki, calling him "a very patient man."

"We spent all night yesterday in discussions and some of the things that were holding back, at times I nearly raised my fist, but he remained cool," he said of Mbeki.

Zimbabwe's crisis intensified after Mugabe's re-election in a one-candidate election in June widely condemned as a sham.

Tsvangirai boycotted the poll despite finishing ahead of Mugabe in the March first round, citing rising violence against his supporters.