THE world's most famous tour operator Thomas Cook has launched in Ireland and taken the Panorama and Sunworld brands under its umbrella.
The new company Thomas Cook Ireland features all the same accommodation as the other two companies previously offered and
also has Direct Holidays, Club 18-30 and Thomas Cook Cruises, Weddings and Sport in its brand.The new branding also coincided with the launch of the group's latest offering for 2012. Thomas Cook Far and Away features far flung destinations such as Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Gambia and Goa.
Alongside cruises to the Galapagos Islands and Alaska, they have a wide range of escorted tours, including the Rocky Mountains by rail and the safari parks of South Africa.
Launch deals for Far and Away include 11 nights in the 4-star Laico Atlantic in Banjul Beach in Gambia next March, all-inclusive from €849, while 14 nights over Christmas and New Year in Goa in the 3-star Colonia Santa Maria at Baga Beach, also all inclusive, is on offer from €1789, departing December 20.
Holiday World - Guide to the best holiday destinations
Luxury Rental Property in Kololi : Gambia Property For Rent
Kololi Luxury House To Let - Kololi £174
£9032 per yearProperty Reference: Propertyshop To Let Kololi 2 Status: To Let
REDUCED FROM ,000 to ,000. Newly built, exceptionally spacious 5 bedroom house situated on a large plot. This property offers 5 generous sized bedrooms all with en-suite bathrooms, European standard fitted kitchen, store, dining area, 2 lounges, 3 balcony terraces on the 1st floor and one on the ground floor. Plus store room and guest bathroom. With garage, generator room, reserve water tank and borehole. Electricity connected. Gardens & parking. Must be viewed to appreciate.
Kairaba Avenue Residence for Rent : Gambia Property For Rent
Kairaba Avenue Residence for Rent - Kairaba Avenue £237 Property Reference: Propertyshop To Let Kairaba Avenue Status: To Let
Spacious family residence with 3 large bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, large kitchen, dining area, lounge and balcony terraces overlooking beautiful front and rear gardens with long driveway, double garage, staff quarters, store, water tank and generator room. Unfurnished 14,000 euros / Furnished 15,000 euros
Gambia import export, import export, shipping, trading, sales, distribution, buyers, sellers, suppliers
Import Export in the Gambia - Business & Trade Investments in West Africa
West Africa has a potential market of over 270 million consumers, and offers real business opportunities for manufacturing and exporting companies wishing to build a market share in the emerging markets of Africa.
The Gambia is blessed with a long and glorious tradition of trade. It is strategically situated at the African end of the Atlantic Trade Triangle, a trade route dating back into centuries between Africa, Europe and the USA, Central and Latin America.
The Gambia has the nearest harbour on the African continent to both Europe and the Americas and within West African countries, Banjul Port in The Gambia is unrivalled, turning around vessels much faster than the regional competition. The Port of Banjul is also widely recognised for its safety, service reliability and unrivalled management system and has become the port of choice for the shipping, importation and distribution of products, goods and commodities to the whole of West Africa.
The Gambia has become an important West African investment & business centre and an ideal launch pad for trade with neighbouring West African countries Senegal, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau and Mauritania. and also further afield to import and export to English speaking Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia and to French speaking Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger,and Togo and Portuguese speaking Cape Verde.
The Port of Banjul is continuously being upgraded and modernised to meet the needs of a growing trade sector stimulated by the Gambia Trade Gateway Project.
Winter holidays: follow the sun - Africa - Travel - The Independent
Alternative Africa
Egypt is not the sole option for African sunshine. A six-hour flight from London, Gambia is the leading West African beach hotspot for British travellers. There is not much of this narrow slice of a nation – the smallest country on the African continent, a thin wedge driven into the side of Senegal – but what there is comes dotted with unfussy retreats such as the four-star Ocean Bay Resort, near Banjul.
The Gambia Scorpions VS The Burkina Faso Stallions
Wrestling is the traditional national sport of The Gambia; however football (soccer) is clearly the most popular sport in The Gambia today. Gambians also enjoy cricket, golf, sailing, sport fishing, and surfing. Almost every school and village in The Gambia has a football pitch, and on most side streets you can find youths participating in an impromptu football game. On October 8th some friends came over to my house and we got ready to walk over to International Stadium (just two blocks from my house) for a game between the national football teams of The Gambia and Burkina Faso. The game was a qualifying match that was to determine whether The Gambia Scorpions would make it to The Africa Cup of Nations. Well the game was a draw with a final score of 1-1, so The Scorpions did not make it but we still had a good time. Here are some pictures from the game, click on the pictures to enlarge them...
Tickets to the game!
These guys are Burkina Faso Stallions fans.
President's Mother - I Want My Son to Go On a 'Thank You' Tour
The mother of the president of the Republic has said that she wants her son to go on a tour of the country to express gratitude to the electorate for giving him a five-year mandate to rule The Gambia.
Aja Ashombi Bojang was speaking during an interview with Kamakalorr, a GRTS Jola programme aired Wednesday evening. Speaking in Jola, Aja Ashombi said: "I am not saying he [President Jammeh] should campaign, but rather go on a 'thank you' tour in order to thank the electorate for giving him a five-year mandate."
She noted that many Gambians always say 'thanks' to the president each time he does something good for them. "So I thought it is prudent that he too should do the same," she added.
