The Kuwaiti General Directorate of Residence Affairs recently announced a ban on recruitment of domestic workers from five African countries.
The latest ban raises the list to 20 countries.
According local media sources, the Kuwaiti ministry of foreign affairs issued a circular mentioning the names of the 5 countries, which include Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Bhutan, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.
Additionally, the other 15 African countries are Djibouti,Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Togo, Senegal, Malawi, Chad, Sierra Leone, Niger, Tanzania, the Gambia, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Madagascar.
The circular also included five other African countries whose domestic workers faced a temporary ban, including Cameroon, the Congo, Burundi, Eritrea and Liberia.
Tourism Observer
Tourism, Travel, Hospitality, Conservation: News,Stories And Experiences From Allover The World
Showing posts with label gambia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gambia. Show all posts
Tuesday, 30 April 2019
Thursday, 28 March 2019
UAE: West African Food Available In UAE
2019 might will be the year that West African food, with its bold flavours, thrifty use of high-fibre fruit and vegetables, complex tastes and contrasting textures, begins to receive the international culinary appreciation it deserves.
Social media is awash with images of West African dishes, the number of blogs celebrating the cuisine is on the rise, and restaurants serving modern interpretations of the traditional food of Sierra Leone, Senegal, Gambia and Nigeria, in particular, are slowly but surely opening up all over the world.
At the end of last year, fine-dining restaurant Ikoyi in London became the first West African restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star.
While ingredients such as yams, Scotch bonnet peppers, guava, black-eyed peas, cocoyam and cassava might not yet be part of the average cook’s daily repertoire, they are becoming well known and used.
Gbemi Giwa is from western Nigeria and is the creative force behind Catfish.
The restaurant delivery service in Dubai showcases West African food in a holistic way, using modern cooking and wellness techniques to produce a menu that is free from gluten, genetically modified ingredients, dairy and refined sugar.
When asked about this wave of interest in the food of her homeland, she points out that trying to encapsulate the recipes, dishes and culinary history of so many different countries under one umbrella term or in a few words is tricky to say the least.
West African cuisine is as nuanced and diverse as the hundreds of ethnic groups in the region, so it’s hard to place a collective label on the numerous dishes across the region.
That being said, one of the few things that ties dishes across the region is spice; we use a variety of peppers in our food and you can always expect big, bold, hot flavours, she says.
Giwa adds that beans, plantains, yams, peanuts and tomatoes feature in many recipes, and that variations on starchy staples such as fufu, eba, banku and amala are eaten in almost every country, as are soups cooked in palm oil with local spices, garnished with amaranth, bitter leaves and ugwu.
Much like Giwa, London chef, food blogger and cookbook author Lope Ariyo is committed to not just bringing West African food to wider attention, but also making it more accessible.
Nigerian-British Ariyo grew up in the UK, but spent two years at boarding school in Nigeria, and says that this proved formative in shaping her appreciation of food and cooking.
Most Nigerian meals centre on rice or tubers, and are usually accompanied by some sort of stew with onions and peppers at the base, she explains. When I came back to the UK, I was constantly trying to replicate the dishes I had eaten she adds.
She describes her current cooking style as contemporary Nigerian.
From time to time, I keep it traditional, but for the most part my cooking reflects me and my experiences, so I like to mirror that in what I do.
In London, you get to experience many different cultures and foods, and I’ll often taste something that makes me think: There are ingredients like this in Nigeria, I bet I could use this to make a different version of such and such dish.
Touted as a rising star in the cooking world and with a well-received cookbook on discovering the flavours of West Africa to her name, Ariyo is clearly on to something.
When I set out to write Hibiscus, I wanted to bridge the gap for people who had no idea about Nigerian food and needed a place to start, she explains.
I really believe that if people are more aware of key West African recipes, ingredients and products then they’re more likely to try them out, and have a better understanding of the flavours and cuisine.
The importance of jollof rice, one must-try item is fluffy orange-red jollof rice.
Make no mistake, this is no run-of-the-mill rice dish, and a large pan featuring grains simmered in a spicy, fragrant broth made from tomato and pepper paste, and laced with a subtle chilli heat is a staple at parties, weddings and other celebrations.
