Mauritanian President Feels 'Less Pessimistic' about Gambian Situation

A deadline has passed for the Gambian President, Yayha Jammeh, to step down, with no sign of any change in his position. West African military forces are poised to move in to enforce a transfer of power to the winner of last month's elections, Adama Barrow, who is due to be inaugurated today. The Mauritanian president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, said that, following a meeting with Mr Jammeh late last night, he now felt "less pessimistic" about the situation.

Barack Obama has delivered his last press conference as president of the United States. From Friday those duties will be taken over by Donald Trump after his inauguration in Washington. Ahead of that historic ceremony Newsday's Shaimaa Khalil has been hitting the freeways of America, visiting some of the places that enabled the president-elect to seize the White House for the Republican Party.

The Russian economy is - surprisingly - recovering, something which is being discussed in the corridors at the World Economic Forum in Davos. With the crash in oil prices, the effects of sanctions and the fall in the rouble eroding real incomes and squeezing public finances, some thought that the middle class, accustomed to greater comfort, might pour onto the streets. They didn't. The economy has fared better than many predicted and is now pulling out of recession.