From Washington, this is VOA news. Hello, I'm Steve Miller.

At least three explosions were heard in Zimbabwe's capital early Wednesday and military vehicles were seen in the streets after the army commander threatened to step in and calm political tensions over President Robert Mugabe's possible successor.

The ruling party accused the commander of treasonable conduct, and Maya Bush has more.

The statement issued Tuesday night says the unprecedented comments made a day earlier by army commander Constantino Chiwenga were "clearly calculated to disturb national peace and stability" and were "meant to incite insurrection."

Tension rose last week after Mugabe fired his deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who had the military's support.

Lebanon's Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, said in a tweet Tuesday that he will return home in the next two days but that his family would remain in Saudi Arabia. Miller Sega has more.

Hariri plunged the country into crisis with his surprise resignation during a trip to Saudi Arabia November 4.

Lebanon's foreign minister said during a trip to Paris that his country may resort to international law to determine Hariri's condition, suggesting he is being held against his will if he does not return to Lebanon.

Gibran Bassil, who is on a European tour aimed at rallying support for his country's stability, said if Hariri does not return it will prove that he is not free.

Miller Sega, VOA news.

Russia said Tuesday it is talking to the United States about renewing the mandate of experts working to determine who was responsible for chemical weapons attacks in Syria, but the United States says Moscow won't consider the American draft resolution.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations said that "Russia's support of the renewals was not backed up by their actions.

This is VOA news.

For the first time in decades, U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday examined the nuclear authority wielded by American presidents and, in particular, whether President Donald Trump could order a preemptive nuclear strike on North Korea. Michael Bowman reports.

Like U.S. presidents before him, Donald Trump can order a nuclear launch at a moment's notice. This worries some lawmakers.

"We are concerned that the president of the United States is so unstable, is so volatile."

But others are less concerned. "And we have elections and one of the things that voters think about when they elect someone to the office of the president of the United States is whether or not they want to trust him with this capability."

Trump repeatedly belittled North Korea's leader and issued blunt warnings to Pyongyang.

Democrats have drafted a bill stipulating the president must obtain a declaration of war from Congress before ordering a nuclear first strike.

Republicans cautioned against creating any doubts on the world stage about America's nuclear deterrent and its determination to respond to threats.

Michael Bowman, VOA news, the Capitol.

U.S. President Donald Trump is returning to Washington from his 12-day, five-nation Asia trip. In addition to announcing a $300 billion deal with various nations, White House bureau chief Steve Herman, who is traveling with the president, notes that this trip also focused on addressing North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

This administration has made clear and putting the message across very distinctly here that they will not allow North Korea to have the capability, to have a nuclear weapon that could reach the United States on a ballistic missile. But what specific agreements have been made, what specific steps [will] have been accomplished, including perhaps tighter sanctions? There are already a lot of sanctions on North Korea unilaterally by Japan, by the United States and by the United Nations. What else can really be done because there is no indication that there is any diplomacy going on or that we expect any diplomacy in the short terms?

Steve Herman, VOA news.

Australians have said they support gay marriage in a postal survey that ensures the parliament considers a bill to legalize same-sex [wedding] weddings this year.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said 62 percent of registered adults who responded had voted for the reform in an unprecedented two-month survey.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is expected to address the issue of Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence in Myanmar when he visits Wednesday as calls mount for the Trump administration to adopt a stronger stance on the crisis.

More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have left Myanmar's Rakhine State since August 25.

I'm Steve Miller.

That's the latest world news from VOA.