While it’s generally agreed that the dish originated in either Senegal or Gambia, the question as to where to find the finest jollof is far more contentious.
I’m obsessed with jollof, says Giwa. Every West African country has its version of the smoky tomato rice, but as a Nigerian, I’ve got to say that the Nigerian version is best. I’ve been cooking jollof since I was 12. We had it for lunch every Sunday, like clockwork.
This is a dish that you’ll find in almost every West African household and every West African nation claims to make the best one.
Chef Lope Ariyo echoes Giwa on the subject: This is a dish that you’ll find in almost every West African household and every West African nation claims to make the best one.
However, for the most part, I’ve never known any two people make their rice the same way; everyone has their own secret touch, she says.
While authenticity and tradition might be all-important to some there have been culinary wars of words on the subject of jollof.
Ariyo takes a more relaxed approach: Because I never make my jollof the standard way, for me it’s been a way to make new friends, and start interesting conversations about what is right and wrong when it comes to Nigerian and other West African cooking.
Four other West African dishes that are popular:
Egusi soup
Protein-rich roasted egusi melon seeds both thicken and add depth of flavour to this hearty, sustaining stew-like soup. While there are plenty of interpretations, more often than not the soup contains leafy greens such as spinach or collard greens, Scotch bonnet peppers and palm oil, as well as meat which often is chicken, beef or turkey or seafood such as dried shrimp and crayfish and spices, which result in a complex, highly satisfying dish.
Puff puff
The popularity of this street food snack, which is especially well-loved in Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana where it is known as bofrot, is hardly surprising.
After all, what’s not to like about rounds of hot, crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-in-the-centre deepfried dough finished with a smattering of sugar?
Often likened to doughnuts, French beignets and Arabic luqaiamt, puff puff, say those in the know, is utterly unique – it has a slightly chewier texture and specific flavour profile.
Yam porridge
Healthy and sustaining yam porridge or pottage, potash or asara is eaten throughout West Africa.
Preparation techniques and ingredients vary depending on the region but, more often than not, this one-pan dish features yams boiled until tender and mashable, then simmered with peppers, tomatoes, fresh palm oil and a hint of spice.
Chicken is sometimes added and bitter leafy greens are stirred in towards the end. A comfort-food dish if ever there were one.
Yassa chicken or poulet au Yassa
This French-inspired, classic Senegalese dish features moist grilled chicken served in a sweet-tart sauce.
The tenderness of the meat is the result of several hours spent bathing in a piquant marinade rich with lemons, mustard and onions, which is then simmered and reduced down until the onions are soft and collapsing. Both meat and sauce are combined again towards the end, allowing the flavours to meld.
Recipe
Steamed jollof rice adapted from Hibiscus by Lope Ariyo
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 Scotch bonnet chili, deseeded if preferred and chopped
- 4cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp onion granules
- Pinch of salt
- 250g basmati rice, washed
- 2 or 3 bay leaves
Method
In a frying pan set over medium-low heat, melt the coconut oil and add the tomato puree, Scotch bonnet, ginger and onion. Fry for 5 minutes until the onion takes on a red hue.
Add the chopped tomatoes – there’s no need to blend them, but you can do so if you prefer – along with the herbs, spices and salt. Stir well and continue frying for a further 5 minutes until the tomatoes become deep red.
Meanwhile, set up a steamer by filling a saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Place a steaming pan on top and bring the heat down to medium low. Remove the tomatoes from the heat and add the basmati rice.
Mix until the rice is well coated, then transfer the mixture to the steaming pan. Spread out evenly and top with the bay leaves.
Cover and steam for 30 to 40 minutes, fluffing the rice with a fork every 10 minutes to make sure it’s cooking evenly, until the rice is tender. Take the steamer off the pan, fluff the rice once more and spoon on to hot plates to serve. Eat with grilled chicken and fried plantain on the side.
