Breakthrough in quest for Ebola vaccine

Yahoo – AFP, Mariette Le Roux, 31 July 2015

The World Health Organization began human trials of the VSV-ZEBOV

vaccine across Guinea in March 2015 (AFP Photo/Cellou Binani)

Paris (AFP) - An Ebola test vaccine provided blanket protection in a field trial in Guinea, said researchers Friday, possibly heralding "the beginning of the end" for the devastating West African outbreak that has killed thousands.

The serum was 100-percent effective, after a week, in more than 7,600 people innoculated, according to results published in The Lancet and hailed as "extremely promising" by World Health Organization (WHO) chief Margaret Chan.

Health workers assist an Ebola patient at

 the Kenema treatment centre in Sierra

 Leone run by the Red Cross Society, on

 November 15, 2014 (AFP Photo/Francisco

Leong)

The world was "on the verge of an effective Ebola vaccine," the UN's health agency said in a statement.

"The initial results of the study show that the vaccine can effectively contain the further spread of the Ebola virus," said the University of Bern, which contributed to the research.

Though encouraging, the results are "interim" and the vaccine will not become immediately available as a community-wide Ebola shield, experts cautioned.

About 28,000 people have been infected in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia since late 2013, according to the WHO. Nearly half have died, but there is thought to be a large undercount of cases and deaths.

Having brought an already fragile health sector to its knees, and driving out much-needed investment, the outbreak has started winding down but is not over.

Seven cases were confirmed the week ending in July 26 -- four in Guinea and three in Sierra Leone -- the lowest weekly total for over a year.

But even a single undetected case can spark a flareup -- the virus spreads through direct contact with body fluids.

"An effective vaccine will be another very important tool for both current and future Ebola outbreaks," said Chan.

Liberian health workers burn clothes

belonging to patients at an Ebola clinic in

 Monrovia, as the virus raged West Africa

in 2014 (AFP Photo/Pascal Guyot)

The trial, backed by drug firm Merck, the WHO and the governments of Canada, Norway and Guinea, saw 4,123 high-risk people vaccinated immediately after someone close to the trial participant fell ill with the haemorrhagic fever.

None of the vaccinated group caught the virus.

A second, comparison group of 3,528 people received the vaccine three weeks after potential exposure. Sixteen of them contracted the virus while unprotected, said the study, but by day six after innoculation, everyone in the second group was also fully shielded.

"Indeed, no vaccinee developed symptoms more than six days after vaccination, irrespective of whether vaccination was immediate or delayed," said the study paper.

The vaccine was safe, with no serious side-effects, according to the study.

Not known is how long the protection lasts, or the vaccine's effect on pregnant women and children -- high risk groups not included in the trial.

One of two leading vaccine candidates, VSV-ZEBOV has been developed and tested in a super-quick 12 months, compared to the normal decade or more. Ebola has no licensed cure or treatment either.

Sierra Leonean health officials check for

 the Ebola virus on passengers at a border

 crossing with Liberia in Jendema, on

March 28, 2015 (AFP Photo/Zoom Dosso)

'Very exciting'

The Lancet said the Guinea trial would continue gathering evidence of the VS-ZEBOV's effectiveness and safety.

"The vaccine is not yet licensed. More data on efficacy are needed before it can be widely deployed," said an editorial in the medical journal.

Even then, it may be better used not to try and prevent outbreaks, but to limit virus spread once there is one, and for protecting healthcare workers -- the group at highest risk.

"The major problem is the very sporadic appearance of Ebola virus in outbreaks which are unpredictable in terms of where and when they might next appear," Andrew Easton, a virology professor at the University of Warwick, told AFP.

And the cost of mass vaccination to cover all eventualities would be prohibitive.

Disease experts welcomed the results.

"This is big news -- the most promising medical development so far in the ongoing race to shut down Ebola," Benjamin Neuman, a virologist with the University of Reading, told AFP.

Liberian doctor Francis Kateh (right) 

volunteered to receive a trial vaccine

against Ebola at Redemption Hospital on

 the outskirts of Monrovia, on February 3,

2015 (AFP Photo/Zoom Dosso)

Added Peter Smith of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the results were "very exciting and suggest that the Ebola vaccine tested may be highly effective in protecting against Ebola disease among those in the immediate vicinity of an Ebola case."

