Hello and welcome to the aljazeera news hour live from our headquarters in doha with me and as a purana coming up in the next sixty minutes. Should have happened a long time ago should happen years ago u. S. President donald trump says hes designating north korea a state sponsor of terrorism paving the way for more sanctions zimbabwes voting party begins in page one proceedings against Robert Mugabe as he refuses to resign as president the head of syrias main opposition body the High Negotiations Committee steps down just days before kate talks on solving arabia plus as Coalition Talks fail in germany and going to merkel says shed prefer a new election. U. S. President donald trump has designated north korea states. Terrorism trump also promised more sanctions against pyongyang but secretary of state Rex Tillerson says washington has not given up hope on dissolving the Nuclear Crisis on the Korean Peninsula through diplomacy shihab or tom seaver reports from washington d. C. And president trumps of the designation of north korea as a sponsor of terrorism was long overdue should have happened a long time ago should happened years ago in addition to threatening the world by Nuclear Devastation north korea has repeatedly supported acts of International Terrorism including assassinations on foreign soil. However this announcement wasnt a certainty some officials at the state department were reported to the North Koreans did not meet the Legal Definition of a state sponsor of terrorism two cases have been cited during the deliberations the killing of kim jong uns half brother adam a lazy an airport and the treatment of american student on a woman who died of his injuries after being released from north korean custody neither represents terrorism they argued nonetheless more sanctions will now be announced by the Treasury Department there its unclear this will prove to be anything more than a symbolic measure given all of the sanctions that have already been levied against pyongyang something the secretary of state alluded to i dont want to suggest to you that the designation is suddenly going to put a whole new layer of sanctions olympus again i think we already have north korea so heavily sanctioned in so many ways with the u. N. Resolutions that have been undertaken but this will close a few additional loopholes all analysts are attempting to discern a comprehensive strategy for north korea from the trumpet ministration i think its disappointing trump came to washington as an outsider and i really thought that maybe there was some chance that he could have a policy towards north korea that would be different and more creative than the wall. That the inside the beltway crowd have been implementing. The North Koreans have said they would end their Nuclear Tests and resume negotiations if the u. S. And its military exercises with south korea the u. S. Has ruled that out so in the meantime the administration is once again relying on sanctions and harsh rhetoric she average hansie washington. Well lets get more on this knowledge joined by jim walsh Senior Research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of technologys Security Studies program and hes joining us live from boston mr walsh is great to have you with us on aljazeera i know that you have worked on sanctions on north korea yourself why do you think this administration is relying on sanctions and hosh rhetoric as i correspond and said when they havent really worked. Well thats an excellent question i think part of it is sanctions are enormously popular on capitol hill as a policy tool and in some ways it hits the policy sweet spot if youre not sending troops and youre not putting boots on the ground and youre not just simply ignoring a problem its really gives politicians a middle way to look like theyre doing something even if its not very effective at least theyre doing something and thats why theyre politically attractive also you dont you know talk its easier the negotiation when you negotiate with your adversary you have to actually sit down and talk to them and that can be very difficult where sanctions you just shooting in them out there to your door get so i think theyre politically easy and thats why we get a lot of a while they have the desired effect of all the new designation provide the president the administration with new leverage to force negotiations or do you think it will just further antagonize kemet on. Well i think and secretary tillerson in your report just part of this sort of hinted at this i dont think its going to matter very much at all so you have the president saying you know this pressure is going to force them back to the bargaining table molly skeptical of that and im not sure you know forcing someone to negotiating table what sort of negotiation you get when you do that on the other and i think the president s critics are saying well this might undermine diplomacy with china who we want to help with north korea im not sure thats really true either i just dont think its going to matter very much the North Koreans when as you rightly point out i conducted with john park of harvard a study last year we published and essentially what we document is that the North Koreans are very good at evaluating sanctions in other words theyve innovated in the face of a challenge we sort of do the same thing over and over again expand the number of companies being designated to the number of people that sort of thing and they figure out ways to get around it in particular theyve been very good at hard talented private chinese middlemen to do all their procurement for them so unless you respond you know you cant just put sanctions on you have to if you put sanctions you have to respond to their countermeasures or youre just doing the same thing over and over again and