DTN News - PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA IN DAKAR, SENEGAL: Obama Offers Africa Closer Business Ties, Urges Tolerance for Gays

DTN News - PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA IN DAKAR, SENEGAL: Obama Offers Africa Closer Business Ties, Urges Tolerance for Gays

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Drew Hinsaw - The  Wall Street Journal
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 27, 2013: (DAKAR, Senegal) President Barack Obama Thursday called for broader commercial engagement with Africa, but also touched on the continent's more sensitive issues such gay rights and the failing health of former South African leader Nelson Mandela.

"The reason I came to Africa is because Africa's rising," President Obama told reporters, after an hourlong talk with Senegal's President Macky Sall, to mark the start of his second trip to the continent as president.

The two presidents said they hope to sign new trade agreements between the U.S. and the West African Community of Economic States, a bloc of 15 countries whose economies are picking up pace. Mr. Obama also said he'll ask Congress to renew and expand on the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a 2000 law that allows African democracies to export manufactured goods to the U.S. duty free.

"We historically have been an enormous provider of aid to Africa—food, medicine—but what I want us to do is have a shift in paradigm, where we start focusing on trade, development, partnerships," Mr. Obama said. "This is going to be a continent that is on the move. It is young, it is vibrant and full of energy," he added.

Mr. Obama's trip highlights budding ties between the growing club of African democracies and a U.S. administration that sees room to champion democracy and investment on the world's poorest region. Mr. Obama next heads to South Africa, the continent's biggest economy, and Tanzania, a fast-growing East African economy, where he is expected to discuss U.S. investment and then wrap up his first extended presidential trip to the continent.

In 2009, President Obama made a short stop in Ghana to deliver a speech on democracy.

On Thursday, Mr. Obama also touched on issues that divide the U.S. and Africa, such as gay rights. One day after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a historic ruling that broadly cleared the way for an expansion of same-sex marriage, Mr. Obama addressed an African crowd that represents what many gay rights activists see as a next frontier. In almost every African nation, homosexuality is illegal, punishable by jail time and even death in several states.

As Mr. Obama pressed African countries to decriminalize homosexuality, Senegalese members of the audience murmured and muttered. "The issue of gays and lesbians and how they're treated has come up and has been controversial in many parts of Africa, so I want the African people to hear just what I believe," Mr. Obama said. "People should be treated equally. And that's a principle that I think should be applied universally."

In recent years, Senegalese gays who've attempted to live openly have suffered police crackdowns and even killed. "Senegal, as far as we are concerned, is a very tolerant country which doesn't discriminate against the inalienable rights of people, but we are not still ready to decriminalize homosexuality," said Senegal's President Macky Sall in response to Mr. Obama. "This doesn't mean that we are all homophobic."

In part to press his case for equality, Mr. Obama, the son of a Kenyan father, referenced a leader admired across the continent: South Africa's first black president Nelson Mandela, currently in critical condition in a South African Hospital.

Mr. Obama had hoped to meet Mr. Mandela during his next stop in South Africa, although that meeting appears unlikely, as the former South African leader remains hospitalized in critical condition. "He's a personal hero, but I don't think I'm unique in that regard," said Mr. Obama. "I think he's a hero for the world, and if and when he passes from this place, I think we all know his legacy is one that will carry on throughout the ages."

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Drew Hinsaw - The  Wall Street Journal
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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DTN News - UGANDA DEFENSE NEWS: Uganda In Talks For More Su-30 Fighter Jets

DTN News - UGANDA DEFENSE NEWS: Uganda In Talks For More Su-30 Fighter Jets

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Ria Novosti

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - September 23, 2012: Uganda is in talks with Russian state arms export company Rosoboronexport over an option purchase of six more Sukhoi Su-30 multirole fighter jets, the company's Deputy Director Alexander Mikheyev said on Friday at an arms exhibition in South Africa.

Uganda signed its first contract to buy six Su-30MK2 fighters this year, he said. "Now, we are talking about an option, the Ugandans expressed interest in buying another six aircraft of this type," he said.

Rosoboronexport has also signed a contract to sell six Mi-17 helicopters to Ghana, he said.

"We have signed a contract this year to sell six Mi-17s to Ghana," he said. The first two aircraft will be delivered to Ghana in a year, he said, adding talks are also underway about setting up a helicopter service center in the region. 

Related News from Srategy Page 

(Link for this story by Srategy Page)

Ugandan Su-30 fighter pilots are leaving the air force. Two of the eight recently trained Su-30 pilots have already resigned and the other six are threatening to do the same. It's all about money, or the lack of it. Ugandan Air Force fighter pilots are paid $500 a month, while foreign pilots brought in to do the same work receive $8,000 a month. Ugandan pilots working for air lines receive the same pay as foreign pilots and Ugandan pilots are demanding the same deal. The government promised its Ugandan Su-30 pilots a raise last year but the money never came through.