The trial used a so-called "ring" approach -- the same used to eradicate smallpox in Africa in the 1970s. First to be vaccinated are people who had been in close contact with an Ebola patient, then those at a slightly more indirect risk, and so on.

"Where rings have been vaccinated... the transmission has stopped," WHO assistant director-general Marie-Paule Kieny told journalists in Geneva.

"Prior to the vaccination there were cases, cases, cases. The vaccination arrived, 10 days later no cases."

For one of the trial researchers, Matthias Egger, the trial proved not only the effectiveness of the vaccine, but also of the ring strategy.

"This could finally be the beginning of the end of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and also be useful when combating this disease in the future," he said.

Related Article:

"Revelations of Darkness" - Oct 1, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“ .. The Role of Gaia in Human Consciousness

One of those times might be frightening for you to know about, since it was a full cooperation with Gaia for your termination, and a pandemic almost wiped humanity off the map. A pandemic! Now, you say, "What has that got to do with Human consciousness, Kryon?" Pay attention, dear ones, because this is the day where the teaching was given by my partner, and he put together the Nine Human Attributes. One of the attribute sets included three Gaia attributes and one of them was the consciousness of the planet. Gaia is related to Human consciousness!

Are you starting to connect the dots? You are connected to this planet in a profound and spiritual way. As goes humanity goes the planet's consciousness. Gaia, Mother Nature, whatever you want to call it, cooperates with Human consciousness. If you spend 1,000 years killing each other, then Gaia will do its best to cooperate with your desires! Gaia will look at Human consciousness and try to help with what you have shown you like to do! Did you know this role of Gaia with you? It's a partner with you, fast tracking what you give to it. You may wish to review what the indigenous of the planet still understand. Gaia is a partner!

Pandemic: Don't you find it odd that in the last 50 years, when you have a population of seven billion Human Beings, with up to 2,000 airplanes in the air at any given moment, going between almost every conceivable place, that there has not been a pandemic in your lifetime? There have been five starts of potential pandemics over the last 20 years, yet none became serious. Did any of you put this together? Dear ones, when the world was far less populated a few hundred years ago, with no mass travel to spread a virus, there were still millions wiped out by a pandemic. With the increased population and mass travel, there is far more danger today than before. It doesn't make sense, does it? What happened to stop it?

When you know humanity's relationship to Gaia, it makes sense. Gaia is a life-force that is your partner, watching you change the balance of light and dark and reflecting what Humans want. It has polarity, too! Perhaps it's time to start your meditations with thanking your planet Earth for supporting you in the spirituality of your Akash, for always being with you, a life-force that is always present. The ancients started their ceremonies in that way. Have you forgotten?

Ebola

Now, I've just set the stage for the next subject, haven't I? Ebola. Are you afraid yet? Gaia is a life-force that is a part of Human consciousness. My partner put it on the screen today so you could see the connections [during the lecture series]. Now it's time to connect the dots. Dear one, Gaia is in the battle, too, for here comes something scary that you haven't had in your lifetime and you're afraid of it - the potential of a pandemic on the planet.

There's a very famous film that has some dialogue that my partner will quote. Some of you will know it and some of you won't, but here it is: "Have a little fire, scarecrow?" What are you afraid of? Darkness? Gaia is in the battle with you and is actively pursuing solutions through light. The energy of the planet is with you in this fight! The ebola virus is a shock and a surprise. It is propelled by ignorance and fear, so it can flourish. Look at where it started and look at how it gets its ability to continue. It expands its fear and power easily with those who believe it's a curse instead of those who understand the science.

Villages are filled with those who refuse to leave their family members because they believe the disease is a curse! FEAR! Instead of understanding that they should be in isolation from the virus, the family dies together through ignorance and fear. This represents how darkness works. Are you going to become afraid also? Dear ones, ebola will be conquered. Know this and be at peace. Pray for light for those in the villages who are afraid, that they can know more about how to keep the spread of this disease and live to see their families. .”