Tourism Observer
Tuesday, 16 May 2017
BELARUS:UNWTO Supports Scraping Visa Requirements
UNWTO has expressed its full support to the decision of the Government of Belarus to launch the 5-day visa-free policy that will be applicable to travelers from 80 countries.
The measure aims at advancing seamless travel and attracting visitors, particularly those on business trips.
The Government of Belarus has recently decided to advance visa facilitation as a means to stimulate tourism development. The decision introduces visa-free entry at the Minsk National Airport and visa-free stay in Belarus for up to five days for the citizens of 80 states.
Among those, there are 39 countries of Europe, including the entire European Union, Brazil, Indonesia, the USA and Japan.
“Visa facilitation is among the most effective strategies to induce tourism development in a region or in a country, so we are sure that the tourism sector will experience a positive shift in Belarus,” said UNWTO Secretary General, Taleb Rifai.
The promotion of seamless travel is one of UNWTO’s priorities, considering the proven capacity of visa facilitation to stimulate economic growth and job creation through tourism.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree scrapping visa requirements for residents of 80 foreign countries for a period of no more than five days, the press service of the Belarusian president reports.
“The document establishes visa-free procedures of entry into Belarus for a period no longer than five days on entry via a check point across the State Border, the Minsk National Airport, for citizens of 80 countries,” it said, specifying that the decree covers 39 European countries, including all EU countries, as well as Brazil, Indonesia, the United States and Japan.
First of all these are migrant-friendly countries, strategic partners of Belarus, states that have unilaterally introduced a visa-free regime for Belarusian nationals,” the press service explained. The decree also applies to “non-citizens of Latvia and stateless persons of Estonia.
“The document is aimed at giving a boost to travels of business people, tourists, individuals having domestic passports and will not apply to foreigners making official trips: diplomatic, business, special and other passports equivalent to them will not be taken into consideration,” the press service commented.
As for the citizens of Vietnam, Haiti, Gambia, Honduras, India, China, Lebanon, Namibia and Samoa, a compulsory additional demand for them is to have in their passports a valid multi-entry visa of a EU or a Schengen zone state with a mark confirming the entry to their territory, as well as plane tickets confirming the departure from the Minsk National Airport within five days from the entry date.
These visa-free travels don’t apply to people arriving in Belarus by plane from Russia, as well as planning to fly to Russian airports (these flights are domestic and have no border controls). The decree comes into effect one month after it is published officially.
The measure aims at advancing seamless travel and attracting visitors, particularly those on business trips.
The Government of Belarus has recently decided to advance visa facilitation as a means to stimulate tourism development. The decision introduces visa-free entry at the Minsk National Airport and visa-free stay in Belarus for up to five days for the citizens of 80 states.
Among those, there are 39 countries of Europe, including the entire European Union, Brazil, Indonesia, the USA and Japan.
“Visa facilitation is among the most effective strategies to induce tourism development in a region or in a country, so we are sure that the tourism sector will experience a positive shift in Belarus,” said UNWTO Secretary General, Taleb Rifai.
The promotion of seamless travel is one of UNWTO’s priorities, considering the proven capacity of visa facilitation to stimulate economic growth and job creation through tourism.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree scrapping visa requirements for residents of 80 foreign countries for a period of no more than five days, the press service of the Belarusian president reports.
“The document establishes visa-free procedures of entry into Belarus for a period no longer than five days on entry via a check point across the State Border, the Minsk National Airport, for citizens of 80 countries,” it said, specifying that the decree covers 39 European countries, including all EU countries, as well as Brazil, Indonesia, the United States and Japan.
First of all these are migrant-friendly countries, strategic partners of Belarus, states that have unilaterally introduced a visa-free regime for Belarusian nationals,” the press service explained. The decree also applies to “non-citizens of Latvia and stateless persons of Estonia.
“The document is aimed at giving a boost to travels of business people, tourists, individuals having domestic passports and will not apply to foreigners making official trips: diplomatic, business, special and other passports equivalent to them will not be taken into consideration,” the press service commented.
