From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Tommie McNeil reporting.

The United Nations' Yugoslav war crimes tribunal ruled Wednesday former Bosnian Serb army leader Ratko Mladić is guilty of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from the conflict in the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s. Zlatica Hoke reports for VOA.

The name of General Ratko Mladić will forever be linked to the Srebrenica massacre, the killing of at least 7,000 Muslim men and boys in 1995 following the breakup of former Yugoslavia.

He was charged on 11 counts for his role in the three-year war. "Count 1, genocide."

In July of 1995, Bosnian Serb forces overran the U.N.-protected enclave of Srebrenica. About 15,000 men escaped to a nearby forest in an attempt to reach an area held by Bosnian Muslims. The Serb forces followed to prevent their escape.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is calling the violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state that triggered a mass relocation of Muslim Rohingya to neighboring Bangladesh ethnic cleansing.

The determination increases pressure on the Trump administration to consider possible target at sanctions against Myanmar's government and those blamed for the crisis.

The U.S. State Department had been considering whether to officially make such a designation. During a visit last week to Myanmar, Tillerson said events in the west coast state of Rakhine had the "characteristics of crimes against humanity" but he stopped short of describing them as ethnic cleansing.

Tillerson also said the United States will continue to work with the United Nations to seek resolution to the crisis in Myanmar.

This is VOA news.

Zimbabwe's incoming president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, returned to the country Wednesday after spending about two weeks in exile. His ascendance follows the resignation Tuesday of longtime President Robert Mugabe.

He was greeted by jubilant crowds who were celebrating the end of 37 years of Mugabe rule.

"The intention to derail this process, that intention, was intense but, as he said, the will of the people will always, always succeed."

Zimbabwe's parliament speaker says he will be sworn in as the country's new president Friday. The former vice president abruptly fled the country November 6 after Mugabe fired him.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Wednesday he is putting on hold his resignation at the request of President Michel Aoun.

Speaking at the presidential palace near Beirut after a parade marking Lebanon's independence day, Hariri said the delay was meant to give time for more discussion with the president.

He also reiterated the need for Lebanon to remain neutral on regional conflicts.

Hariri sparked a political crisis earlier this month [when announced from Saudi Arabia] when he announced from Saudi Arabia that he was stepping down and then remained in Saudi Arabia as speculation swirled as to whether or not he was being detained.

Eight people were rescued, three are still missing after a U.S. Navy transport plane crashed Wednesday into the western Pacific Ocean.

The Navy said the twin-propeller C2-A Greyhound aircraft plummeted into the sea about 925 kilometers southeast of Okinawa while it was on a routine mission taking passengers and cargo from a U.S. base in Japan to the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier.

With a new round of U.N.-led peace talks set to begin next week, Syrian opposition figures are meeting Wednesday in Saudi Arabia in an attempt to form a more unified front while several outside nations with heavy influence on the conflict are holding their own consultations in Russia.

Since the fighting broke out in 2011, the rebels have been a fragmented force opposing President Bashar al-Assad, with multiple attempts at uniting under an umbrella group held back by disagreements among the many factions.

U.S. President Donald Trump's re-listing of North Korea this week as a state-sponsor of terrorism - a largely symbolic move - and the announcement of tightened sanctions on Tuesday were generally welcomed by analysts as stepped-up pressure on Pyongyang to give up its nuclear and missile programs.

But some analysts ask and question whether it also targets Chinese trade [and] to get North Korea to the table.

I'm Tommie McNeil in Washington.

That's the latest world news from VOA.