Zimbabwe hunter given bail over death of Cecil the lion

Yahoo – AFP, Auntony Zinyange, 30 July 2015

Cecil was a major tourist attraction at Zimbabwe's largest game reserve in 

Hwange National Park, due to his distinctive black mane (AFP Photo)

Hwange (Zimbabwe) (AFP) - A professional hunter was granted bail on charges of "failing to prevent an illegal hunt" after he organised the expedition on which an American dentist killed Zimbabwe's beloved Cecil the lion.

The lion's death triggered an outpouring of anger around the world after it was alleged that he was lured out of Hwange National Park and shot with a powerful bow and arrow.

Theo Bronkhorst, wearing a green sleeveless jacket, was ordered Wednesday to lodge a $1,000 deposit at the court in Hwange in northwestern Zimbabwe after a day of negotiations between police, prosecutors and lawyers.

The death of Cecil the lion has triggered 
an outpouring of anger with protesters 
demonstrating outside Walter Palmer's
River Bluff Dental Clinic in Bloomington,
 Minnesota, on July 29, 2015 (AFP Photo/
Adam Bettcher)

Co-accused Honest Ndlovu, a land owner, was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday on separate charges.

"After hearing submissions from both counsel, bail is hereby granted," magistrate Lindiwe Maphosa said, setting Bronkhorst's trial date for August 5.

Dentist Walter Palmer, an experienced trophy hunter from Minnesota whose whereabouts are unknown, is thought to have left Zimbabwe some weeks ago.

'Destroyed the family'

He has been targeted with vicious abuse after he admitted killing Cecil and said he had been misled by his guides.

Images of the dentist grinning over a small zoo's worth of dead prey from previous hunts -- a limp leopard held up to the camera, a rhino, an elk, a big horned sheep, a cape buffalo -- circulated widely on the Internet and fed a firestorm of criticism.

A family friend said that Bronkhorst believed he had acted legally during the hunt this month and was shocked to find that the lion was wearing a tracking collar, fitted as part of a University of Oxford research programme.

"He is a very professional, very honest conservationist," Ian Ferguson told AFP on Wednesday.

"This has just about destroyed the family, his wife has virtually had a nervous breakdown.

Zimbabwean hunter Theo Bronkhorst (left)

 and his defence lawyer wait outside the

 Magistrate's Court in Hwange, on July 29,

2015 (AFP Photo/Zinyange Auntony)

"The whole thing was perfectly legal. When they found the lion had a collar... he went and reported to the national parks immediately.

"This was just a terrible, very unfortunate act."

Palmer issued a statement on Tuesday, saying he had "relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt".

"I have not been contacted by authorities in Zimbabwe or in the US about this situation, but will assist them in any inquiries they may have," he said.

Amid a fierce outpouring of anger, radical US animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) even called for Palmer to be hanged.

"He needs to be extradited, charged, and, preferably, hanged," Ingrid Newkirk, president of PETA US, said in a statement.

"All wild animals are beloved by their own mates and infants, but to hunters like this overblown, over-privileged little man... they are merely targets to kill, decapitate, and hang up on a wall as a trophy."

The professor who spent years following Cecil's movements meanwhile urged those moved by his death to donate to conservation efforts to save Africa's dwindling population of the giant cats.

Protesters place stuffed animals outside Walter Palmer's River Bluff Dental Clinic

 in Minnesota after it was revealed the US dentist had paid $50,000 to kill a lion 

on a hunting trip to Zimbabwe (AFP Photo/Adam Bettcher)

'Iconic' animal

"This has obviously caused an enormous stir internationally with millions of people concerned about it," said Professor David Macdonald, founding director of the University of Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, which had tracked Cecil since 2008.

"If all of those millions of people were to donate just a little bit of money to our project then it would revolutionise our capacity to work for the conservation of lions."

Cecil, aged about 13, was described by safari operators as an "iconic" animal recognised by many visitors to Hwange due to his distinctive black mane.

The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force charity said Palmer and Bronkhorst had gone out at night with a spotlight and tied a dead animal to their vehicle to lure Cecil into range.

It alleged Palmer's first shot did not kill the lion, which was eventually shot dead 40 hours later.

Palmer is well-known in US hunting circles as an expert shot with his bow and arrow.