As for the citizens of Vietnam, Haiti, Gambia, Honduras, India, China, Lebanon, Namibia and Samoa, a compulsory additional demand for them is to have in their passports a valid multi-entry visa of a EU or a Schengen zone state with a mark confirming the entry to their territory, as well as plane tickets confirming the departure from the Minsk National Airport within five days from the entry date.
These visa-free travels don’t apply to people arriving in Belarus by plane from Russia, as well as planning to fly to Russian airports (these flights are domestic and have no border controls). The decree comes into effect one month after it is published officially.
Monday, 24 April 2017
GAMBIA: Kunta Kinteh island
Kunta Kinteh Island, formerly James Island, is an island in the Gambia River, 30 km from the river mouth and near Juffureh in the country of the Gambia. Fort James is located on the island. It is less than two miles from Albreda on the river's northern bank.
As an important historical site in the West African slave trade, it is now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with related sites including Albreda, Juffureh and Fort Bullen. Kunta Kinteh Island is suffering heavy erosion, and is now approximately 1/6 of the size during the time when the fort was active.
Ruins of several of the British administrative buildings (including a single cell, apparently used to house the most troublesome captives), a small jetty and a number of skeletal baobab trees remain. The ruins have been stabilised and protected by a capping. Because the island is low-lying, during high tide and storms sometimes waves will beat against some of the surviving structures.
Kunta Kinte, a character described in Alex Haley's book and TV series Roots, has become associated with James Island. He was one of 98 slaves that in 1767 the slave ship Lord Ligonier brought to Annapolis, Maryland.
As the rebel slave who defied his captors, Kunta Kinte, immortalised in print and on screen in "Roots", put The Gambia on the map for historical tourism.
But the island where he and tens of thousands of west African slaves faced the horrors of being chained, branded and separated before leaving their homeland forever, is under threat from sea erosion and neglect.
Kinte's descendants, along with heritage officials, warn that without urgent action, 550 years of history could be lost.
They are pressuring the new government to preserve the country's historical memory for the next generation of Gambians and tourists.
The island's namesake sprang to fame as the central character in American author Alex Haley's "Roots: The Saga of an American Family".
The late Haley claimed to be a descendant of Kinte but doubts have been cast over the authenticity of this claim.
Although "Roots" has been criticised for historical inaccuracies, it indisputably heightened awareness of the horrors of the slave trade when published in 1976.
The UN's cultural agency awarded the island World Heritage status as a memorial to an "important, although painful, period of human history", spanning the arrival of Portuguese traders in the mid-15th century through to its use as a holding cell for illegal slavers after Britain's abolition of the trade in 1807.
The parched-looking trees and brick ruins that occupy the island once housed dozens of captured west Africans awaiting passage to the New World, but whole sections of the slaves' quarters have already been reclaimed by the river's salty waves and high winds.
For Hassoum Ceesay, a historian and official at The Gambia's National Centre for Arts and Culture, it is time to seize the chance to reverse what he describes as two decades of neglect under former leader Yahya Jammeh, or risk losing the island.
"We are very hopeful that with this new government there will be more attention paid," he told AFP in a book-lined room at his home near the capital, Banjul, referring to President Adama Barrow, who took office in February.
"There was a lot of pressure, particularly from the former president, to sort of sift the history of the island," he said. "We resisted, and that resistance made the government reduce its attention and support."
He said that Jammeh even added mandatory days in his home village, Kanilai, to a tour aimed at diaspora tourists as part of a "Roots" festival, even though it is unrelated to the site.
Tourism numbers were badly hit by the protracted political crisis caused by Jammeh's refusal to quit after 22 years at the helm when he lost an election in December, another concern for heritage experts.
UNESCO, which declared the island and its nearby villages a World Heritage site in 2003, describes it as "extremely vulnerable to erosion" and "needing protection". It is dispatching a team this summer to assess the site's condition.
Visitors need only glance at old maps to see by how much the former fort, which passed between Portuguese, Dutch, French and British hands, has already receded -- to a sixth of its original size by some estimates.
"The island was reclaimed from the river, so as time went on, with global warming, erosion became more pronounced," Ceesay said.
He wants the international community to undertake a total revamp of Kunta Kinteh island and related sites, which include a colonial warehouse and a Portuguese settlement.
