Mugabe passes deadline to resign

HARARE - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe ignored a midday deadline set by the ruling party to step down or face impeachment proceedings, as the influential Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association said on Monday it would invite Zimbabweans back into the streets for more protests until Mugabe steps down.

The association spoke after Mugabe failed to announce his resignation as widely expected in a televised address to the nation on Sunday night.

ZNLWVA chairman Christopher Mutsvangwa told a news conference that Mugabe should stop pretending that things were normal in the country after the military "stepped in" to weed out "criminals" surrounding him, whom it accused of committing crimes that threatened national security.