His kill list of 43 different animals also includes a polar bear, mountain lion, an elephant and an African lion he killed in 2005, according to club records obtained by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Zimbabwean landowner Honest Ndlovu

appeared at the Magistrate's Court in

 Hwange, on July 29, 2015 (AFP Photo/

Zinyange Auntony)

His Twitter and Facebook accounts and website of his dental practice -- in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota -- were shut down after being flooded with blistering attacks.

A makeshift memorial formed outside his shuttered office as people outraged by the story dropped off stuffed animals and flowers.

Hwange national park attracted 50,000 visitors last year, about half of them from abroad.

Some hunting of lions and other large animals is legal in countries such as South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, where permits are issued allowing hunters to kill certain beasts.

It is outlawed, however, in Zimbabwe's national parks.

Bronkhurst, whose son Zane is being sought for questioning, was ordered by the judge to report to a police station three times a week and surrender his passport.

Related Article:

Killer of Cecil the lion was dentist from Minnesota, claim Zimbabwe officials

Killer of Cecil the lion was dentist from Minnesota, claim Zimbabwe officials

Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force alleges trophy hunter shot one of Africa’s most famous lions near Hwange national park

The Guardian, Ashifa Kassam and Jessica Glenza, 28 July 2015

Conservationists in Zimbabwe have accused an American man of being the alleged killer of Cecil, one of Africa’s most famous lions and the star attraction at the Hwange national park.

On Tuesday, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said the man thought to have paid $50,000 (£32,000) for the chance to kill Cecil was not a Spaniard as originally believed, but US citizen Walter Palmer, from a small town near Minneapolis. The man left the lion skinned and headless on the outskirts of the park, the ZCTF’s Johnny Rodrigues said in a statement.

The hunt took place around 6 July. “They went hunting at night with a spotlight and they spotted Cecil,” Rodrigues said. “They tied a dead animal to their vehicle to lure Cecil out of the park and they scented an area about half a kilometre from the park.”

Walt Palmer, left, and one of his many trophies.

The hunter first shot at Cecil with a bow and arrow but failed to kill the lion. “They tracked him down and found him 40 hours later when they shot him with a gun,” Rodrigues said.

A spokesman for Palmer told the Guardian that the hunter was “obviously quite upset over everything”.

“As far as I understand, Walter believes that he might have shot that lion that has been referred to as Cecil,” the spokesman said. “What he’ll tell you is that he had the proper legal permits and he had hired several professional guides, so he’s not denying that he may be the person who shot this lion. He is a big-game hunter; he hunts the world over.”

On Tuesday, Palmer - a dentist and married father of two - became a target as the Facebook page of his dental clinic was flooded with angry comments and threats. An online petition demanding justice for Cecil had gathered more than 12,000 signatures.

Palmer’s love of hunting is well-documented online. In 2009, he was interviewed by the New York Times about his slaying of an elk that was touted as a kill for the archery record books.

Noting that Palmer had learned to shoot at age five and was “capable of skewering a playing card from 100 yards with his compound bow,” the article said Palmer had paid $45,000 at auction to take part in the hunt, with the proceeds being used to help fund the elk habitat. As the hunting season began, Palmer was on probation for lying to authorities over the exact location where he had killed a black bear in northern Wisconsin in 2006.

A 2008 Flickr photo album by Trophy Hunt America and Porcupine Creek Outfitters, a company that leads hunting expeditions, shows Walter Palmer posing next to avariety of slain animals, including a wood bison and a lion. In another online photo Palmer and his bow and arrow sit next to a slain rhino, the captionstating that the photo was taken in South Africa.

The same company advertises trips to Africa, under the name Safari Connection. Photographs to advertise the company’s services show hunters posed next to elephants. Other expeditions show hunters posed next to polar bears amid snowy backdrops.

Two people who accompanied the hunter on his Zimbabwe trip were identified by authorities and arrested earlier this month, including Theo Bronkhorst, the founder of Bushman Safaris Zimbabwe which is believed to have organised the hunt. Both are facing poaching charges and due to appear in court in early August.