Ceesay hopes the island can attract funding to ensure its future and wants to see investment in tour guide training, a resource centre, more focused educational tours and the development of the River Gambia for pleasure cruises.
In this small, poverty-stricken and largely rural nation, national heroes such as Kinte are few and far between and citizens feel that much is at stake.
Speaking at her family compound in the village of Juffureh close to the island, Mariama Fofana, believed to be an eighth-generation descendent of Kinte's, said young Gambians see him as "a role model and someone who believes in the values they stand for."
It was, she said, "a concern to everyone, (that) the island is getting eroded each and every day," urging international donors to provide funding that the cash-strapped government may not be able to afford.
Everything from naval ships to beach bars are named after Kinte in The Gambia, and his story has seen a renaissance with a recent remake of the "Roots" mini-series, and a name check in US rapper Kendrick Lamar's recent single "King Kunta".
But the slave who refused to take the name given to him by his American owners, and whose foot was cut off after multiple escape attempts, according to Haley's account, still inspires pride.
"We need to know about our history. That is the only way we can truly understand our potential," said Lamin Jammeh, a 17-year-old secondary school student who was waiting to visit the island for the first time.
Learning about Kinte was a way to "learn and start moving forward," he added.
As an important historical site in the West African slave trade, it is now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with related sites including Albreda, Juffureh and Fort Bullen. Kunta Kinteh Island is suffering heavy erosion, and is now approximately 1/6 of the size during the time when the fort was active.
Ruins of several of the British administrative buildings (including a single cell, apparently used to house the most troublesome captives), a small jetty and a number of skeletal baobab trees remain. The ruins have been stabilised and protected by a capping. Because the island is low-lying, during high tide and storms sometimes waves will beat against some of the surviving structures.
Kunta Kinte, a character described in Alex Haley's book and TV series Roots, has become associated with James Island. He was one of 98 slaves that in 1767 the slave ship Lord Ligonier brought to Annapolis, Maryland.
As the rebel slave who defied his captors, Kunta Kinte, immortalised in print and on screen in "Roots", put The Gambia on the map for historical tourism.
But the island where he and tens of thousands of west African slaves faced the horrors of being chained, branded and separated before leaving their homeland forever, is under threat from sea erosion and neglect.
Kinte's descendants, along with heritage officials, warn that without urgent action, 550 years of history could be lost.
They are pressuring the new government to preserve the country's historical memory for the next generation of Gambians and tourists.
The island's namesake sprang to fame as the central character in American author Alex Haley's "Roots: The Saga of an American Family".
The late Haley claimed to be a descendant of Kinte but doubts have been cast over the authenticity of this claim.
Although "Roots" has been criticised for historical inaccuracies, it indisputably heightened awareness of the horrors of the slave trade when published in 1976.
The UN's cultural agency awarded the island World Heritage status as a memorial to an "important, although painful, period of human history", spanning the arrival of Portuguese traders in the mid-15th century through to its use as a holding cell for illegal slavers after Britain's abolition of the trade in 1807.
The parched-looking trees and brick ruins that occupy the island once housed dozens of captured west Africans awaiting passage to the New World, but whole sections of the slaves' quarters have already been reclaimed by the river's salty waves and high winds.
For Hassoum Ceesay, a historian and official at The Gambia's National Centre for Arts and Culture, it is time to seize the chance to reverse what he describes as two decades of neglect under former leader Yahya Jammeh, or risk losing the island.
"We are very hopeful that with this new government there will be more attention paid," he told AFP in a book-lined room at his home near the capital, Banjul, referring to President Adama Barrow, who took office in February.
"There was a lot of pressure, particularly from the former president, to sort of sift the history of the island," he said. "We resisted, and that resistance made the government reduce its attention and support."
He said that Jammeh even added mandatory days in his home village, Kanilai, to a tour aimed at diaspora tourists as part of a "Roots" festival, even though it is unrelated to the site.
Tourism numbers were badly hit by the protracted political crisis caused by Jammeh's refusal to quit after 22 years at the helm when he lost an election in December, another concern for heritage experts.
