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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Jonathan Jones reporting.
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe ignored a demand from the ruling party that he step down by noon on Monday. Parliament is now expected to open impeachment proceedings against Mugabe on Tuesday. But as [correspondent] VOA correspondent Anita Powell reports from Johannesburg that process could be long, complex and unsuccessful. She has reporting from Sebastian Mhofu in Harare. When Zimbabwe's military sent tanks into the capital and took President Robert Mugabe into custody, it was clear they wanted a quick resolution to the growing discontent with the longtime president. But nearly a week later, with Mugabe refusing to resign and parliament threatening to impeach him, they could be on a long and complicated path with a formidable opponent: Mugabe himself. Lovemore Madhuku teaches law at the University of Zimbabwe. He says impeachment can be very complex. "When we say an impeachment in the Zimbabwean context, it actually means a trial and then you want them tried for that. If you find them guilty of that thing that you have accused them of, you then dismiss them from being president." Mugabe has never been wont to shy away from a fight and as the only leader independent Zimbabwe has ever had, this is one he spent decades training for. Anita Powell, VOA news, Johannesburg. The United States will re-designate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. That move is meant to put additional financial and diplomatic pressure on the North's totalitarian government. President Trump spoke Monday at the White House. He said it should have happened years ago. He called the Pyongyang government a murderous regime. The move will be formally announced by the State Department on Tuesday. North Korea will join Iran, Syria and Sudan on the list. This is VOA news. Kenya's Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that Uhuru Kenyatta did win last month's presidential election, striking down arguments that the law was not followed in conducting the repeat poll. For VOA, correspondent Mohammed Yusuf reports. Chief Justice David Maraga announced the decision following three days of hearings. "The presidential election of the 26th October is hereby upheld as is the election of the third respondent." The head of the court dismissed the two petitions filed by a former lawmaker and two human rights defenders. The October vote was a rerun of the August presidential election. Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner of the initial vote, but the Supreme Court ruled the result was invalid because of irregularities. After the ruling, some Kenyatta supporters took to the streets to celebrate the verdict. Protests and clashes broke out in pro-Odinga neighborhoods of Nairobi after the verdict. Mohammed Yusuf, for VOA news, Nairobi. Argentina's navy says a multinational team is working in the South Atlantic Ocean to try to find a submarine missing since last week. There are 44 crew members on board. On Monday, a naval spokesman said the search effort has been "tripled," with ships and aircraft from at least seven countries looking for the sub, which disappeared last Wednesday. Those countries: Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Britain and, of course, the United States. The spokesman said the submarine reported a mechanical breakdown in its final communication and was ordered to sail to Mar del Plata, 400 kilometers south of Buenos Aires. And, U.S. visa consultations could soon resume in three Russian cities. This from the Tass news agency quoting U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman on Monday. Huntsman, according to Tass, said the visa interviews "in the near future... may be resumed" at consulates in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg in the Urals and Vladivostok in Russia's Far East. All the consulates in Russia, along with the embassy in Moscow, resumed processing of non-immigrant visas that do not require interviews on September 1. That group included children up to age 13, people 80 and older and those whose visas had expired within the last year. But the lack of consulate staffing after Russia ordered a sharp cutback in the size of the staffs at U.S. outposts has curtailed the processing of visas that require interviews. There is more on these and other late breaking and developing stories, from around the world, around the clock, at voanews.com and on the VOA news mobile app. I'm Jonathan Jones reporting from the world headquarters of the Voice of America in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |