Obama urges Africa's leaders to 'serve their people'

Google – AFP, Stephen Collinson (AFP), 30 June 2013

US President Barack Obama delivers a speech at the University of

Cape Town in South Africa on June 30, 2013 (AFP, Saul Loeb)

CAPE TOWN — US President Barack Obama warned Sunday that Africa could only fulfil its rising potential with leaders who strive to improve the lives of their people, decrying "thugs and warlords" who hold back the promise of the continent.

In a strident call for democratic change and good governance, Obama used the political legacy of ailing Nelson Mandela and South Africa's emergence from grim years of apartheid as proof that freedom will ultimately prevail.

"History shows us that progress is only possible where governments exist to serve their people and not the other way around," said Obama, in a line that drew loud and prolonged cheers from his audience of more than 1,000 people.

While Africa is "on the move," progress is based on a fragile foundation, Obama said in a speech at Cape Town University.

People listen to US President Barack

 Obama's speech at the University of

 Cape Town in South Africa on June 30,

2013 (AFP, Saul Loeb)

"Across Africa, the same institutions that should be the backbone of democracy can all too often be infected with the rot of corruption. The same technology that enables record profits sometimes means widening a canyon of inequality," he said.

The speech was delivered from the same spot where American political icon Robert Kennedy delivered his famous "ripple of hope" speech in 1966, which called on students to decry the "racial inequality of apartheid".

Obama's goal was to inspire a new generation of Africans with the belief that they could ignite political change and the potential of their continent.

He slammed those who "steal or kill or disenfranchise others," saying that the ultimate lesson of South Africa was that such brutal tactics will not work.

"So long as parts of Africa continue to be ravaged by war and mayhem, opportunity and democracy cannot take root," said Obama.

"Across the continent, there are places where too often fear prevails," Obama said, warning of "senseless terrorism" from Mali to Mogadishu.

"From Congo to Sudan, conflicts fester," Obama said, hitting out at those who argue that American calls for democracy and freedom are "intrusive" or "meddling".

"In too many countries, the actions of thugs and warlords and drug cartels and human traffickers hold back the promise of Africa, enslaving others for their own purposes.

"America cannot put a stop to these tragedies alone, and you don't expect us to. That is a job for Africans. But we can help and we will help you," he said, announcing major new US programs to boost electricity and health care.

He also condemned the rule of Robert Mugabe in neighbouring Zimbabwe, where he said the "promise of liberation gave way to the corruption of power and the collapse of the economy".

Like the rest of Obama's trip to South Africa, the speech was rich in emotion when he mentioned his hero Mandela, who lies critically ill in a Pretoria hospital.

"You have shown us how a prisoner can become president," Obama said.

A demonstration against the visit of US

 President outside the University of Cape

 Town on June 30, 2013 (AFP, Jennifer

Bruce)

South Africa has made massive strides in delivering electricity, housing and water since the fall of apartheid in 1994.

But the progress has failed to dent anger over rampant poverty and joblessness, with one in four workers unemployed.

Judging by the rousing reception, Obama's words spoke to the frustrations felt by many in the room.

"I think all South Africans are fed up with individuals abusing state resources, putting money into their pockets, instead of serving the people," said Yibanathi Jezile who is in his final year of high school.

President Jacob Zuma's administration is under increasing fire for its largesse -- from an expensive security upgrade to his private home to irregularities in the granting of deals to do business with the state.

"For a lot of us, I think that was just a bit of an amen moment. It's about time now that our government serves us as a democratic state," said Al Postman, 25.

With poverty and unemployment still a problem, "it has to mean that money is going elsewhere", he said. "Where is the money going to? That's the big question."

Related Articles:

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“…  Government

Let us speak of government. We're not speaking of your government, but of any government - the way it works, how it survives, how it has survived, the way it campaigns, and how it elects leaders. It's going to change.

