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| Obama begins Africa tour in Senegal | Obama begins Africa tour in Senegal |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| US President Barack Obama has arrived in Senegal on the first leg of a three-nation tour of Africa. | US President Barack Obama has arrived in Senegal on the first leg of a three-nation tour of Africa. |
| It is Mr Obama's second visit to the continent since he became president. | It is Mr Obama's second visit to the continent since he became president. |
| He is hoping to boost economic ties with the African countries and promote good governance - all the countries he is visiting have stable democracies. | He is hoping to boost economic ties with the African countries and promote good governance - all the countries he is visiting have stable democracies. |
| The South African leg of his trip is expected to be overshadowed by the continuing critical condition of former President Nelson Mandela. | The South African leg of his trip is expected to be overshadowed by the continuing critical condition of former President Nelson Mandela. |
| The White House has said it will defer to the wishes of Mr Mandela's family over whether Mr Mandela is well enough to receive a visit from him in hospital. | The White House has said it will defer to the wishes of Mr Mandela's family over whether Mr Mandela is well enough to receive a visit from him in hospital. |
| Mr Obama is visiting Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania, excluding Kenya, where his father was born. | |
| US officials said the indictment of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta at the International Criminal Court on charges of fuelling violence after the 2007 election made it politically impossible for Mr Obama to visit the country, AFP news agency reports. | |
| Mr Obama is due to meet Senegal's President Macky Sall later on Thursday. | |
| Mr Obama, along with his wife Michelle and children, will also travel by ferry to Goree Island, a memorial to Africans who were caught up in the Atlantic slave trade. | |
| The visit is expected to be emotional because Mr Obama is the son of an African and Michelle Obama is a descendant of slaves, correspondents say. | |
| "A visit like this by an American President, any American President, is powerful," said White House spokesman Jay Carney. | |
| "I think that will be the case when President Obama visits and I'm sure particularly so, given that he is African American." | |
| On Sunday, Mr Obama is due to visit Robben Island, where Mr Mandela was jailed for 18 of the 27 years he spent in prison, on the second leg of his African tour. | |
| However, it is unclear whether the visit will take place because of Mr Mandela's deteriorating health, correspondents say. | |
| Mr Obama is due end his Africa tour with a visit to Tanzania, where he will lay a memorial outside the US embassy in the main city, Dar es Salaam, in honour of 11 people killed in a bombing by al-Qaeda in 1998. |