UNESCO, which declared the island and its nearby villages a World Heritage site in 2003, describes it as "extremely vulnerable to erosion" and "needing protection". It is dispatching a team this summer to assess the site's condition.
Visitors need only glance at old maps to see by how much the former fort, which passed between Portuguese, Dutch, French and British hands, has already receded -- to a sixth of its original size by some estimates.
"The island was reclaimed from the river, so as time went on, with global warming, erosion became more pronounced," Ceesay said.
He wants the international community to undertake a total revamp of Kunta Kinteh island and related sites, which include a colonial warehouse and a Portuguese settlement.
Ceesay hopes the island can attract funding to ensure its future and wants to see investment in tour guide training, a resource centre, more focused educational tours and the development of the River Gambia for pleasure cruises.
In this small, poverty-stricken and largely rural nation, national heroes such as Kinte are few and far between and citizens feel that much is at stake.
Speaking at her family compound in the village of Juffureh close to the island, Mariama Fofana, believed to be an eighth-generation descendent of Kinte's, said young Gambians see him as "a role model and someone who believes in the values they stand for."
It was, she said, "a concern to everyone, (that) the island is getting eroded each and every day," urging international donors to provide funding that the cash-strapped government may not be able to afford.
Everything from naval ships to beach bars are named after Kinte in The Gambia, and his story has seen a renaissance with a recent remake of the "Roots" mini-series, and a name check in US rapper Kendrick Lamar's recent single "King Kunta".
But the slave who refused to take the name given to him by his American owners, and whose foot was cut off after multiple escape attempts, according to Haley's account, still inspires pride.
"We need to know about our history. That is the only way we can truly understand our potential," said Lamin Jammeh, a 17-year-old secondary school student who was waiting to visit the island for the first time.
Learning about Kinte was a way to "learn and start moving forward," he added.
Wednesday, 1 February 2017
GAMBIA: European Union Gives €33 Million To Adama Barrow Government
According to the EU Ambassador in the Gambia, Attila Lajos, the sum of €33 million will be made available to the Barrow administration. The EU envoy added that more funds will be made available if the government delivers on its promises.
“It is a fundamental concern of the European Union to support this democratic process in this country… We are at the start of a completely new chapter of the history of the EU-Gambia relations,” Lajos told journalists after a meeting with President Adama Barrow.
Talks to release the funds were stalled under the Jammeh regime after an EU Envoy Agnes Guillaud was expelled by the former government in 2015. It will be recalled that Jammeh refused the EU observers entry into the country in the run-up to the December 1, 2016 presidential elections.
The Gambia, Africa’s smallest mainland country was nearly thrown into political instability after former President Yahya Jammeh attempted to overturn a poll loss last December. Jammeh’s posture put the country on edge as his mandate expired on January 19.
Barrow took his oath of office in neighboring Senegal due to the security climate in the country. He however returned days after Jammeh accepted to leave the country into exile. He is currently in Equatorial Guinea after 22 years as president.
The Gambia is the smallest country on the African continent with a total area of 11,300 km² and a population of 1.9 million people (2013 census). It ranks 172 out of 187 countries on the 2014 UNDP Human Development Index. In 2014 the GDP per capita was US$ 543.
The partnership between the European Union and The Gambia is guided by the principles and objectives laid down in the Cotonou Agreement, the institutional framework which governs the relationship between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The Gambia is a signatory to the Agreement.
Friday, 20 January 2017
GAMBIA: Tourists Flee The Gambia As Yahya Jammeh Sturbonly Refuses To Step Down
Britons begun to fly back from The Gambia as the clock ticks past a midnight deadline for military action in the West African nation.
Senegalese forces say they will cross the border if the president refuses to step aside.
Nigeria's air force has also deployed fighter jets and surveillance planes to Senegal, which borders The Gambia.
Mauritanian president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz flew to Senegal to meet with that country's president Macky Sall, according to a Senegalese presidential source.
With fears that airports could shut at short notice, holiday companies are urgently flying thousands of Britons home.