Years ago, I told you, "When everybody can talk to everybody, there can be no secrets." Up to this point on this planet, government has counted on one thing - that the people can't easily talk to each other on a global scale. They have to get their information through government or official channels. Even mass media isn't always free enough, for it reports that which the government reports. Even a free society tends to bias itself according to the bias of the times. However, when you can have Human Beings talking to each other all at once, all over the planet without government control, it all changes, for there is open revelation of truth.

Democracy itself will change and you're going to see it soon. The hold-outs, the few countries I have mentioned in the past, are doomed unless they recalibrate. They're doomed to be the same as they have been and won't be able to exist as they are now with everyone changing around them.

I mentioned North Korea in the past. Give it time. Right now, the young man is under the control of his father's advisors. But when they're gone, you will see something different, should he survive. Don't judge him yet, for he is being controlled.

In government, if you're entire voting base has the ability to talk to itself without restriction and comes up with opinions by itself without restriction, it behooves a politician to be aware and listen to them. This will change what politicians will do. It will change the way things work in government. Don't be surprised when some day a whole nation can vote all at once in a very unusual way. Gone will be the old systems where you used to count on horseback riders to report in from faraway places. Some of you know what I am talking about. Government will change. The systems around you, both dark and light, will change. You're going to start seeing something else, too, so let's change the subject and turn the page. …”

"The End of History"- Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) - (Text-Version)

" .... Africa

Let me tell you where else it's happening that you are unaware - that which is the beginning of the unity of the African states. Soon the continent will have what they never had before, and when that continent is healed and there is no AIDS and no major disease, they're going to want what you have. They're going to want houses and schools and an economy that works without corruption. They will be done with small-minded leaders who kill their populations for power in what has been called for generations "The History of Africa." Soon it will be the end of history in Africa, and a new continent will emerge.

Be aware that the strength may not come from the expected areas, for new leadership is brewing. There is so much land there and the population is so ready there, it will be one of the strongest economies on the planet within two generations plus 20 years. And it's going to happen because of a unifying idea put together by a few. These are the potentials of the planet, and the end of history as you know it.

In approximately 70 years, there will be a black man who leads this African continent into affluence and peace. He won't be a president, but rather a planner and a revolutionary economic thinker. He, and a strong woman with him, will implement the plan continent-wide. They will unite. This is the potential and this is the plan. Africa will arise out the ashes of centuries of disease and despair and create a viable economic force with workers who can create good products for the day. You think China is economically strong? China must do what it does, hobbled by the secrecy and bias of the old ways of its own history. As large as it is, it will have to eventually compete with Africa, a land of free thinkers and fast change. China will have a major competitor, one that doesn't have any cultural barriers to the advancement of the free Human spirit.. ...."

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version) 

“… The Future of the Illuminati

Now, I want to tell you something that you didn't expect and something I've reported only one other time. What about all of the money that the Illuminati has? There are trillions and trillions of euro in banks, under their control, waiting. What are they going to do with it and where are they going to use it? It's still here. They're waiting.

This group is waiting for something to happen that they know is going to happen, for they see it coming as much as I do. However, I would like to tell you something that they don't expect. With awareness comes generational shift. Those in charge of this money will not always be elders. The indigos eventually will have it.

They are waiting for something to happen in Africa - the building of a new civilization, a continent that has nothing to unlearn. Once Africa is cured, once it's ready, a new civilization can be created from the ground up. Africans will be ready to learn everything about building a foundation for the most advanced civilization ever and will do it with the most modern and inventive systems available. Eventually, this new continent will even beat the economics of China.

This is the prediction and always has been, and the Illuminati's money will fund it. Did I say the Illuminati will fund it? [Kryon laugh] The Illuminati's money will fund it, but there is a difference from the past, dear ones. The ones who inherit the positions in the Illuminati will be a different consciousness. Listen, they are not suddenly going to be the ones who have the good of everyone in their hearts - hardly. They want to make money, but what they will see instead is a way to make a great deal of money through this investment. In the process, it will automatically help hundreds of thousands, and they will be at the beginning, the foundation, that builds the new Africa. The new African states of unification eventually will create a continent stronger than any of the others, and it will have one currency. The resources alone will dwarf anything in the world. ...”

