World in Focus: Sputnik’s Daily Current Affairs Program | 20/12/16

Tuesday: As the Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Kabila refuses to cede power we look at the constitutional legitimacy of his presidency; UK offers multi-million dollar contracts to private security firms to secure its borders; and, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announces delay in withdrawal of hundred-Bolivar notes from circulation.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Joseph Kabila has refused to cede power despite his legal mandate expiring at midnight last night. His top diplomats argue that the constitution dictates that he must stay in office until a new president is elected — but as Kabila has already delayed the elections by seventeen months we’ll be taking a closer look at just what is constitutional.  We speak to Dr Phil Clark from the Department of Politics and International Studies, SOAS, University of London.
 
The UK offers private companies multi-million dollar contracts to secure its border in the French ports of Calais and Dunkirk. It is the latest evidence of the country increasingly  "externalizing" its frontiers. We speak to Elizabeth Vallet,
author of “Borders, Fences and Walls: State of Insecurity?”
 
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said yesterday, that there would be a delay in the recently announced withdrawal of hundred-bolivar currency notes from circulation, amidst accusations of hoarding and “economic sabotage”.  But just how much impact will the new high denomination bills have on Venezuela’s beleaguered economy? We speak to Juan Nagel, Professor of Economics at the Universidad de los Andes in Santiago, Chile.
 
Amid the ongoing civil war in South Sudan, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has warned that the world’s newest nation could face a genocide if immediate action is not taken. But given the ethnic cleansing in the nation's past, and the unthinkable number of lives that have already been lost, are these comments perhaps a little late?
 
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