Zimbabwe National Parks confirmed the charges. “In this case, both the professional hunter and land owner had no permit or quota to justify the offtake of the lion and therefore are liable for the illegal hunt,” it said in a statement. Bronkhorst’s hunting license has been suspended and efforts were being made to interview another employee of Bushman Safaris who was believed to have also taken part in the hunt.

The 13-year-old lion was wearing a GPS collar as part of an Oxford University research project that had been running since 1999, making it possible to trace his last movements. Rodrigues said the hunters tried to destroy the collar, but failed.

Walt Palmer and a Nevada California Bighorn.

The death of Cecil comes as Zimbabwe, like many countries in Africa, attempts to crack down on illegal hunting and poaching, said Rodrigues. “This has been going on too long. Cecil is the 23 or 24th lion that has been collared and then killed in Hwange. We have to try and stop it.”

Initially his organisation had said the whereabouts of Cecil’s head was unknown, sparking concerns that it would be sent abroad as a trophy. The fear brought conservationists and politicians together this week to call on the European Union to ban the import of lion heads, paws and skins as hunters’ trophies from African countries that cannot prove their lion populations are sustainable.

On Tuesday, Rodrigues said the head of the lion had been located in Zimbabwe and had been impounded to be used as evidence in the investigation.

The ZCTF said on Tuesday that it continued to mourn Cecil. Rodrigues pointed out that the hunter was believed to have paid just $50,000 to kill a creature that would have brought millions of dollars worth of tourism to the reserve.

Conservation authorities said they were also dealing with the likely consequences of Cecil’s death for his six cubs. “The saddest part of all is that now that Cecil is dead, the next lion in the hierarchy, Jericho, will most likely kill all Cecil’s cubs so that he can insert his own bloodline into the females.”

Cecil was a major tourist attraction at Zimbabwe's largest game reserve in

Hwange National Park, due to his distinctive black mane (AFP Photo)

Related Articles:

Another US hunter suspected of killing lion in Zimbabwe - New

Zimbabwe wants US to extradite Palmer for killing Cecil

Trophy hunting 'no help' to Zimbabwean people
Zimbabwe hunter given bail over death of Cecil the lion

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Bustard act: Saudi prince accused of slaying 2,000 near-extinct birds while on safari in Pakistan (April 24, 2014)

Hunt: Fahd bin Sultan is said to have killed

1,977 houbara bustards in just 21 days while

on holiday

Tanzania ditches plan to evict Masai for Serengeti 'wildlife corridor'

Botswana to ban wildlife hunting

Spain's King Juan Carlos poses in front of a dead elephant

on a hunting trip in Botswana, Africa. Photograph: Target

Press/Barcroft Media

Spain's king ousted as WWF honorary president
Spain's King Juan Carlos under fire over elephant hunting trip

Kryon Q&A

Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.

In Kenya, Obama calls for greater rights for gay community

During a landmark visit to his father's homeland Kenya, US President Barack Obama has called for greater rights for the gay community in Africa. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has said it was a "non-issue."

Deutsche Welle, 25 July 2015

During the US president's first full-day in Kenya, Barack Obama called for greater rights for the gay community in Africa, noting that he was "painfully aware of the history when people are treated differently under the law."

"I've been consistent all across Africa on this. When you start treating people differently, because they're different, that's the path whereby freedoms begin to erode. And bad things happen," Obama said in a sign of open disagreement with his Kenyan counterpart.

"When a government gets in the habit of treating people differently those habits can spread. As an African-American in the United States, I am painfully aware of what happen when people are treated differently under the law. I am unequivocal on this," Obama said.

'Non-issue'

The subject of gay rights was a point of contention between to the two presidents at a joint press conference, where Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said that for Kenyans, it was a "non-issue."

"There are some things that we must admit we don't share. It's very difficult for us to impose on people that which they themselves do not accept. This is why I say for Kenyans today, the issue of gay rights is really a non-issue," Kenyatta said.

Many Kenyan politicians are opposed to gay rights in the country, where gay sex is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Obama noted that for "a law-abiding citizen who is going about their business, and working at a job and obeying the traffic signs and not harming anybody, the idea they will be treated differently or abused because of who they love is wrong, full stop."

Counter-terrorism in focus

The US president also added that the US and Kenya were boosting cooperation in the fight against al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabab militants based in Somalia, who have launched a number of deadly attacks in the East African country, including one on Nairobi's Westgate shopping center.