Obama expresses concern at Egypt violence

Google – AFP, 29 June 2013

Opponents of the Egyptian president burn the content of a Freedom and

Justice Party office in Alexandria on June 28, 2013 (AFP)

PRETORIA — US President Barack Obama on Saturday expressed concern about clashes in Egypt and called on President Mohamed Morsi to be more "constructive" along with the opposition to end the political crisis.

"We are all looking at the situation there with concern," Obama said in South Africa, adding that the US government had taken steps to ensure the safety of its embassy, consulates and diplomats in Egypt.

"We would urge all parties to make sure they are not engaging in violence and that police and military are showing appropriate restraint," he said.

"Everybody has to denounce violence. We would like to see the opposition and President Morsi engage in a more constructive conversation about to move their country forward."

Obama also said that Washington had consistently supported democracy in Egypt, but "it has been challenging given that there is not a tradition of democracy in Egypt".

Egypt was braced for nationwide protests against Morsi on Sunday to mark the anniversary of his turbulent first year in office after violence at rival demonstrations killed three people, including an American.

Morsi, 62, stands accused by his critics of failing the 2011 revolution that brought him to power and of ignoring nearly half of the electorate of around 50 million who did not vote for him last year.

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian demonstrators

gather outside the presidential palace in Cairo. (AFP)

Related Articles:

Egypt's Mohamed Morsi: I have made mistakes

Egyptian army 'ready to intervene to stop conflict'

Egyptian police brutality continues under Morsi

"TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE" - The Last 18 years – Dec 8, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

(Subjects: Who is Kryon, God, Love, Great Central Sun, (Old) Soul, Benevolent Design, 1987 - Harmonic Convergence (11:11), 36 years galactic window (Precession), 26.000 years cycle, Mayan Calendar, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, “TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE”  song – Composer, Human Consciousness, Conceptional Thinking, Old and New energy, Middle East, Protest against the new leader in Egypt because he is of an old energy, Syria is a Nightmare, Libya, People of Iran, Israel, Higher Self, You did it !, Change of Paradigm, 2012,  US/Russia, Global Unity, ... etc.)

Senegal police arrest Chad former leader Hissene Habre

BBC News, 30 June 2013

Related Stories

• Profile: Chad's Hissene Habre
• Chad profile
• Senegal MPs pass Habre trial law

Former Chadian President Hissene
 Habre has lived in Senegal for more
than two decades

Police in Senegal have arrested Chad's former leader Hissene Habre, who is wanted for alleged atrocities during his eight-year rule.

Mr Habre's lawyer El Hadji Diouf said he was taken from his home in Dakar by paramilitary police to an unknown location on Sunday.

The 70-year-old has been under house arrest since 2005 in Senegal, where he fled after being deposed in 1990.

He denies killing and torturing tens of thousands of his opponents.

Last year the UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Senegal to put him on trial or extradite him to face justice overseas.

His arrest comes days after US President Barack Obama praised the efforts of Senegal's current President Macky Sall to bring him to trial at the start of his Africa tour.

Historic precedent

Human rights group have been pushing Senegal to put Mr Habre on trial for decades.

Senegalese MPs passed a law in December allowing a special African Union tribunal to be created in the country to try the former leader, who has been dubbed "Africa's Pinochet".

The charges against him date from 1982, when Mr Habre came to power in a coup, until 1990, the year he was ousted.

Mr Habre was first indicted in Senegal in 2000 - but the country's courts ruled at the time that he could not be tried there.

His alleged victims then filed complaints under Belgium's universal jurisdiction law, which allows the country's judges to prosecute human rights offences committed anywhere in the world.

He was charged by Belgium with crimes against humanity and torture in 2005, but Senegal has refused four extradition requests.

Plans in 2011 to repatriate Mr Habre to Chad, where a court in 2008 sentenced him to death in absentia for planning to overthrow the government, were stopped following a plea from the UN.

A trial in Senegal would set a historic precedent as until now African leaders accused of atrocities have only been tried in international courts.

Who is Hissene Habre?

• Born in 1942 to ethnic Toubou herders in northern Chad
• Given scholarship to study political science in France
• First came to the world's attention in 1974 when his FAN rebels captured three European hostages to ransom for money and arms
• Seized power in 1982, allegedly with the help of the CIA; ousted by current President Idriss Deby in 1990
• Accused of systematically persecuting groups he distrusted
• A former swimming pool was used as an underground prison where survivors say they were subjected to electric shocks, near-asphyxia and "supplice des baguettes", when their heads were squeezed between sticks
• Profile: Chad's Hissene Habre

US President Obama meets South African counterpart, Jacob Zuma

Deutsche Welle, 29 June 2013

US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle have met with South African leader Jacob Zuma in Pretoria. The two leaders will hold talks set to focus on trade, boosting economic ties and regional security in Africa.

Zuma received Obama and his delegation at the Union Buildings, the country's seat of government, on the first morning of his three-day visit to the country.

The US president arrived late on Friday from Senegal, where he began his Africa tour. He is accompanied by his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters, Malia and Sasha.

The White House confirmed that the Obamas would meet privately late Saturday with relatives of former South African President Nelson Mandela. The statement added that Barack Obama would not be meeting the critically ill anti-apartheid leader in hospital.

"The President and First Lady will meet privately with members of the Mandela family to offer their thoughts and prayers at this difficult time," a US official said.

"Out of deference to Nelson Mandela's peace and comfort and the family's wishes, they will not be visiting the hospital," the unnamed official told the news agency AFP.

Mandela, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, is critically ill with a recurrent lung disease dating from his time in apartheid-era prisons, where he was incarcerated for 27-years for his struggle under white-minority rule.

Later on Saturday, the US president is set to meet with young people in Soweto, the scene of the 1976 student protests against the racist apartheid regime while Mandela and fellow African National Congress leaders were incarcerated.

Obama's three-country tour concludes next week in Tanzania.

jlw/mkg (AP, AFP, dpa)

Related Article:

President Obama arrives in South Africa amid Mandela's critical yet "improving" health

Deutsche Welle, 29 June 2013

US President Barack Obama has arrived in South Africa on the second leg of his African tour. His visit comes as the country’s former leader, Nelson Mandela, remains in critical health despite "improvements."

President Obama touched down in South Africa Friday evening from Senegal, where he started his three-country tour in Africa.

On Saturday, Obama is scheduled to meet South African President Jacob Zuma, which is to be followed by a joint press conference.

The visit comes as South Africa's former president and anti-apartheid hero, Nelson Mandela, is gravely ill in hospital.

Speaking to the press aboard Air Force One, Obama said it was uncertain whether he would have an opportunity to see Mandela.

"I don't need a photo-op, and the last thing I want to do is to be in any way obtrusive at a time when the family is concerned about Nelson Mandela's condition," he said.

While in Senegal, Obama described Mandela as a "personal hero."

"I think he is a hero for the world, and if and when he passes from this place, one thing I think we all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages," he said.

Following his visit to South Africa, Obama is scheduled to go to Tanzania.

All eyes on Mandela's health

On Friday, Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela said his health was showing signs of "great" improvement.

"From what he was a few days ago, there is great improvement, but clinically he is still unwell," she said.

She also called on the international media not to "get carried away" in reporting and asked the press to "understand the sensitivities and the feeling of the family."

Jacob Zuma's office announced in a statement Thursday that the president had received encouraging news from Mandela's medical team. The announcement came after Zuma canceled a planned international trip in order to visit Mandela for the second day running.

"I canceled my visit to Mozambique today so that I can see him and confer with the doctors," Zuma said. "He is much better today than he was when I saw him last night."

Mandela has been hospitalized for more than two weeks after being admitted for a lung infection. During his 27-year imprisonment under the postcolonial apartheid regime, Mandela developed tuberculosis, leading to permanent lung damage.

hc/kms (Reuters, AFP, AP)

Obama met Mandela in 2005, when 

he was a US senator

Related Article:

Barack Obama in South Africa amid vigils for Mandela

Obama traces slave route in Senegal

Google – AFP, 27 June 2013

US President Barack Obama (C), First Lady Michelle Obama (L), their

daughter Malia (2nd L) and niece Leslie Robinsion (AFP, Jim Watson)

DAKAR — US President Barack Obama mounted a rousing case for the vigorous defence of human rights worldwide as he began a three-nation tour of Africa on Thursday with a visit to Goree Island, a potent symbol of the horrors of slavery off the Senegalese coast.

Obama, joined by his wife Michelle, herself a descendent of slaves, and daughters Malia and Sasha, stared out at the Atlantic Ocean through the "Door of No Return" at the island's House of Slaves -- the reputed last exit for thousands of manacled Africans destined for the New World.

"This is a testament to, when we're not vigilant in defence of human rights, what can happen," Obama said, describing the visit as "a very powerful moment".

"Obviously, for an African American, an African American president, to be able to visit this site, I think, gives me even greater motivation in terms of human rights around the world."

The island, four kilometres (about two miles) off Dakar, processed many of the estimated 12 million Africans who over three centuries crossed the Atlantic Ocean bound in chains, their lives and liberty traded in the US slave market.

The Obamas were shown the cramped cells at the salmon-pink former slave house built by the Dutch in 1776.

President Barack Obama (L) and First Lady Michelle Obama stand at

the Door of No Return at Goree Island on June 27, 2013 (AFP, Saul Loeb)

Settled by the Portugese in 1444 and ruled subsequently by the Netherlands, England and then France, Goree was named by the Dutch who captured the island in the early 17th century and for whom "Goede Reede" meant "safe harbour".

Despite the doubts of sceptics over the prominence of the fabled island's role in the slave trade, it has become emblematic of a shameful period in history, and attracts thousands of visitors a year.

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Obama praises Senegal as model of democracy

Deutsche Welle, 27 June 2013

US President Barack Obama has praised Senegal as a model of democracy during a joint press conference with President Macky Sall in Dakar. Obama’s next stop is South Africa, where ex-leader Nelson Mandela is gravely ill.

US President Barack Obama praised Senegal as a model of democracy on Thursday during a joint press conference with President Sall, calling the country an example of good governance in Africa.

"Senegal is one of the most stable democracies in Africa and one of the strongest partners that we have in the region," Obama said outside the presidential palace.

"It is moving in the right direction, with reforms to deepen democratic institutions. I believe Senegal can be a great example," he said.

Obama also noted that Senegal had never suffered a military coup, and there have been free and fair elections. Washington has been eager to highlight Muslim-majority Senegal as an example of good governance in an area of Africa beset by the threat of Islamic extremism, especially in neighboring Mali.

Senegal is Obama's first stop on a week-long continental tour. He is due to travel on to South Africa on Friday, however his plans could change if the country's former president, Nelson Mandela, dies, as he is presently gravely ill in hospital.

In his address Obama called Mandela a "hero of the world."

"He is a personal hero. I think he is a hero for the world, and if and when he passes from this place, one thing I think we all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages," he said.

During his speech, Obama also hailed the US Supreme Court's landmark ruling Wednesday on same sex marriage as a "victory for American democracy," and he urged African nations to pass laws that did not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. In Senegal, homosexuality is outlawed.

hc/kms (Reuters, AFP, AP)

Egypt's Mohamed Morsi: I have made mistakes

President pledges radical reforms to state institutions, but also denounces 'enemies of Egypt' for sabotaging democratic system

The Guardian, Patrick Kingsley in Cairo, Wednesday 26 June 2013

Link to video: John Kerry urges peace in Egypt amid anti-government protests

The Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, used a televised address on Wednesday to admit to making mistakes in his first year in office. But the president also widened the divide between his Islamist supporters and Egypt's secular opposition during his speech, blaming unspecified "enemies of Egypt" for sabotaging the democratic system and warning that the polarised state of the country's politics threatened to plunge it into chaos.

Morsi pledged to introduce "radical and quick" reforms in state institutions, admitting some of his goals had not been achieved.

"Today, I present an audit of my first year, with full transparency, along with a roadmap. Some things were achieved and others not," he said. "I have made mistakes on a number of issues."

Yet in a meandering speech that lasted more than two and a half hours, Morsi refused to offer serious concessions to the opposition – and pointedly praised the army, whom many opposition members hope will facilitate a transition of power in the coming weeks.

On a night when many hoped he would strike a conciliatory tone, Morsi instead criticised opposition politicians for failing to engage in what he perceives to be constructive dialogue.

He spoke before a planned mass demonstration this weekend by his opponents who are demanding that the president resigns and calls an early election.

Almost a year on from Morsi's election to power, Egypt is dangerously divided between his Islamist supporters and a secular opposition that sees his rule as incompetent and autocratic.

Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi: 'Polarisation and conflict has reached a
stage that threatens our nascent democratic experience.' Photograph: EPA

Activists claim 15 million Egyptians have signed a petition calling for his departure, and expect a significant proportion of that number to turn out on Sunday to force him from office.

Morsi was speaking at a conference hall filled by cabinet ministers and senior officials of his Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm, the Freedom and Justice party, along with several hundred supporters.

Thousands gathered to watch his speech on screens in Tahrir Square, the cradle of the 2011 uprising – and most reacted furiously for the duration of the address, many holding shoes as a sign of disrespect.

"It's really shameful that the president of Egypt, after a whole year in office, walks on stage and starts accusing the whole country of treason," argued Mohamed Zakaria, a tailor who watched the speech in Tahrir Square.

"We were hoping for major concessions but he's given us nothing."

But the speech may have helped to win over people undecided about joining Sunday's protests.

Morsi often used the language of the street, at times sounding humble and pious.

"He spoke in a way that many Egyptians could relate to," said Yasser el-Shimy, Egypt analyst for the Crisis Group.

"It was a very colloquial speech in which he sounded almost countrified. But it will have done little to convince his non-Islamist opponents."

But while Morsi was at pains to win over the military, el-Shimy said the army – who deployed tanks on the streets of Cairo on Wednesday, and whose intentions are currently the subject of intense debate in Egypt – was unlikely to give him their support based merely on the contents of the speech.

"The army makes strategic decisions based on what they perceive to be the national interest," el-Shimy said.

Related Articles:

Obama expresses concern at Egypt violence

Egyptian army 'ready to intervene to stop conflict'

Egyptian police brutality continues under Morsi

"TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE" - The Last 18 years – Dec 8, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

(Subjects: Who is Kryon, God, Love, Great Central Sun, (Old) Soul, Benevolent Design, 1987 - Harmonic Convergence (11:11), 36 years galactic window (Precession), 26.000 years cycle, Mayan Calendar, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, “TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE”  song – Composer, Human Consciousness, Conceptional Thinking, Old and New energy, Middle East, Protest against the new leader in Egypt because he is of an old energy, Syria is a Nightmare, Libya, People of Iran, Israel, Higher Self, You did it !, Change of Paradigm, 2012,  US/Russia, Global Unity, ... etc.)

