Ghana TV: President concedes defeat to opposition leader

December 10, 2016

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Ghana's longtime opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo won the presidency late Friday on his third run for the office, a race that was largely seen as a referendum on how the incumbent party had managed the economy in this long stable democracy.

The country's election commission said Akufo-Addo received 53.8 percent of the vote, compared to 44.4 percent for President John Dramani Mahama. It was the largest margin of victory by a presidential candidate since 1996, upending pre-election predictions that the race would be neck and neck.

After the announcement, thousands of Akufo-Addo's supporters converged on his residence in the capital of Accra to celebrate and listen to the president-elect deliver his victory speech. "There's never been a more humbling moment in my life," Akufo-Addo said. "I make this solemn pledge to you tonight: I will not let you down. I will do everything in my power to live up to your hopes and expectations."

Akufo-Addo went on to commend Ghanaians for the "mature, peaceful and orderly manner" in which they exercised their right to vote. "The democratic credentials of our nation have been further enhanced by your conduct," he added, addressing Ghanaians.

Mahama's concession solidifies Ghana's status as a model of democracy in West Africa, a region historically plagued by coups and strongman rule. Ghana has experienced a peaceful transition of power every time there has been a change in government since the country moved to democratic rule in 1992.

Sandra Kwakye, a 38-year-old businesswoman in Accra, told The Associated Press that she is hopeful for the future now that there has been a change in government. "I'm so happy and grateful because we've all been facing hardships for a long time, but we know now that we will have a good president," she said. "(Akufo-Addo) will make everything better for us. That's what he promised."

Mahama called Akufo-Addo to concede defeat shortly before the commission's announcement. He also delivered a concession speech in which he congratulated Akufo-Addo and promised to remain committed to the unity and stability of the country.

"I want to assure the people of Ghana of my commitment to the sustenance of our country's democracy and would work to ensure a smooth and peaceful transition for the incoming administration. As president, I've done my bit," Mahama said as party supporters surrounded him.

It took almost 72 hours for the commission to declare a winner, leaving many Ghanaians skeptical about the delay and impatient for a verdict...

Gambia's president-elect says Jammeh can't demand new vote

December 10, 2016

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Gambia's president-elect said Saturday that the outgoing leader who now rejects his defeat has no constitutional authority to call for another election, and he called on President Yahya Jammeh to help with a smooth transition in the interest of the tiny West African country.

Jammeh's surprise reversal late Friday was certain to spark outrage among the tens of thousands who took to the streets after Adama Barrow was announced the president-elect in the Dec. 1 vote, shouting "Freedom!"

The United States and others quickly rejected Jammeh's new stance, and the African Union on Saturday called for security forces to remain neutral. Soldiers were in the streets of the capital, Banjul, as Gambians closed down shops in fear of unrest.

Barrow said the Independent Electoral Commission is the only competent authority to declare a winner. "It was already done so, and I am the president-elect," Barrow said. "President Jammeh is the outgoing president. He is to hand over executive powers to me when his term is expires in January."

Jammeh, whose 22-year rule has been marked by repeated accusations of human rights abuses, late Friday announced that he rejects the results of the presidential election, a week after he jovially conceded to Barrow. "Allah is telling me my time is up," he said then.

Jammeh now says investigations have revealed a number of voting irregularities. The head of the electoral commission, Alieu Momarr Njai, would not comment to The Associated Press on whether Jammeh had filed a formal challenge to the vote.

On Saturday, Barrow recalled Jammeh's telephone call Dec. 2, broadcast on state television, to concede defeat. "The outgoing president told me in a simple, clear language that the results were regarded of the people and God," Barrow said after meeting with the coalition government at his home.

Barrow, a 51 year-old real estate mogul and former security guard, called on Jammeh to join his side for a smooth transition. "Let him know that leaders come and go. Sooner or later, I must also go," Barrow said. "I urge him to change his current position and accept the verdict of the people in good faith for the sake of the Gambia, our homeland, whose people deserve peace and freedom and prosperity."

Jammeh's reversal drew swift criticism from the international community. African Union Chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Saturday called his rejection of the election results "null and void." The United States government called it an attempt to remain in power illegitimately.

The West African regional body, known as ECOWAS, along with the AU and U.N. urged "all Gambian stakeholders, including the elected leadership, the armed forces, political parties and civil society organization to reject violence and peacefully uphold the will of the people as clearly expressed through the ballot box."

The foreign minister in neighboring Senegal, which surrounds the small country of 1.9 million except for its coastline, called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to address the situation.

