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President Barack Obama drew a diplomatic line at the first ever U.S-Africa summit at the White House this week by not inviting Zimbabwe’s brutal dictator Robert Mugabe. But the guest list still included several other African leaders with only slightly better human rights records. The White House promoted the summit as the largest-ever gathering of African leaders in the United States, with more than 50 countries represented. The red carpet was rolled out for Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who shot or jailed virtually all his political opponents, Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh, who threatened to ‘cut off the head’ of...

President Obama gave a press conference this evening. He started a little over an hour late without explanation. Reporters stuck to asking questions that they evidently knew Obama would be comfortable answering. None of them asked him about any of his administration scandals. ABC’s Jon Karl, usually a tough questioner of Obama and his spokesmen, asked a rambling question that played right into the Democrats’ “economic patriotism” canard. Despite the fact that the president showed a passionless, bloodless, disinterested face to the world, he still managed to do some damage. Chris Jansing of CNN asked Obama if the sanctions against...

Obama Says Americans Don't Want Him 'Twiddling My Thumbs' Obama news conference By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY, CHRISTI PARSONS Americans don't want Obama 'twiddling my thumbs,' president says Obama defends his use of executive power despite GOP threats to sue him Despite Republican charges that he has abused his authority, President Obama said Wednesday he won’t dial back his use of executive power to advance his political agenda without help from Congress. The American public doesn’t want him sitting around “twiddling my thumbs,” Obama said in a wide-ranging news conference. He reiterated his plans to order executive actions on immigration, and said...

The Leader of the Free World still has no idea what he’s talking about when it comes to Islamic terroirsm… Wednesday at his press conference at the US-Africa Leaders Summit Barack Obama spewed this nonsense about terrorism. “Part of the lesson we’ve all learned about terrorism is it is possible in reaction to terrorism to actually accelerate the disease. If the response is one that alienates populations or particular ethnic groups or particular religions. And so the work we are doing including the security initiatives I announced today I think can make a big difference in that direction. It’s not...

President Barack Obama drew the diplomatic line somewhere at the first ever U.S-Africa summit at the White House this week by not inviting Zimbabwe’s brutal dictator Robert Mugabe. But the guest list still included several other African leaders with only slightly better human rights records. The White House promoted the summit as the largest-ever gathering of African leaders in the United States, with more than 50 countries represented. The red carpet was rolled out for Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who shot or jailed virtually all his political opponents, Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh, who threatened to ‘cut off the head’...

The president, vice president and a former State Department official with the Obama administration took advantage of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit this week in Washington, D.C., as an opportunity to advance the homosexual rights agenda. “Despite the focus and emphasis on these issues, the United States has remained committed to its principles of strengthening and promoting democratic institutions, encouraging good governance and accountability and also promoting good human rights, including respect for the LBG [lesbian, bisexual, gay] communities across Africa,” Johnnie Carson, former assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under Hillary Clinton and senior adviser at the U.S. Institute...

THE ROTHSCHILDS One of the African leaders at the forefront of President Barack Obama’s Africa summit headed a bank that was fined eight figures for violating money-laundering regulations and is closely associated with the foundations of liberal billionaire George Soros and the Clinton family. Nigerian Tony Elumelu—a “banking titan” and one of Africa’s richest men—is acting as a spokesperson for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit this week. He penned an op-ed last week in the Wall Street Journal calling the event a “defining moment” for both the African continent and “for the United States as it formally recognizes the strategic importance...

"President Barack Obama drew the diplomatic line somewhere at the first ever U.S-Africa summit at the White House this week by not inviting Zimbabwe’s brutal dictator Robert Mugabe. But the guest list still included several other African leaders with only slightly better human rights records. The White House promoted the summit as the largest-ever gathering of African leaders in the United States, with more than 50 countries represented. The red carpet was rolled out for Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who shot or jailed virtually all his political opponents, Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh, who threatened to ‘cut off the head’...

OBAMA HOLDS PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE CONCLUSION OF US-AFRICA SUMMIT

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)President Obama spoke yesterday at the 2014 U.S.-Africa Summit in Washington, D.C. "I want to thank," the president began. He continued: "Last year in South Africa, in Soweto," he said, "I held a town hall." Later, the president discussed Africa's expanding energy market: "I don’t want to just sustain this momentum, I want to up it." "I just want to close," he ultimately concluded -- having eventually referred to himself 68 times in a 44 minute appearance*. *Grabien staff calculated this number to the best of our adding ability. We make no guarantees. Here is the full transcript.

