HARARE, Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe's state-controlled Herald newspaper says President Robert Mugabe has set a Thursday deadline for the opposition to sign on to a power-sharing deal. Otherwise he will form his own government.

The Herald says Mugabe blamed Britain for the refusal of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to agree to the deal. Tsvangirai says the deal will leave Mugabe's power intact and himself as a figurehead prime minister.

Mugabe says Britain wants to “punish” him by forcing him into an agreement that would endanger his policy of taking white farmland to resettle poor black farmers.

The Herald quotes Mugabe as saying that if Tsvangirai does not sign the agreement on the table on Thursday, he will form his own Cabinet.