Obama lands in Africa amid Mandela gloom

Google – AFP, Stephen Collinson (AFP), 26 June 2013

Barack Obama waves while walking with daughter Malia as they make

their way to board Marine One on June 26, 2013 (AFP, Mandel Ngan)

DAKAR — US President Barack Obama landed in Senegal on Wednesday to begin a long awaited first major tour of Africa with the world preparing to bid a reluctant farewell to Nelson Mandela.

The possibility that the critically ill anti-apartheid icon could fade away within days has sparked uncertainty about Obama's itinerary.

Plans to visit Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania over the next week could be complicated, shifting the focus of a trip meant to ease the disappointment of Africans who saw expectations for Obama's presidency fall short.

The White House has said that it will defer to Mandela's family on whether the president would visit his ailing 94-year-old political hero in the Pretoria hospital where he has been for nearly three weeks.

And it has refused to say exactly what contingency plans are in place for the week-long trip, designed to highlight Africa's emerging economic potential and growing middle class, as well as youth and health programs.

South Africa's foreign minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said that while Obama would have loved to see Mandela, a meeting with the former South African leader would be impossible.

A group of well wishers hold candles 

as they pray for the recovery of Nelson

 Mandela in Pretoria on June 26, 2013

(AFP, Alexander Joe)

The men met in 2005, when the former South African president was in Washington, and Obama was a newly elected senator, and the two have spoken several times since by telephone.

But there has been no face-to-face meeting between the first black presidents of the United States and South Africa since Obama was elected in 2008.

Obama stepped off the plane with the First Lady, Michelle Obama followed by his daughters Malia and Sasha and his mother-in-law Marian Robinson.

Also there was his niece Leslie Robinson.

He was greeted at the foot of the steps of Air Force One by Senegal President Macky Sall and First Lady Marieme Sall, as well as United States Ambassador to Senegal Lewis Lukens and members of President Sall's cabinet.

The White House sees Obama's visit as a chance to make up for lost time, as the president was unable to fit in a visit to sub-Saharan Africa in his first term, apart from a brief stop in Ghana.

There has also been disappointment on the continent, after Obama's 2008 election caused euphoria and an expectation that the son of a Kenyan would put Africa policy at the top of his agenda.

Obama hardly dampened expectations, declaring in Ghana in 2009: "I have the blood of Africa within me, and my family's own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger African story."

The current US president also travels in the shadow of his predecessors, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, who are remembered fondly for their economic development and HIV/AIDS programs.

US Africa policy has languished in recent years, with Obama battling an economic crisis, rebalancing US attention to a rising Asia, facing revolution in the Middle East and consumed by his legacy project of ending US wars abroad.

US officials are aware that emerging economic opportunities and energy resources in Africa have attracted a clutch of interest from rising rivals.

Washington noticed that new Chinese President Xi Jinping professed a "sincere friendship" with Africa when he visited the continent on his first foreign tour, part of a Chinese economic and diplomatic offensive.

There is one glaring missing stop on Obama's itinerary: Kenya.

Officials said that the indictment of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, over previous election violence, made it politically impossible for Obama to stop by on this tour.

Men sit in front of a poster welcoming

 US President Barack Obama to Senegal

 in Dakar, on June 26, 2013 (AFP,

 Saul Loeb)

The president will meet Macky Sall in Dakar on Thursday and pay an emotive visit to Goree Island and a museum and memorial to Africans caught up in the slave trade.

The president will be joined on Goree by his wife, who will go to the all-girls Martin Luther King Middle School with her Senegalese counterpart.

"Africa has an extraordinarily large youth population, and it's important for the United States to signal our commitment to investing in the future of African youth," Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser, told reporters ahead of the visit.

Obama is due to move on to South Africa on Friday for a weekend of talks and events, including a news conference with President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria.

He is scheduled to hold a town hall meeting with young Africans at the Soweto campus of the University of Johannesburg.