In the last year Uganda has received six Russian Su-30 jet fighters. Uganda paid $124 million each for their Su-30s, this included the cost of setting a maintenance operation and for training. There was much local opposition to this deal, not least because it consumed a third of Uganda's foreign reserves. The high price also indicated some payoffs were involved.

Uganda justified the need for these high-performance jets because regional neighbors like Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Sudan operate MiG-29s. But other neighbors may now feel obliged to upgrade their air forces as well. Oil was discovered in Uganda five years ago, so now there is something to defend and a way to pay for it. Su-30s cost several million dollars a year to maintain (assuming they will be flown often enough to sustain pilot skills). In the past fifty years most African nations that have obtained high-performance jets did not maintain them well, and these jet fighters eventually became useless and permanently grounded.

The 37 ton Su-30 is roughly equivalent to the 25 ton U.S. F-15. Of course, the F-15 comes in many versions, as does the Su-27 (which the Su-30 is a variant of). India bought SU-30MKIs, which are more similar to the two seat F-15E fighter-bomber. The Indian aircraft was equipped with French and Israeli electronics. Even so, the Su-30MKIs cost less than half what Uganda is paying. The Su-30 can carry more than eight tons of bombs and hit targets over 1,500 kilometers away.

Related News

• Russia to Sell Off 18 'Indian' Su-30 Fighters
• Sukhoi Su-30SM: An Indian Gift to Russia’s Air Force
• Russia Orders 30 Su-30SM Fighters
• Russia to sell Mi-17 helicopters to Argentina

Multimedia

• Su-30 Multirole Fighter
• Su-30MKI (Flanker-H) multirole fighter

OPERATORS  (WIKIPEDIA)

Operators of the Su-30 as of 2010

 Algeria

• Algerian Air Force has 28 Su-30MKs in service as of January 2012. 16 were ordered in 2010 instead of 36 MiG-29SMT/UBT aircraft.

 People's Republic of China

• People's Liberation Army Air Force operates the Su-30MKK variant. The People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force operates the Su-30MK2 variant.

 India

• Indian Air Force operates the Su-30MKI variant. The IAF has over 140 Su-30MKIs in service.

 Indonesia

• Indonesian Air Force ordered three Su-30MK2s; it received two on 26 December 2008 and the third in 2009. Another 6 fighters were ordered in 2010. It has 2 Su-30MK and 3 Su-30MK2s in operational use as of January 2012.

 Malaysia

• Royal Malaysian Air Force after a close visit to see India's Su-30MKI, ordered 18 Su-30MKMs in May 2003. The first 2 Su-30MKMs were formally handed over in Irkutsk on 23 May 2007, later arrived in Gong Kedak airbase on 21 June. As part of the contract, Russia sent the first Malaysian cosmonaut to the International Space Station in October 2007. Malaysia had 12 Su-30MKMs in service with 6 on order in November 2008. Due to past issues with aircraft support, Malaysia was to purchase spare parts from China.

 Russia

• Russian Air Force received 5 Su-30s in 1994–1996. It operates 9 Su-30s, including 4 Su-30M2s delivered in 2011. The Russian Air force is to receive 10 more Su-30M2s in 2012. Another 30 Su-30SMs were ordered in 2012 with options for 12 more; deliveries are to be completed by 2015.

Venezuelan Air Force Su-30MK2

 Uganda

• Ugandan Air Force has ordered 6 Su-30MK2s, and received two on 8 July 2011. The aircraft order cost is estimated at $740 million (Shs1.8 trillion). It has 4 Su-30MK2s in use as of January 2012.

 Venezuela

• Venezuelan Air Force and the government of Venezuela announced on 14 June 2006 the purchase of 24 units of the Su-30MK2. The first two Su-30MK2s arrived in early December 2006 while another 8 were commissioned during 2007; 14 more units arrived in 2008. A second batch of 12 Su-30MKV is also being considered. It has 24 Su-30MK2s as of January 2012.

 Vietnam

• Vietnam People's Air Force operates 4 Su-30MK and 18 Su-30MK2s as of January 2012. Vietnam reportedly signed a contract for 12 more Su-30MK2s in 2009, but the contract was reduced to 8 fighters. On 20 July 2010, it was announced at Farnborough International Airshowthat Vietnam signed a contract for 20 Su-30MK2s.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Ria Novosti
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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DTN News: President Barack Obama Receives Hero's Welcome On Ghana Visit

DTN News: President Barack Obama Receives Hero's Welcome On Ghana Visit

*Source: DTN News

(NSI News Source Info) ACCRA, Ghana - July 11, 2009: Barack Obama said Ghana could be a model of success for other African countries as he arrived today after the G8 summit for a visit meant to show that "Africa is not separate from world affairs". President Barack Obama does a pass and review of members of the Ghanaian military at the Presidential Palace in Accra, Ghana, Saturday, July 11, 2009. In his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office, President Barack Obama is seeking to lift up the continent of his ancestors while keeping its emotions in check. On his first trip to Africa since taking office, the US president was given a hero's welcome in the country's capital, Accra. Thousands of people wearing Obama T-shirts thronged the streets, cheering and waving as his motorcade swept past. Walls and utility poles were plastered with posters of Obama and John Atta Mills, the country's president, as well as the word "change" – the mantra of Obama's presidential election campaign. Other posters showed the president and his wife, Michelle, with the greeting "Ghana loves you". Obama and his family arrived late last night from the G8 summit in Italy, where the world's richest nations agreed on a $20bn (£12.4bn) food security plan to help poor nations feed themselves during the global recession. Speaking in Italy before he left, Obama said: "There is no reason why Africa cannot be self-sufficient when it comes to food." Today, Obama is to address Ghana's parliament with a speech that is expected to emphasise that the key to prosperity is democratic, accountable government. Last night, Obama portrayed Ghana as a success in a continent beset by corruption and poor governance. "Part of the reason that we're travelling to Ghana is because you've got a functioning democracy, a president who's serious about reducing corruption and you've seen significant economic growth," he said. The Obamas will visit Gold Coast Castle, a former British slave trading post. Michelle Obama is a great-great granddaughter of slaves. John Atta Mills, the president of Ghana, walks alongside US President Barack Obama upon arrival at the Presidential Castle in Accra, Ghana, on July 11, 2009. The visit marks Obama's first to subsaharan Africa as president. Obama, who will address parliament Saturday, said before the trip that he had chosen Ghana as his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa because it was an example of a "functioning democracy" in the conflict-scarred continent. The visit comes as the US plans a much more assertive policy in Africa, using both diplomacy and the threat of force to end the protracted conflicts in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria, which are seen as two of the main obstacles to the continent's progress. "This is both a special and an important visit for him personally as president, but also for our country to articulate a vision for Africa," said Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman. Despite the enthusiastic reception from ordinary Ghanians, no major public events have been planned during Obama's 21-hour visit, for fear it could cause a celebratory stampede, as almost happened during a 1998 stop by Bill Clinton.

DTN News: President Barack Obama In Accra Welcomed And Greeted By Huge Crowds

DTN News: President Barack Obama In Accra Welcomed And Greeted By Huge Crowds *Source: DTN News (NSI News Source Info) ACCRA, Ghana - July 11, 2009: At the age of 78, stooped and slow but still full of energy, Constance Ankrah was determined not to miss this moment. She donned her best Sunday dress, put on her pearl necklace, powdered her face, bought a U.S. flag and a bouquet of artificial flowers, and headed to the airport to wait for Barack Obama. U.S. President Barack Obama arrives with his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha in Ghana's capital Accra, July 10, 2009. Obama flew into Ghana on Friday on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office as the first African American president of the United States. “I'm very happy to see the first black president of the United States visiting Ghana,” she said, beaming as she joined a crowd of nearly 1,000 singing and dancing fans of Mr. Obama at the airport in Accra Friday night. “I told all my friends that I was coming to the airport. I'm so happy to give him a welcome to Ghana.” Mr. Obama arrived on Air Force One after a flight from Italy, where he was attending the G8 summit. He and his wife, Michelle, walked down the airplane's stairs at 9:20 p.m., holding hands with their daughters, Sasha and Malia. They were greeted by Ghana's President, John Atta Mills, and a long line of dignitaries in traditional Ghanaian dress. The U.S. President might be the most popular celebrity ever to visit Ghana. Even the dignitaries were taking photos of Mr. Obama with their cellphones as they waited to greet him on the red carpet. Before entering his armoured limousine, Mr. Obama took a slight detour to watch a performance of traditional dancers and drummers on the airport tarmac. Thousands of Ghanaians lined the streets of Accra last night, hoping for a glimpse of Mr. Obama's limousine. Police and security personnel were everywhere, watching every street corner. An estimated 10,000 police have been deployed during Mr. Obama's visit. For security reasons, every stop he makes will be tightly controlled and limited to invited guests, with no opportunities for ordinary Ghanaians to see him. U.S. President Barack Obama greets Ghana's President John Atta Mills and his wife Ernestina Naadu Mills in Accra, Ghana, July 10, 2009. Obama was given a hero's welcome in Ghana on Friday on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office as the first African American president of the United States. At the airport, hundreds of excited Obama fans waited up to six hours for the arrival of Air Force One. Many sang songs of praise for the President, and some waved signs with his election slogan, “Yes we can.” Hawkers in the crowd were selling a range of Obama T-shirts, U.S. flags and even Obama fly swatters. When the crowd discovered a 12-year-old boy who bore a striking resemblance to a young Barack Obama, they swarmed around him with their cameras. The boy, Felix Agyaba Afriyie, had travelled from the city of Kumasi, nearly 300 kilometres from Accra, to welcome Mr. Obama. Wearing a shirt with Mr. Obama's portrait emblazoned on it, he beamed with pride as the crowd mobbed him.

