Page 6 - 7-28-15 Tuesday's Edition

President Obama Dances The Traditional ‘Limbala’ Dance In Kenya
Pres. Obama Opens Talks In Ethiopia In First Ever Trip To Country By U.S. President
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn (R) stands alongside President Barack Obama during a welcom- ing ceremony at the National Palace in Addis Ababa on Mon- day, July 27.
NAIROBI, KENYA - It’s no secret at this point that Presi- dent Barack Obama has some smooth dance moves. The President put those moves to the test during his recent two-day trip to Kenya—his first visit to his father’s birth country since his election as president—when he performed the Lipala Saturday night at Nairobi’s State House.
The Lipala is a traditional dance that had a modern makeover this year when pop- ular Kenyan band Sauti Sol made it a hit, reportedly, as a response to South Korea’s ”Gangnam Style.“ The band performed the song live for the visiting President - who they referred to as “our returning son” - and President Obama - along with President Uhuru Kenyatta and First Lady Margaret Kenyatta - joined the band in a little dance.
Members of the band Sauti Sol invited the President down from the head table and gave him some brief instruc- tions on how to master the moves.
People reports that this lit- tle snippet of Lipala wasn’t the only performance that evening from the President.
Earlier in the night, the president joked to the crowd, “I suspect that some of my crit- ics back home are suspecting that I’m back here to look for
President Obama does the traditional dance with the President of Kenya.
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA,
President Barack Obama
opened talks in Ethiopia on Mon- day during the first-ever trip by a U. S. president to Africa's second- most populous nation and the seat of the African Union.
The President flew into a rainy Addis Ababa late on Sunday after a landmark trip to Kenya, his fa- ther's birthplace, went into bilat- eral talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam De- salegn and President Mulatu Teshome, whose position is largely ceremonial.
Ethiopia is a key strategic ally of the United States but is much criticized for its record on democ- racy and human rights. The visit comes two months after Haile- mariam's ruling coalition won every parliamentary seat in elec- tions that the opposition said were marked by political repression.
Talks were held in Ethiopia's presidential palace, a sprawling compound in the heart of Addis Ababa, which still houses the country's unique black-maned Abyssinian lions in the grounds, once the symbol of the "Lion of Judah", former Emperor Haile Selassie.
A 21-gun salute welcomed President Obama as he arrived. The President will also hold talks with regional leaders on the civil war in South Sudan in an at- tempt to build African support for decisive action against the war- torn country's leaders if they reject an ultimatum to end the carnage
by mid-August.
On Tuesday, the President will
also become the first U. S. presi- dent to address the African Union, the 54-member continental bloc, at its gleaming, Chinese-built headquarters.
AU Commission Chief
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
has hailed what she said will be a "historic visit" and a "concrete step to broaden and deepen the relationship between the A.U. and the U. S".
While Kenya launched one of the biggest security operations ever seen in the capitol Nairobi to host Mr. Obama from Friday evening to Sunday, the habitual reach of Ethiopia's powerful secu- rity forces meant there was little obvious extra fanfare ahead of his arrival in Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia, like Kenya, has been on the frontline of the fight against the Somali-led, Al-Qaeda-affili- ated Shebab. Both nations have troops in Somalia as part of an AU and U. S.-backed force and are key
my birth certificate. That’s not the case.” Later, as Sauti Sol played into the night, People reports that the President but- toned “up his jacket and joined them onstage, which soon turned into a line dance featur- ing both presidents and sev- eral more guests, including President Obama’s half-sis- ter, Auma.”
But this trip to Kenya wasn’t all singing and dancing. This is the first time a sitting U. S. president has visited Kenya, or Ethiopia, where President Obama traveled on Sunday. When he arrived in Kenya, he had an emotional reunion with his sister and other members
of his father’s family. And be- fore his departure on Sunday, President Obama gave a rousing speech to a Nairobi gymnasium packed with nearly 5,000 cheering Kenyans. “I’m the first Kenyan-American to be presi- dent of the United States. That goes without saying,” he said before declaring, “When it comes to the people of Kenya, especially the youth, I believe there is no limit to what you can achieve. You can build your future right here, right now...Youarepoisedtoplay a bigger role in this world. In the end, we are all a part of one tribe, the human tribe.”