"We have systematically reduced the territory that al-Shabab controls. We have been able to decrease their effective control within Somalia and have weakened those networks operating here in East Africa. That doesn't mean the problem is solved," Obama said.

"We can degrade significantly the capacity of the terrorist organizations, but they can still do damage," the US president added.

Both presidents also highlighted the deadly civil war in South Sudan and the elections in Burundi, which Obama said "weren't credible."

ls/bw (AFP, AP, Reuters)

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'Love is love': Obama lauds gay marriage activists in hailing 'a victory for America'


"The Akashic Circle" – Jul 17, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Religion, The Humanization of God, Benevolent Design, DNA, Akashic Circle, (Old) Souls, Gaia, Indigenous People, Talents, Reincarnation, Genders, Gender Switches, In “between” Gender Change, Gender Confusion, Shift of Human Consciousness, Global Unity,..... etc.)  - (Text version)

“… Gender Switching

Old souls, let me tell you something. If you are old enough, and many of you are, you have been everything. Do you hear me? All of you. You have been both genders. All of you have been what I will call between genders, and that means that all of you have had gender switches. Do you know what happens when it's time for you to switch a gender? We have discussed it before. You'll have dozens of lifetimes as the same gender. You're used to it. It's comfortable. You cannot conceive of being anything else, yet now it's time to change. It takes approximately three lifetimes for you to get used to it, and in those three lifetimes, you will have what I call "gender confusion."

It isn't confusion at all. It's absolutely normal, yet society often will see it as abnormal. I'm sitting here telling you you've all been through it. All of you. That's what old souls do. It's part of the system. …”

"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.. ...."

Obama spends first evening in Kenya with extended family

US President Barack Obama has reunited with his extended family on the first evening of his trip to Kenya. In his first visit as US president, Obama is expected to discuss trade and counterterrorism strategies.

Deutsche Welle, 25 July 2015

 Barack Obama reuniting with his family

While the media has focused extensively on US President Barack Obama's family in Kenya, the US government has stressed that the aim of the president's visit is to highlight Kenya's ties with the US. Obama's trip is set to include talks on trade and counterterrorism strategies.

On Saturday, Kenya and the US are to discuss enhancing cooperation in the fight against the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militia, responsible for the 2013 bombing of Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall that killed 67 people. The group recently attacked a university near the Somali border, leaving 148 students and teachers dead.

Obama is also scheduled to open the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, visiting along with more than 200 US investors. Later on, he will meet with President Uhuru Kenyatta, who was indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity in a disputed 2007 election. The charges against Kenyatta were dropped in December.

This is Obama's first trip to his father's
homeland as US president

Last visit in 2006

After receiving a warm welcome by millions of Kenyans, Obama spent Friday evening reuniting with his extended family.

At his hotel in Nairobi, the president met with the woman he calls "Granny," also known as "Mama Sarah," who helped raise his late father. His half-sister Auma Obama and about three dozen other family members were also present. The family engaged in an amiable chat, sitting at the restaurant of the hotel where Obama was staying in the Kenyan capital.

Auma said her father would be proud to see his son as US president if he were alive today. "He'd be extremely proud and say, 'Well done'…But then he'd add, 'But obviously, you're an Obama," she said in an interview with CNN.

Kenyan heritage

"I don't think that Kenyans think of Obama as African-American. They think of him as Kenyan-American," EJ Hogendoorn, deputy program director for Africa at the International Crisis Group, told the Associated Press.

Obama is linked to Kenya through his father, Barack Obama Sr., who left the country as a young man to study in Hawaii, where he met the president's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham. Obama Sr. left Hawaii when his son was just 2 years old, for Harvard, after which he went back to Kenya. The president met his father only once more in his life, when he was 10 years old. Obama Sr. would die soon after, in a car crash in 1982.

Obama Sr. was an economist who opposed the leader of his country at the time, then President Jomo Kenyatta, over tribal divisions and allegations of corruption. He was fired by the president and spent the rest of his life dealing with financial problems and heavy drinking.

mg/cmk (AP, Reuters)

Related Article:

"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.. ...."