Snowe Vote Overturned by Supreme Court

They had the votes, but according to the highest court, the House of Representatives got the procedure wrong:

The vote to impeach Snowe went through at a special session by 41 votes out of 64, but in the absence of the speaker and when parliament was on recess.

Under the constitution of Liberia, parliament can impeach a speaker through of a vote of at least two-thirds of the legislators and in presence of the speaker.

Sounds like the court didn't speak to the issue of the alleged bribery, so that controversy will linger.

The story notes that Chinese president Hu Jintao is coming to visit on Thursday, which would explain all the Chinese and Liberian flags going up all over town. Traffic's going to be a mess!

And speaking of Asian economic powerhouses, I heard from a colleague that President Ellen will visit Japan in March, at which time the Japanese government will announce a new program of bilateral aid to Liberia.