yet we are going to see more sanctions mr walsh what do you make your heart what do you make of the fact that north korea its be needed more than two months now actually since north korea has carried out any tests off to a year of regular tests and you know somewhat optimistic that this could be the environment to negotiate do you think this could be a this is a missed opportunity by the u. S. Administration hand by imposing more sanctions by designating them a state sponsor of terror at this time. Well i do think youre right elizabeth to point out that the north korean and u. S. Relationship is such that every season that we sort of have a sanction season and a war game season and every time we do something and then they have their tests and every time one party in the relationship does something the other party pulls back and refuses to talk and so you really only get a limited number of opportunities in a given year to try to actually have a dialogue to try to move forward here to put limits on their program and to see what it is that they want in return for that and so youre right weve had this long typically the Fourth Quarter sees that the colline in the number of north korean tests and it may be that they had some tunnel troubles after their last nuclear test that may have delayed them a little bit so were not sure why theres a delay but you are right to say while they are not testing that is the time for something creative. Rather than doing the same old same old because once you start putting on sanctions and once they Start Testing the no ones going to want to talk to one another how do you expect them to respond to this. You know i dont know i think it all depends on their strategy im sure well get you know. Overblown statement with lots of insults and hot rhetoric if that hasnt already happened. How will it change. Directly i dont know i think theyre probably really focused on their Missile Program right now and thats what they care about most and they probably dont care that much about these other sanctions if they cared about something that the president did the thing that i worry about if you go back oh so long ago to the president s speech before the u. N. General assembly where he personally insulted kim despite receiving advice not to do so i would be worried about that what is the down the road what are the consequences of that are going to be are we really going to see a nuclear test across the ocean which was one of the things mentioned by the koreans after that speech i more worried about that than i am this particular sanctions bill mr walsh thank you very much as always for your time on this we appreciate it jim walsh joining us live from boston thank you. Lets move on to other news now Zimbabwes PresidentRobert Mugabe has begun talks with former Vice President and a son on a gondola it comes as the ruling Party Started and pitchmen proceedings against the embattled leader of the motion against the body and the gobby is due to be presented to parliament on tuesday after he ignored a deadline to resign him a top side has moved from hadi. The monday new deadline for president Robert Mugabe to resign or face in each meant has come and gone later that evening the military said Operation Restore legacy is making progress is a bubble of defense and Security Services i encouraged by new developments which include one that the between the president and the former Vice President committed. In the country shortly. Thereafter the nation will be advised on the outcome of talks between the two. Calls for the president to step down are growing louder the war veterans once will grab its closest allies say they are losing patience. Because what we dont want to see. We saw him go to the National Television to pretend as if everything is normal if you are saying that. Attending his Party Congress we are saying mugabe go now. Your time is up please leave. And let the country start on a new or new page. M. P. s say they will file a motion in parliament and choose day to impeach mcgarvey opposition m. P. s who decide whether to join them president mugabe is an increasing pressure to step down and regional leaders are trying to find a quick solution to zimbabwes political crisis. Students at the university of zimbabwe say its time for the ninety three year old leader to step aside they are refusing to take exams and threatening to shut down the investor. Being poor zimbabwean must be restored to. Its turn but he should no longer want you in power so everybody who does not does not understand the rule of the people is not become a constitution or delinquent. These are Uncertain Times. Its charted territory has about the events of the last few days have shaken both the party and the state how much has al jazeera had. Well lets get more on this now were joined by and going to die shame when they may also see a professor of Political Science at Williams College and hes joining us from williamstown massachusetts great to have you with us on aljazeera so very Uncertain Times and zimbabwe just how much of the sc confusion that were seeing do you think is being caused by the military not wanting this to look like a coup you know to add a legal or constitutional veneer to whats happening and is the president as mugabe taking advantage of that its good evening i would say that just seeing. The commitment by. The military action and. Maintain that. Thats. Situational transfer legal. On has opened up a need for bangali to hold on to power perhaps much longer than the planners i thought this would all take. You know being sued. Sort of constitutional legal transfer they didnt require you. To make some decision some choices that for instance their request to step down to resign bone or in i think its all part of the. Pursuit to conceal the high. Frame thats not