The U.N. Security Council called on Jammeh to respect the choice of Gambia's people, and "to transfer, without condition and undue delay, power to the president-elect." The Security Council members also "urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint, refrain from violence and remain calm," and called on international parties, including ECOWAS, to preserve stability and work toward the installation of a democratically elected government in Gambia.

Jammeh's protest is "an extremely dangerous move that risks leading to instability and possible repression," Sabrina Mahtani, Amnesty International's West Africa researcher, said in a statement. Jammeh, who seized power in a bloodless 1994 military coup, has long been accused of overseeing a government that imprisons, tortures and sometimes kill its opponents, according to human rights groups.

Mai Ahmad Fatty of the opposition Gambia Moral Congress, one of eight parties that backed Barrow, said the coalition has the will of the people on its side. "Remain calm. We are working round the clock to restore sanity. We have the full support of our people. The world is with us," Fatty said. "Gambia cannot afford instability."

An Associated Press reporter in Yundum, Gambia, contributed to this report. AP writers Krista Larson and Abdoulie John in Dakar, Senegal, contributed.

Longtime Gambian ruler now refuses to step aside

December 10, 2016

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Gambia's ruler of more than 22 years announced late Friday that he no longer accepts defeat in the country's presidential election, reversing course a week after he conceded to his rival.

In a speech on state television, President Yahya Jammeh said that investigations since the Dec. 1 vote have revealed a number of voting irregularities that he called unacceptable. "I hereby reject the results in totality," he said in his address that aired late Friday. "Let me repeat: I will not accept the results based on what has happened."

Only one week ago, a jovial Jammeh was filmed on state television calling opposition candidate Adama Barrow to wish him the best. "You are the elected president of The Gambia, and I wish you all the best," Jammeh told Barrow at the time. "I have no ill will."

The dramatic about-face was certain to spark outrage among the opposition and the tens of thousands of Gambians living in exile abroad. Already in the week since Jammeh had been defeated, several dozen political prisoners had been released on bail.

"We are deeply concerned by reports of belated objections to the Gambian election results raised by President Jammeh," said Babatunde Olugboji, deputy program director at Human Rights Watch. "The international community, notably (regional bloc) ECOWAS and the African Union, should loudly protest any unlawful attempt to subvert the will of the Gambian people."

The U.S. government also condemned Jammeh's rejection of the election result, calling it an attempt to remain in power illegitimately. "The people have spoken and it is time for Gambians to come together to ensure a peaceful transition to President-elect Barrow," said State Department spokesman Mark Toner in a statement.

It remained unclear whether the tiny country of 1.9 million people would accept Jammeh's continued rule. As news spread last week of his defeat, Gambians took to the streets — singing, dancing and shouting "Freedom!"

Under Jammeh's rule, the country surrounded almost entirely by Senegal has become notorious for its abysmal human rights record as well as the president's erratic behavior. The Jammeh regime has long been accused of imprisoning, torturing and killing its opponents, according to human rights groups. He also has issued increasingly virulent statements against sexual minorities, vowing to slit the throats of gay men.

In 2007, Jammeh claimed to have developed a cure for AIDS that involved an herbal body rub and bananas. Alarming public health experts, he insisted patients stop taking antiretroviral medications so his remedy could have an effect.

He also has increasingly isolated Gambia, whose economy has long been dependent on tourism. In 2013 he exited the Commonwealth, a group made up mostly of former British colonies, branding it a "neo-colonial institution." And in October, Jammeh said Gambia would leave the International Criminal Court, which he dismissed as the 'International Caucasian Court.'"

In his speech Friday, Jammeh said some figures in the results had been transposed and that voter turnout had been suppressed. "Our investigations reveal that in some cases voters were told that the opposition has already won and that there was no need for them to vote and, out of anger, some of them returned home," he said.

For tech hub in Russia's rustbelt, recession's a godsend

December 12, 2016

VORONEZH, Russia (AP) — Russia's economy is in a quagmire thanks to sanctions and low oil prices, but it's a boom time for Mikhail Khorpyakov. The 32-year-old, who develops software for Russian and foreign clients, has seen his earnings rise over the last two years even as the country fell into recession and the national currency lost half its value.

At the airy, well-lit office he shares with friends in a newly built block in the thriving provincial tech hub of Voronezh, Khorpyakov recalls his last workspace was "in a basement, with noisy sewer pipes all around," before their earning power allowed them to aim higher.

Khorpyakov and his friends are part of an unlikely tech revolution in Voronezh, a former Soviet industrial town where startups and online contract work are proving the only source of good jobs and escape from economic decline.