Aja Ashombi disclosed that just last week dozens of beneficiaries of the President Alternative Treatment Programme (PATP) were in Kanilai to assist the president in his farm as a way of thanking him for the free treatment given to them.
She added: "I am emphasising that my son should go on a 'thank you' tour. I have to again emphasise that I am not saying he should go and campaign. The five-year mandate given to him is coming to an end, so he should go and thank the electorate. This is my wish as a mother."
Furnished Property With Pool To Rent : Gambia Property For Rent
Brusibi Furnished Rental Property with Swimming Pool for Rent - Brusubi £87
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Over 200 German tourists arrive in Banjul - The Point Newspaper, Banjul, The Gambia
The second batch of tourists for the 2010-2011 winter tourist season arrived in the country on Wednesday at 4a.m. local time.
The tourists numbering two hundred and twenty-eight (228) were brought by the Condor flight directly from Germany to The Gambia.
The acting-director of Tourism accompanied by senior officials from her department as well as journalists was at the foot of the aircraft to receive the holidaymakers.
Speaking to journalists, Fatou Biyai, director of Tourism, thanked all those who companied her to the airport to receive the second flight of tourists into the country.
She said the coming of the Condor flight has really increased the number of expected tourists for this year’s tourist season.
The senior tourism official noted that the Ministry of Tourism is looking at how to increase the number of tourist arrivals annually.
Madam Biyai said that over the years they have been having what they call the ‘back parkers’ coming to the country but they have also been encouraging more newcomers as well.
“Since we had the tour with the Minister, we have seen that most of the hotels have improved in their qualities,” she explained.
The director went further to reveal that the industry has 4 to 5 star hotels and many other hotels offer high quality services.
“The Condor flight which has been absent in The Gambia for the past four years is now coming to The Gambia four times per week. “We are hoping to increase the number of flights that are coming to the country,” the tourism director said.
According to her, the Ministry of Tourism has started working on a lot of things to encourage other airlines to come to the country.
“Hopefully for next year we are expecting other two airlines to join Condor,” she said.
A morning with Mariama, a midwife at SOS Clinic Bakoteh — SOS Children
In The Gambia, facilities for professionally assisted births are rare. To help to reduce maternal and infant mortality, SOS Children set up a maternity ward at the SOS Clinic in Bakoteh nearly two years ago. Mariama is one of the midwifes at the hospital.
The maternity ward of the SOS Clinic in Bakoteh provides hundreds of local women with quality pre-and post-natal care. With more than 14 years of experience, Mariama has worked in very poor and difficult conditions to deliver babies safely. She knows that the Bakoteh clinic is one of the top facilities in the country. "We are one of the best equipped clinic for deliveries", says Mariama.
9:00 am. Isatou, a Senegalese woman, arrives accompanied by her mother-in-law. She is in advanced labour and, as it is her second child, might deliver quickly. Both beds of the delivery room are free, so Mariama quickly settles her and checks her over.
9:45 am. Bintou, nearly at full term, comes in with her sister. She is in severe pain and hopes that she will give birth today. Unfortunately, her contractions are not linked to a beginning of labour. All Mariama can do is to give her something to help her to relax. "Some handle pain better", explains Mariama. "We cannot do much but give them some pills to help them relax. Here, there is no epidural. But African women are very strong!"
11:00 am. Isatou delivers a very healthy baby girl. Once Mariama makes sure everything is fine with the baby, she returns to Isatou who needs some stitching.
11:45 am. Just has Mariama finishes her post-delivery care, the cleaner comes to inform her that a woman has just arrived with her new-born baby. She did not make it in time to the maternity ward, and delivered in the taxi. "This happens regularly" explains Mariama, "women here often wait until the last minute to come. It can create some complications, but in this case, it both the mother and the baby look fine".
The new-born baby boy is in good health. Mariama checks over his mother to see whether she needs any post-delivery assistance. "Many women are unaware that they could need some stitching and proper post-delivery care in some cases. As very few of them come back once they have delivered, I usually prefer to give them some antibiotics to prevent post-delivery complications" she says.
Soon, both mothers are transferred to the post-natal area, where they will stay up to 24 hours if they want to. In many other community clinics, women and their babies are discharged just a few hours after birth.
Mariama sorts out the delivery room and pre-washes her materials before sending them for sterilisation. She then helps another pregnant woman to settle in the labour room, before checking on Bintou, still in contractions.
1:15 pm. Mariana can now enjoy a bit of quite time, as she fills in the birth registry for the new-borns and their mothers.
1:30 pm. The second shift arrives. After paying everyone a last visit, Mariama briefs her colleagues about her morning’s activities.
Mariama can now go home and have a well deserved rest, knowing that she contributes to reducing maternal and infant mortality everyday. Find out more about the medical services we provide for hundreds of thousands of people around the world in a special edition of Family Matters.
BBC Sport - Gambia begin search for new coach after sacking Put
Gambia are looking for a new coach after Belgian Paul Put was fired for failing to lead the team to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
The 55-year-old was sacked on Monday following the Scorpions dismal performance in the qualifiers.
The team's goalkeeping coach Franco Cresentini of Italy was also dismissed.
"The coach got the sack after his failure to qualify the team to the Nations Cup," secretary at the sports ministry Alieu Jammeh said.
The Belgian coach took over the Scorpions in 2007 and had his contract extended despite failing to lead the contract to the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola last year.
Despite the failure, Put's contract was renewed, with a salary worth $16,000 per month.