Johannesburg - South African President Thabo Mbeki was due to officially announce his impending resignation later Sunday in an address to the nation, a day after his African National Congress dramatically demanded he step down seven months before the end of his second term.

Mbeki's address will follow a meeting of his cabinet to discuss his recall by the ANC over a court finding of political interference in the prosecution of his arch-foe, ANC leader Jacob Zuma.

The Pietermaritzburg High Court last week, in setting aside corruption and fraud charges against Zuma on a technicality, said the case against Zuma had the "ring of the works of (Czech author Franz) Kafka" about it and implied Mbeki had a hand.

Tokyo - Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) selects a new leader on Monday as the world's second largest economy copes with the turmoil of the global financial crisis.

Taro Aso, the party's secretary general, is tipped to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in a contest with four other candidates, including the first woman to run for the post, former defence minister Yuriko Koike, 56.

The winner is assured of becoming prime minister because the LDP holds a comfortable majority in the lower house of parliament, the House of Representatives, which elects the head of government.

Tokyo - The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will vote to replace outgoing Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda as head of the party that has dominated Japan for more than 50 years, officials said Sunday.

Taro Aso, who turned 68 on Saturday, is seen as the most likely candidate to win the party vote Monday. Contenders include former defence minister Yuriko Koike, 56, who is the first female candidate to run for the LDP presidency; Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano, 70; former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba, 51; and former LDP policy chief Nobuteru Ishihara, 51.

The winner would be assured of becoming Japan's prime minister, because the party controls the House of Representatives in the Diet, or parliament.

Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his cabinet Sunday that he intends to resign the premiership, following the election of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni as the new leader of his ruling Kadima Party.

The decision to quit was neither a simple nor an easy one, Israel Radio quoted him as telling the ministers at the start of the weekly cabinet session in Jerusalem.

Olmert announced in July that he would quit the Kadima party leadership, and then the premiership, because of multiple investigations against him for alleged corruption. Police recommended two weeks ago that he be indicted on some of the allegations.

Tokyo - The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will vote to replace recently resigned prime minister Yasuo Fukuda as head of the party that has dominated Japan for more than 50 years, officials said Sunday.

Taro Aso, who turned 68 on Saturday, is seen as the most likely candidate to win the party vote Monday. Contenders include former defence minister Yuriko Koike, 56, who is the first female candidate to run for the LDP presidency; Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano, 70; former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba, 51; and former LDP policy chief Nobuteru Ishihara, 51.

The winner would be assured of becoming Japan's prime minister, because the party controls the House of Representatives in the Diet, or parliament.

London, Sept 21 : A recent poll, described as largest ever, has found that the Labour Party would be miserably defeated in the next poll, while Tories leader David Cameron would reap a landslide victory.

It said that Prime Minister Gordon Brown would lead Labour into such a “crushing election bloodbath” that it could take his party a decade to recover.

Eight cabinet ministers, including the Home Secretary and the Justice Secretary, would be swept away in the rout as the Tories marched into Downing Street with a majority of 146, The Guardian quoted the poll findings as saying.