President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa said on Thursday that the government and opposition in Zimbabwe were to negotiate a solution to their their country’s crisis. He said President Robert Mugabe and the Movement for Democratic Change had agreed to begin formal talks to end the political repression and economic collapse which has made the regime an international pariah.

A new front has opened up in the battle for the White House — on the internet’s leading search engine. The practice of ”Google bombing” is gaining momentum as political webloggers realise they can manipulate the results of Google, the top-ranked search site, to make a satirical point.

Spirit, the six-wheeled rover that 19 days ago made a triumphant touchdown on Mars, has fallen mysteriously silent. Late on Thursday night, the robot geologist had failed to transmit any coherent message for more than 24 hours. Nor could Nasa’s mission controllers in Pasadena make it respond to commands.

The bird flu crisis in Asia grew on Thursday as Thailand was said to have recorded its first human case and a warning was given that the virus could mutate into a more serious form. The World Health Organisation said that if bird flu started spreading between humans it could cause a more serious epidemic than Sars.

Ariel Sharon has rejected calls for his resignation following the indictment of an Israeli businessman for allegedly paying him substantial bribes for political favours. But pressure on the Israeli prime minister grew on Thursday after he stuck doggedly to his refusal to explain publicly his relationship with the accused man.