The first UK tourists to arrive at Manchester Airport told of a "chaotic" scramble to get home.
Sara Wilkins, from Church Stretton, Shropshire, said: "It was a nightmare at the airport - people were crying and panicking. It was just chaos."
Karl Degnan from Nottingham said: "The communication at the hotel was very poor. I got up this morning to get some breakfast and was just told we've got to pack, we've got to go."
It comes after Gambian President Yahya Jammeh declared a state of emergency after refusing to hand over power following his loss in last month's election.
Adama Barrow, a former Argos security guard in London, was declared the unexpected winner.
Senegal had said regional troops would take action if Mr Jammeh, who has ruled for more than two decades, did not step down when his mandate ended at midnight.
"We are ready and are awaiting the deadline at midnight. If no political solution is found, we will step in," said Colonel Abdou Ndiaye, a Senegalese army spokesman.
The Nigerian air force is ramping up the pressure.
It says it has moved "200 men and air assets comprising fighter jets, transport aircraft, light utility helicopter as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft" to Dakar in Senegal.
Ghana has also pledged to contribute to the regional force.
British holidaymakers have been urgently heading home after the Foreign Office warned of the potential for military action.
There were some emotional scenes as tourists hugged locals and staff at hotels and boarded coaches to the airport.
Thomas Cook said it had 985 package tourists and 2,500 "flight-only" customers in the West African country.
It expects to have brought them all back - on 16 flights - by the end of Friday.
When Mr Jammeh lost the December election he said he would move aside but then refused, claiming there were irregularities in the voting.
Human rights activists have accused him of torturing and killing his opponents, including journalists.
Senegal has also been trying to win the support of the UN Security Council for potential military action.
According to Associated Press, it circulated a draft resolution reiterating the Council's "full support to the ECOWAS in its commitment to take all necessary measures to ensure the respect of the will of the people of the Gambia".
Senegalese forces say they will cross the border if the president refuses to step aside.
Nigeria's air force has also deployed fighter jets and surveillance planes to Senegal, which borders The Gambia.
Mauritanian president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz flew to Senegal to meet with that country's president Macky Sall, according to a Senegalese presidential source.
With fears that airports could shut at short notice, holiday companies are urgently flying thousands of Britons home.
The first UK tourists to arrive at Manchester Airport told of a "chaotic" scramble to get home.
Sara Wilkins, from Church Stretton, Shropshire, said: "It was a nightmare at the airport - people were crying and panicking. It was just chaos."
Karl Degnan from Nottingham said: "The communication at the hotel was very poor. I got up this morning to get some breakfast and was just told we've got to pack, we've got to go."
It comes after Gambian President Yahya Jammeh declared a state of emergency after refusing to hand over power following his loss in last month's election.
Adama Barrow, a former Argos security guard in London, was declared the unexpected winner.
Senegal had said regional troops would take action if Mr Jammeh, who has ruled for more than two decades, did not step down when his mandate ended at midnight.
"We are ready and are awaiting the deadline at midnight. If no political solution is found, we will step in," said Colonel Abdou Ndiaye, a Senegalese army spokesman.
The Nigerian air force is ramping up the pressure.
It says it has moved "200 men and air assets comprising fighter jets, transport aircraft, light utility helicopter as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft" to Dakar in Senegal.
Ghana has also pledged to contribute to the regional force.
British holidaymakers have been urgently heading home after the Foreign Office warned of the potential for military action.
There were some emotional scenes as tourists hugged locals and staff at hotels and boarded coaches to the airport.
Thomas Cook said it had 985 package tourists and 2,500 "flight-only" customers in the West African country.
It expects to have brought them all back - on 16 flights - by the end of Friday.
When Mr Jammeh lost the December election he said he would move aside but then refused, claiming there were irregularities in the voting.
Human rights activists have accused him of torturing and killing his opponents, including journalists.
Senegal has also been trying to win the support of the UN Security Council for potential military action.
According to Associated Press, it circulated a draft resolution reiterating the Council's "full support to the ECOWAS in its commitment to take all necessary measures to ensure the respect of the will of the people of the Gambia".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)