as a coup but is Something Else and why and we. Why do you think what gabi is holding on like he is. Wow. You know im saying there probably will factors behind that. One cannot imagine probably in significant uncertainty for him about what in future looks like the. Way he treats the sino december is finally as while others are considerations that are untrue are laying on president of his mind of the moment. But not i would fall back on the second count on in some ways what were seeing in president mugabes defiance of usable to resign to lead directly what trade stat has made him popular over the years he has demonstrated over one strong willed. Position positions across the board in particular heres his stance against the west for instance which he has taken on the dates and in some instances so far so he has a person on very strong conviction and yet hey i dont think that if he is losing his popularity isnt he there will be a motion to pass and page went on tuesday do you think that the opposition m. P. s it will provide the support needed to pass it. After three years of trying to impeach mugabe would seem to be quite incredible if the opposition members were to balk at this opportunity and given him his own im sorry. Looks like its bringing the emotions to you to morrow. So everything would seem to suggest that. The opposition the parliament have got quite an opportunity to. To read far our own government removal i think some of the things that are going on in the background of truth. Is the beginnings are certainly go see a sure and of posturing on the part of some opposition members in terms of trying to position themselves and their parties for some inclusion in whatever political configuration comes in or after. Thank you very much for your time and your analysis on those that isnt going to win a mug joining us live from massachusetts thank you. We have plenty more ahead on the news hour including anger in yemen protesters demand to be reopened as the humanitarian situation worsens. And looks at the career of a champion. Passed away at the age of forty nine. The head of the largest backed Syrian Opposition group has resigned after nearly two years of her job was appointed leader of the High Negotiations Committee in december two thousand and fifteen a spokesperson and several other officials have also stepped down ahead of an opposition conference in saudi arabia and a new round of u. N. Sponsored talks in geneva a statement from her job did not say why he was quoting him say is the main antigovernment umbrella bloc which includes political and armed groups well lets get more on this now were joined by jonathan crystal a fellow at the World Policy Institute and middle east expert hes joining us live from new york very good to have you with us on aljazeera why do you think he hasnt said as but what does his job stepping down now. Why would he do it and days before that opposition conference and saudi arabia. Well you know i think that there are two possible reasons you know one is its a quite a thankless job i think that hes had over the last couple of years he is acting as an Umbrella Group for a very wide range of organizations that really have competing goals competing interests dont necessarily work with each other some of them show up sometimes and not other times and its in some ways its a bit of a p. R. Sort of position it plays well to the a western audience it plays well to the other powers in the region to make it seem like theyre someone speaking for all of these groups when in reality they dont so i think that theres a certain frustration that anyone would have in that circumstance now the timing comes not only before these meetings but it also is time to around a lot of. A flurry of activity from saudi arabia in the region and so you know it is too early to know for sure what is going on but you know it could be that the saudis had a particular replacement in mind it could be that he was frustrated that things were going nowhere and didnt want to go through a sort of farcical display at these meetings but i think well find out in the days to come i imagine even if this position is something of a poison chalice what does it mean for the opposition especially going into the next round of geneva talks. Well you know these talks have really over the past few years fallen into i would say a few different categories there are the talks that fall apart before they start there are the talks that fall apart while theyre happening and there are the talks that fall apart you know within weeks maybe a month or two later and so you know i dont think that this really will have a tremendous impact on the opposition groups i think it certainly would be a good thing for the opposition groups to be united to Work Together to achieve the ends that they have that are in common which is the removal of assad and pushing back perhaps against iranian and russian influence although thats probably secondary and different groups have different views on those latter two points but you know i think that that would be the unity of these groups would be a good thing im just not sure that it is a possible thing for anyone to achieve that isnt a particularly strong charismatic leader that manages to bridge all sides and that person may not play as well to foreign audiences mr kristof thank you very much for your time and you know and fights into this john fund christo joining us live from new york thank you. Now the red cross and al bayda have joined the list of yemeni city is the now without clean water two point five Million People live in the five cities where a shortage of fuel caused by the saudi led blockade has cost pumping stations to shut down some yemeni ports have reopened to an island desperately in need of food and aid but critics say its not enoug