President Barack Obama receives flowers upon his ar- rival at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, on Sunday, July 26.
security partners to Washington.
- Tough On South Sudan -
Ahead of the visit, the White House stressed it frequently ad- dresses issues of democracy and political rights in the region. Hav- ing spoken frankly in Kenya on human rights and corruption, the President is now expected to ad- dress Ethiopia's -- and Africa's -- democracy deficit.
But Ethiopia has come far from the global headlines generated by the 1984 famine, experiencing near-double-digit economic growth and huge infrastructure investment that have made it one of Africa's top-performing economies and a magnet for for- eign investment.
Through the tinted windows of his bomb-proof presidential lim- ousine, nicknamed "The Beast," Mr. Obama will see Addis Ababa's construction boom of tower blocks, as well as sub-Saha- ran Africa's first modern tramway.
High on the agenda Monday were talks with leaders from Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda as well as Sudanese Foreign Min- ister Ibrahim Ghandour to try and build a collective front to end the 19-month civil war in South Sudan, the world's youngest na- tion.
Signalling a deeper commit- ment to ending violence that has killed tens of thousands of people and forced more than two million from their homes, Pres. Obama is expected to make the case for tougher sanctions and a possible arms embargo.
South Sudan's warring leaders -- President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar, who will not be at the meeting -- effec- tively face an ultimatum, a "final best offer," according to one sen- ior administration official.
President Obama Says Republican Attacks Are ‘Ridiculously Sad’
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia ---
President Barack Obama
held a joint press conference while wrapping up his trip to Africa chided Republicans Mike Huckabee, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz on Monday for a series of cam- paign-trail attacks that he said would be "ridiculous if it weren't so sad."
In some of his first commen- tary on the budding race to re- place him, the President accused the candidates of violat- ing a time-honored American tradition of not playing "fast and loose" on topics of grave con- cern like foreign policy.
"We have robust debates, we look at the facts," President Obama said during a news conference in Ethiopia. "We just don't fling out ad hominem at- tacks like that because it doesn't help inform the American peo- ple."
Mr. Obama has largely avoided wading into the debate but was asked about criticism from Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, and seemed eager to add his take.
A day earlier, Huckabee said the President was so naive about Iran that he agreed to a nuclear deal that would "take the Israelis and basically march them to the door of the oven," a reference to crematoria in Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust.
President suggested the
tough rhetoric was a ploy by Huckabee to "get attention" or to push Trump out of the head- lines.
"It's not the kind of leader- ship that's needed for America right now," he said.
Trump, whose poll numbers are on the rise, has drawn con- sternation from the Republican Party over provocative com- ments he's made about immi- grants and his GOP rivals, which some Republicans say could hurt the party's prospects in 2016.
The President also singled out Cruz, the Texas senator, for suggesting in the wake of the nuclear deal that President Obama — not Iran — is the leading state sponsor of terror- ism.
"These are leaders in the Re- publican Party," he said. He warned it was creating a culture that would stifle good politics and policies in the U. S. "The American people deserve better. Certainly presidential debates deserve better."
Unprompted, the president also brought up how Trump had dismissed Arizona Sen. John McCain's reputation as a war hero because he was cap- tured in Vietnam. Trump said he liked "people who weren't captured."
Praising McCain's heroism, President Obama said the Republican Party was shocked at Trump's remark, but added
President Obama at a news conference in Ethiopia on Monday.
that it grew out of a culture where those types of comments are tolerated.
"When outrageous state- ments are made about me, a lot of people outraged about Mc- Cain were pretty quiet," he added.
Although Pres. Obama re- served his toughest rebuke for Republicans, he said both par- ties needed to approach the campaign with decorum. So far, the Democrats competing for the nomination have mostly avoided the type of caustic at- tacks that have become com- monplace in the GOP primary more than a year out from Elec- tion Day.
The Republican rhetoric has grown hotter by the day as the party's 16 White House con- tenders vie for attention ahead of their first debate. Only the top 10 candidates in an average of national polls will meet the criteria for the Aug. 6 debate in Cleveland, Ohio.
Presidential/Government News
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