In fact, the crisis has turned out to be the tech sector's biggest fortune. As Russia fell into recession, the ruble's nosedive to record lows made tech workers here much cheaper for foreign companies to hire or buy from — letting them compete with traditional tech offshoring hubs like India and China.

Even as officials in the United States and Europe warn about the threat posed by government-backed Russian hackers, tech workers in Voronezh say security concerns don't affect their international business relationships.

Ivan Grishaev, a 30-year-old software engineer, moved to Voronezh with his wife and son from Chita, a remote city in Eastern Siberia, in 2013. He chose Voronezh because it offered better career options, lower rent and warmer weather than traditional magnets for migrants such as Moscow or St. Petersburg.

First he worked for DataArt, a Russian software company with more than 800 employees in Voronezh. But when the ruble's value plunged, Grishaev struck out on his own, working directly for foreign clients. As well as financial benefits, the change also brought a more flexible work schedule, meaning he can collect his son from school.

Now a self-employed IT specialist developing websites for a Swiss firm, Grishaev makes nearly twice as much as he used to thanks to the difference in local and European salaries, and in currency-exchange rates.

A qualified remote IT services provider working for a Western firm can make $2,000-$3,000 per month. That is up to eight times the average salary for the local region, and double what IT specialists can earn working for Russian companies in Voronezh.

"We've become less constrained financially, could afford to have a second child, and now go on vacations abroad," says Grishaev. Boasting several Soviet-era technology-focused universities, Voronezh serves as an outsourcing hub for many Russian and foreign companies. Reachable in six hours by car from Moscow — comparatively close by the standards of the world's largest country — office rent and salaries here are significantly lower than in the capital.

Other rust-belt towns around the world, such as Pittsburgh in the U.S., have seen their local economies helped by a rise in tech companies taking advantage of cheap rents and educated workforces. But Voronezh stands out as an extreme example due to the enormous gains that the ruble's drop gives tech workers compared with the rest of the local economy.

"We produce games for the Russian-speaking CIS (former Soviet) countries, and make versions for Europe and the U.S., which bring us revenue in foreign currency. Thanks to the exchange rate, this revenue is even bigger in rubles," says Sergey Khatenkov, head of the Voronezh office of Mail.Ru Group, one of Russia's largest internet companies.

In 2006, Mail.Ru opened its Voronezh office with five employees. Now it employs 200 people and almost entirely focuses on developing multiplayer online games. Some of the games developed by Mail.Ru in Voronezh, such as Allods Online, count tens of thousands of daily players globally and are one of the company's main sources of income.

"Thanks to the (cheap currency) we've significantly increased benefits for our employees," says Andrey Shinkarenko, head of the Voronezh office at Murano Software, a U.S.-Russian company whose business is entirely based on outsourcing. "We've expanded their medical insurance to the fullest, organized meals in the office, that kind of thing."

With the lower cost, Russian IT software developers are now competing more effectively against their counterparts in India and China. According to TAdviser, an analytics company, software and IT services exports from Russia have been steadily growing since 2010 and hit $7 billion in 2015.

That's still far from the $82 billion brought in by India's thriving tech sector, based largely on outsourcing, but Russia has only one-sixth of India's population. A key problem for startups in Voronezh is a lack of investment to grow. Many locals with promising ideas eventually up sticks for Moscow or foreign countries.

"The Russian regions are almost dead in this sense — everything revolves around Moscow at a great speed, so if you want to be noticed and newsworthy, you have to go to Moscow," said Vitaly Yagodkin, head of Perezoni.com, a Voronezh-based online service which provides widgets for websites. He now spends time between the capital, where he holds business meetings to attract new clients, and Voronezh, where his team is based.

Other startup founders head to countries like Germany or the U.S. due to worries that Russia's legal system doesn't offer enough protection from predatory officials and investors seeking to seize control of small firms.

Many software engineers in Voronezh are reluctant to leave, given the new tech hub's combination of low costs and big opportunities. "As soon as my family and I move (abroad), I will find myself with quite a small salary by European standards," said Grishaev, the independent outsourcing worker. "I would have to climb up the career ladder again, so I don't think I need to give it all up and go."

James Ellingworth in Moscow contributed to this report.

A look at Bill English, New Zealand's new prime minister

December 12, 2016

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Bill English was sworn in Monday as New Zealand's 39th prime minister after John Key resigned. Here's a glance at English's life:

Born Dec. 30, 1961 (aged 54). Simon William "Bill" English was raised on a farm near Dipton, which has population of about 150, on the South Island.

EDUCATION

Head boy at St. Patrick's College, Silverstream, a Roman Catholic high school near Wellington.

Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Otago, and a Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, in English literature at Victoria University of Wellington.

