In Kenya, Clinton Blasts Graft, Corruption

(NEWSER) - President Obama today warned Africans that corruption and strong-arm tactics must be overcome if the continent is to see prosperity, and he promised US support to nations on the right path, Politico reports. “America will be with you,” Obama said in Ghana. “As a partner. As a friend.” (He also dusted off his campaign theme, "Yes you can," for his hosts.) The president highlighted the connection between the two with his own history. The “blood of Africa” is “within me,” he said. More»

In pushing for funds, Obama cites father's experience

(NEWSER) - On the last day of a G8 summit stymied on climate change and trade, leaders have pledged $20 billion to farms in poor countries in the fight hunger, Reuters reports. Some $3.5 billion will come from the US, which wants to focus on farm aid instead of food aid. “There is no reason Africa should not be self-sufficient when it comes to food,” said President Obama. More»

Power sharing compromise has resulted in a rancorous impasse

(NEWSER) - Election violence in 2007 gave way to an uneasy coalition between Kenyan PM Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki, but that move seems only to have transformed the fighting on the streets into squabbling in the capital. Now, "Kenya does not have a functioning executive at all, just an unholy alliance of fierce rivals," reports the Economist. More»

(NEWSER) - Ordinary citizens who share the last name Obama with the president-elect are seeing goodwill and unexpected perks lately, the Washington Post reports. They might not be able to score Inauguration tickets, but entrance to a swanky nightclub? No problem. Speeding ticket? Fixed. And it’s an exclusive club: The country may have fewer than 20 Obama families, compared to 60,000 people whose last name is Bush. More»

Government and opposition deal falters

(NEWSER) - Riots erupted again in Kenya yesterday as opposition leaders suspended talks with the government over a stalled power-sharing pact, reports the New York Times. Dozens of men in a Nairobi slum lit bonfires and hurled rocks at police, chanting, "No cabinet, no peace!" The violence marked the first major riot since February, when Kenya's president and his main rival agreed to form a government together. More»