Gambia Strongman Does What Strongmen Do

Just last week he called his opponent on live television to gracefully concede the election. Now, he’s apparently having second thoughts. “Soldiers stood watch on streets in Gambia’s capital and surrounding area on Sunday, as most residents went about ordinary life despite worries after their longtime leader said he would not accept election results that would force him to step down after 22 years in power. International and regional bodies and governments joined together in calls over the weekend for a peaceful transition in the tiny West African country of about 1.9 million people that is almost completely surrounded by Senegal. Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh initially conceded defeat after Gambians voted in president-elect Adama Barrow on Dec. 1. However on Friday Jammeh announced that he no longer accepted the election results and called for another vote, saying there were irregularities.” (ABC http://abcn.ws/2hlQwNH)

Major Attack in Mogadishu…“An al-Shabab suicide car bomber has struck the entrance of Mogadishu’s largest port and an adjacent police complex, killing at least 29 people and wounding nearly 48 others, according to police sources…The attack took place near the gate of Mogadishu’s main port and is the latest in a series of attacks on the capital. The bomber drove a minibus packed with explosives into the police station and a security checkpoint, witnesses said. Al-Shabab took responsibility for the attack via a statement on its radio station, Radio Andalus.” (Al Jazeera http://bit.ly/2hlSiP2)

Meet your next Secy State (R-Exxon)…Rex W. Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, whose extensive deal-making for the energy giant has plunged him into global politics from Yemen to Russia, is expected to be offered the secretary of state post this weekend by President-elect Donald J. Trump, according to two people close to Mr. Trump’s transition team. Mr. Tillerson has close ties with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, whom he has known for more than two decades. Russia awarded Mr. Tillerson its Order of Friendship in 2013, the year before Washington’s relationship with Moscow sank into a deep freeze over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its shadow war in eastern Ukraine. (NYT http://nyti.ms/2gpJR32)

You’re a mean one Mr. Maduro…Venezuelan officials have confiscated nearly 5 million toys from a toy distributor, accusing the company of planning to sell them at inflated prices during the Christmas season. (CNN http://cnn.it/2hm1NxL)