DTN News: Drug Trafficking In Africa

DTN News: Drug Trafficking In Africa

*Source: DTN News

(NSI News Source Info) BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau - July 6, 2009: People gather around a speedboat believed to be used by drug traffickers in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau.Drawn by its vast coastline, limited law enforcement capacity and weak governance, Latin American drug traffickers in recent years have turned West Africa into a major transshipment point for cocaine and other illegal drugs.

People gather around a speedboat of a type believed to be used by drug traffickers, as it unloads cargo at a quay in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. Cocaine trafficking could become the biggest source of income in impoverished Guinea-Bissau, dwarfing all other economic sectors combined, a top U.N official said, adding the influx of drug money could destabilize the coup-prone West African country.

It's estimated that 60% of the cocaine sold in Europe now passes through nations such as Guinea-Bissau, Togo, Ghana and Senegal. That's an alarming trend for both international counternarcotics efforts and the stability of the countries affected.

The United States is coordinating the work of 3 government departments to work with nations in the region and other international partners to confront the problem, which in the near term is expected to get worse before it gets better.

Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson told Congress recently that the U.S. State, Justice and Defense Departments are united in their understanding of the threat drug trafficking poses not only to the nations of West Africa, but to U.S. interests as well.

Guinea has had only two presidents since gaining its independence from France in 1958. Lansana CONTE came to power in 1984 when the military seized the government after the death of the first president, Sekou TOURE. Guinea did not hold democratic elections until 1993 when Gen. CONTE (head of the military government) was elected president of the civilian government. He was reelected in 1998 and again in 2003. Unrest in Sierra Leone and Liberia has spilled over into Guinea on several occasions over the past decade, threatening stability and creating humanitarian emergencies. In 2006, declining economic conditions prompted two massive strikes that sparked urban unrest in many Guinean cities.

The problem is not isolated to West Africa alone. Kenya and Ethiopia have become major transshipment routes for heroin coming out of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The impact this has is seen in crime and corruption in the affected countries and ultimately an increase in drug use by people in the transshipment points.

The U.S. is working with the European Commission and United Nations to help nations in the region, with intelligence gathering, maritime patrol and assistance in the criminal justice sector. Ghana, Togo, and Sierra Leone have already demonstrated willingness to working closely with the U.S. and other countries have expressed interest.

DTN News: Defense-Contract Discs Sold In African Market For $40 ~ Northrop Grumman And Pentagon Data Dumped

DTN News: Defense-Contract Discs Sold In African Market For $40 ~ Northrop Grumman And Pentagon Data Dumped

*Sources: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 26, 2009: Dumped hard drives with US defense data have turned up for open sale in a West African market. A team of Canadian journalism students bought a hard drive containing information on multi-million dollar contracts between military contractor Northrop Grumman and the Pentagon for just $40 in a market near Accra, Ghana. The exercise was part of shooting a documentary on e-waste by Vancouver journalism students, researching what happens to the West's discarded and donated electronics. "You'd think a security contractor that constantly deals with very secret proprietary information would probably want to wipe their drives," Blake Sifton, one of the three graduate journalism students told CBC. The team bought seven hard drives at a market in the port of Tema, a major point of entry for electronic waste from Europe and North America into Africa. Northrop Grumman is reported to be investigating how an unencrypted hard drive containing sensitive data on the firm ended up on an African market, in violation of its established kit disposal procedures. "Based on the documents we were shown, we believe this hard drive may have been stolen after one of our asset-disposal vendors took possession of the unit," Northrop Grumman told CBC. A documentary of the students' research, Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground, aired in the PBS program Frontline/World on Tuesday. The disposal of electronic waste is controlled by European and US regulations but spare - often broken - kit often finds its way to Africa and other regions of the developing world where it is dumped. Cannibalized parts end up on markets while the rest of the kit is piled together and burned. Sifton recalled seeing seven fires spewing "black, sticky, acrid smoke" at one Ghanian dump. "The ground is just scorched absolutely everywhere. Everywhere you walk, there's shards of plastic and metal and glass protruding from the ground." The fires are used to extract scrap metal, valued at just 50 cents a kilogram, which locals use to scratch out a meager existence. It's the effect on the local environment and people of the West's throw-away culture around electronic kit - rather than the information security element, which is well understood - that Sifton and his colleagues are trying to highlight. Sifton added that he did visit universities in Ghana supplied with computers donated from the West that would have otherwise been unaffordable. ®