Then, Obama will head to Cape Town where his events include a visit to Mandela's jail cell on Robben Island and a roundtable with business leaders that will include senior members of the president's economic team.

The final leg of Obama's journey will take him to Tanzania, where his program includes talks and a news conference with President Jakaya Kikwete and a visit to the Ubungo power plant.

He will also lay a wreath at a memorial to 11 people killed in a US embassy bombing in 1998.

Qatar's emir to hand power to son

Google – AFP, Taieb Mahjoub (AFP), 24 June 2013

Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani in Doha, on June 23, 2013

(AFP/File, Bertrand Langlois)

DOHA — Qatar's emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani is to transfer power in the small but economically powerful Gulf nation to his son Sheikh Tamim, the official QNA news agency reported on Monday.

"The royal palace announces that Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, will address the Qatari people at 8:00 am (0500 GMT) on Tuesday," said a statement carried by the official QNA news agency.

An official said the emir will "announce the transfer of his powers to his son".

The palace statement declared Tuesday an official holiday.

Qatar-based satellite television channel Al-Jazeera said the emir met "with the royal family and prominent members of Qatari society. He has informed the meeting of his decision to hand power over to his crown prince."

Qatari Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani

 smiles after arriving in Manama, on June 24, 2013 (AFP/File, 

Mohammed al-Shaikh)

Sheikh Hamad, who used Qatar's immense gas wealth to drive its modernisation and transform it into a major player on the world's diplomatic scene, came to power in a coup in which he overthrew his father Sheikh Khalifa in June 1995.

Al-Jazeera reported earlier that the emir's planned meeting with royals and prominent members of society "comes amid news about the intentions of the emir to transfer power to his heir apparent, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani".

A diplomat said that by stepping down of his free accord the 61-year-old emir would "score a first in the Arab world," where autocratic rulers held power uncontested for decades until the Arab Spring revolutions that toppled regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim, born in 1980, is the second son of the emir and his second wife Sheikha Mozah.

He is deputy commander of the armed forces and head of the National Olympic Committee, which is in charge of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Diplomats said that over the past three years the emir has increasingly handed over military and security responsibilities to Tamim, who like his father was educated at the British military academy Sandhurst.

"The emir is convinced that he should encourage the new generation. He plans to transfer power to the crown prince, Sheikh Tamim, and to carry out a ministerial reshuffle to bring a large number of young people into the cabinet," a Qatari official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"The emir could take a step back, that is to say not retire completely but play a more honorary role, so that his son can better assume the responsibilities and become the man in charge," a French diplomat said.

A Qatari official said that in any case the emir "will continue to play an influential backstage role and keep an eye on Qatar's investments abroad."

The emir has developed Qatar into a political powerhouse and an economic giant with multi-billion investments scattered across the world.

The tiny Gulf peninsula holds the world's third largest gas reserves and produces roughly 77 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year, making it the world's largest supplier.

Analyst Neil Partrick, an expert on the Gulf, ruled out major changes in Qatar.

Sheikh Tamim has two wives and six children. Muslim tradition allows men to take up to four wives.

"Tamim already has responsibilities for sensitive foreign portfolios among other matters," said Partrick.

"For Qatari foreign policy, none of this seems likely to produce major change. The young heir apparent Tamim is unlikely to effect major changes without consulting his father."

Qatar took part in the armed intervention in Libya and actively supports rebel forces who are trying to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

It has major investments around the world, including in the French football club Paris Saint-Germain, in hotels, in a resort on the Italian island of Sardinia, as well as stakes in automobile company Volkswagen, energy giant Total and Britain's Barclays Bank.

The Gulf state also controls a powerful media empire through Al-Jazeera, the first pan-Arab satellite channel which has branched out into English, and earlier this year bought Current TV, a struggling US cable channel, in preparation for the launch of Al-Jazeera America.

Sheikh Tamim (left) was named heir apparent by Sheikh Hamad

(right) in 2003

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Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad hands power to son Tamim