Obama Welcomes African Leaders For Unusual Dinner August 5 2014 DARLENE SUPERVILLE Take a White House state dinner and multiply it by 50. The result is the most elaborate and unusual dinner of President Barack Obama's administration, a one-of-a-kind affair put on Tuesday night for a one-of-a-kind gathering of several dozen leaders from countries across Africa. The leaders are attending a three-day conference organized by the White House and aimed at boosting U.S. ties to the continent. Obama wasted little time highlighting his own personal connection to Africa during a brief toast. Guests were shuttled down to a massive tent...

Joe Biden’s latest gaffe (or is it a “speak-o” now, per Jonthan Gruber?) came during his remarks at the United States–Africa Leaders Summit on Tuesday when he referred to the continent as a country. ”There’s no reason the nation of Africa cannot and should not join the ranks of the world’s most prosperous nations in the near term, in the decades ahead,” the vice president said on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. “There is simply no reason.”

The White House was forging ahead Monday with a three-day Washington summit inviting delegations from nearly 50 African countries, despite growing fears about the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. Administration officials say they are taking additional precautions to screen visitors for the disease in both Africa and the United States. Despite some leaders canceling plans to attend due to the outbreak, President Obama made clear last week that the summit would go on. "It is going to be an unprecedented gathering of African leaders," Obama said Friday. The high-profile summit in the nation's capital is meant to tackle issues...

A widening outbreak of deadly Ebola fever is threatening to overshadow next week's summit between African leaders and President Obama. The three-day conference will bring nearly 50 African officials to Washington, D.C. for an unprecedented gathering that officials said could be a turning point in U.S.-Africa relations. But now, Obama administration officials are competing with increasingly dire news out of West Africa, where Ebola is ravaging populations in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. At least two African leaders will forgo the conference as a result with the death toll topping 700. And while the event's agenda has not changed, President...

President Barack Obama is gathering nearly 50 African heads of state in Washington for an unprecedented summit aimed in part at building his legacy on a continent where his commitment has been questioned. But the backdrop for the conference that begins Monday underscores what has been a constant challenge to that effort. Even as Obama immerses himself in talks on regional security, democracy building and business investment in Africa, the world's attention — and much of his own — will be on an extraordinary array of urgent overseas crises.

President Barack Obama is gathering nearly 50 African heads of state in Washington for an unprecedented summit aimed in part at building his legacy on a continent where his commitment has been questioned. From the start of his presidency, Obama has faced sky-high expectations from African leaders and U.S. policymakers who hoped the son of a Kenyan would bump Africa up the White House list of foreign policy priorities. Unlike his predecessor George W. Bush, who launched a $15 billion program to address HIV and AIDS, Obama seemed to be lacking a signature Africa initiative. And his administration's focus turned...

It is 6am on a warm West African morning. Two men, Ahmed and Milton, are up early, getting ready for long journeys. Apart from that, they have little in common. Ahmed is a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Guinea. He is a successful doctor, drives a Mercedes and lives in an exclusive air-conditioned apartment block in the Kaloum district of Guinea's capital, Conakry. Milton has no steady job, no car and shares a crowded corrugated iron shed in East 3, the poorest part of Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown. Ahmed is travelling today on important...

The presidents and other top officials from the three nations considered ground zero for the deadly Ebola virus are still planning to attend President Obama’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit next week, adding another layer of concern to a world meeting expected to gridlock Washington for three days. At least one of those leaders attending the Sunday-Wednesday summit, Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan, is bringing a 73-person entourage. Those from Guinea and Liberia are also expected to be large. While the travel of the entourages and support staff such as jet crews is naturally raising concerns, the White House tamped down worries and...

Michelle Obama called on young African leaders to change traditional attitudes and beliefs that harm girls and women, adding that educating and making women financially literate is not enough. “No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens,” Mrs. Obama said. The first lady spoke Wednesday to the inaugural class of young African fellows who are getting six weeks of leadership training in the United States as part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship. …

Fears of a global Ebola pandemic are 'justified' an expert has said as Nigerian health officials try to trace 30,000 people at risk of contracting the deadly disease following the death of Patrick Sawyer. The U.S. citizen boarded a flight in Liberia carrying the disease to Nigeria, potentially infecting 'anyone on the same plane'. It comes as Nigerian actor Jim Iyke sparked outrage, posting a picture of himself wearing an Ebola mask while sitting in a first class airport lounge as he fled Liberia. The 'Nollywood' star posted a message on his Instagram page saying he had cut short a...