FAMILY

Married to Dr. Mary English, a general practitioner. They have six adult children.

Says his Catholic faith is an influence but doesn't define him. Opposes abortion and euthanasia. Voted against same-sex marriage but says he now supports it.

POLITICAL HISTORY

First elected to the Parliament in 1990 as the member for the Wallace electorate, later renamed Clutha-Southland.

Leader of the National Party from October 2001 to October 2003. Led the party to its worst-ever defeat in the 2002 election.

Became finance minister and deputy prime minister in 2008, when Key became prime minister.

POLICIES

Has pledged to use budget surpluses to cut taxes, spend more on infrastructure and pay down government debt.

Says he's not bound by Key's pledge to keep the age at which people can receive a government pension at 65. Some people say the age should be raised to reflect an aging population which is working longer.

Says he supports the British monarchy and has no timetable for New Zealand to become a republic. Says any constitutional change would need to be driven by the people.

Iran's Cabinet votes to change national currency

Changiz M. Varzi
December 8, 2016

President Hassan Rouhani’s Cabinet voted on Dec. 7 to approve a bill that proposes to change Iran’s currency from the rial to the toman, and to remove one zero, the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported. The measure was proposed by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and needs parliament and Guardian Council approval to take effect.

The move came less than a month after Abolfazl Akrami, the director general for economic affairs at the CBI, told the semi-official Iranian Student News Agency that the CBI had no plans to slash zeros from Iran’s national currency. On Nov. 14, he stressed, “If the inflation rate remains below 10%, if we manage to unify multi-tier exchange rate and if economic growth remains stable, then we can remove [a] zero from the national currency.” Iran currently has two exchange rates; the CBI fixes the official one, and the other is the informal open market rate.

Meanwhile, the deputy governor of the CBI, Akbar Komijani, on Dec. 8 told IRNA that the move should not be considered as the implementation of “monetary correction” in the country, but to “respect the public and accept the currency that they use on a daily basis.”

The rial has been Iran’s official currency since March 23, 1932. Nevertheless, apart from officials and due to the sharp fall of the rial’s value in recent years, Iranians in their daily lives use the toman, which is equal to 10 rial. Neither "rial" nor "toman" are Persian words, but have Turko-Mongol and Spanish-Portuguese origins, respectively, with "rial" deriving from "real" (royal).

It is not the first time Iranian authorities proposed a program to eliminate zeros from the national currency. In 1993, the CBI worked on a plan to remove three zeros from Iran’s currency, but officials never reached an agreement on the proposal. Then on Jan. 20, 2010, the proposal was in the spotlight again when former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that his administration would remove three zeros from the national currency — that plan was never implemented either.

Analysts believe that the unknown outcomes of such plans are the main reasons administrations avoid removing several zeros from Iran’s currency. The Reformist Shahrvand newspaper in a Dec. 8 article published the viewpoints of various economists on the recent decision to change the official currency.

The daily quoted Hadi Hagh-Shenas, an economist and former member of parliament, as saying that “nothing will change” in Iran’s economy by slashing one zero from the national currency. “It has been a long time since the public used the toman to trade. The official market has also been working with the toman. Today, the rial has no meaning in our country.”

The daily Etemad also said that removing one zero from the currency will not resolve Iran’s economic issues. “Facilitating daily trade, simplifying accounting operations and reducing the expenses of issuing banknotes were the main reasons to remove zeros from the currencies in other countries,” wrote the daily. “If we remove only one zero from our currency, none of those goals can be met.”

Meanwhile, the government-run newspaper Iran warmly endorsed the move and led its coverage of the bill with “Toman: The New Currency of Iran.” The daily quoted Mohsen Bahrami Arze Aghdas, a member of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, as saying, “This will be a good move in favor of our national economy.”

Source: al-Monitor.
Link: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/12/iran-cabinet-vote-rial-toman-redenomination-name-change.html.

Scientists say reindeer may be shrinking due to warming

December 13, 2016

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Reindeer living on the Arctic island of Svalbard are getting smaller — and scientists say climate change may be the cause. Scientists from Britain and Norway have found that adult Svalbard reindeer born in 2010 weigh 12 percent less on average than those born in 1994.

Ecologist Steve Albon of Scotland's James Hutton Institute says rising temperatures in the Arctic mean Svalbard is getting more rain, creating a hard ice sheet the island's reindeer can't easily break through to reach food.

Reindeer populations are also increasing due to warmer summers, stoking competition. Albon says researchers think there is a correlation between rising temperatures and reindeer weight. He says more research is needed to confirm the link.

Their findings were presented Monday at a meeting of the British Ecological Society.