President Obama says Ghana is a “model” for Africa…

Fox news

12/07/09

President Barack Obama, left, meets with Ghana President John Atta Mills at the Presidential Palace in Accra, Ghana, Saturday, July 11, 2009. Obama says his trip to Africa at the end of a whirlwind world tour is designed to illustrate that “Africa is not separate from world affairs.” (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Obama says Ghana is a “model” for Africa, citing its democratic process and growing economy, and he told the west African nation that the continent will not be left behind as the world moves forward. “Africa is not separate from world affairs,” Obama said in a meeting with Ghana’s President John Mills.

“What happens here has an impact everywhere,” Obama told Mills. For his part, Mills told the President that this visit is front page news. “All Ghanaians want to see you,” Mills said.

The two leaders met on Saturday morning in the capital of Accra. The stop, the last of a week-long trip which took Obama to Russia and the G8 meeting in Italy, is designed to showcase the White House policy on Africa.

It’s a point the administration has been making all week, showing that the first African American President of the United States will not forget Africa when it comes to foreign policy.

“We are trying to make a point about the fact that Africa is a part of the grand foreign policy vision,” said Michelle Gavin, senior adviser to the President. “It’s not some separate sphere that one engages in and then hops out and has no relationship to the rest of the foreign policy agenda.”

In addition to direct outreach, the White House is utilizing new media tools to reach the entire continent during this short stop in West Africa by having embassies throughout the continent host watch parties for the Obama events in private houses and also public spaces like movie theaters.
” Our new media operation both at the White House and at the State Department — reached out through SMS,” Denis McDonough, Senior National Security Adviser said.” And as Michelle suggested, through the social networking sites, through Twitter to encourage both ideas and questions to the President about the visit, about the speech and otherwise.”

While Ghana is pleased to host the first Obama Presidential visit to sub-Saharan Africa, some experts on Africa say while it’s tempting to only visit the “good places” engagement across Africa is necessary for a complete policy. Jendayi Frazier, a U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under President Bush said that would not help advance the Obama policy.”It would be a mistake to try and only engage with what are classified as ‘good leaders’ ,” Frazier said. “we’ve seen that failed strategy in the past.”

And while the mood in Ghana is joyous on this occasion, for the rest of Africa, there are still issues to deal with, including Sudan’s genocide in the Darfur region, the overall good government issues that have plagued Zimbabwe for years and growing violence in Congo.

“Those are big, problematic issues,” said Jennifer Cooke of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “How do you start thinking about governance in that? Given the crises, given the security interests, I think, the sense of balance and having a long-term strategy is going to be a very difficult one.”

Brazilian police have questioned Arturo Gatti wife….

BBC NEWS

12/07/09

Gatti retire from boxing in 2007 with an exciting reputation

Brazilian police have questioned the wife of a former world boxing champion, Arturo Gatti, after he was found dead in a hotel in north-eastern Brazil.

The Canadian’s body was discovered on Saturday at a holiday resort where he had gone with his wife and son.

Authorities say Gatti, 37, may have been strangled with the strap of a handbag and had a mark on his head.

He was IBF super-featherweight champion in 1995 and WBC light-welterweight champion in 2004, and retired in 2007.

His three-fight series with Micky Ward in 2002 and 2003 established him as one of the world’s most exciting fighters.

Arguments?

Gatti had been on holiday in the Porto de Galinhas resort with his Brazilian wife, Amanda Rodrigues, and their one-year-old son.

Police said there were inconsistencies in Ms Rodrigues’ statement but that she denied any involvement in her husband’s death.

Gatti’s body was reportedly found in the couple’s holiday apartment.

However, police remain unsure how Ms Rodrigues stayed in the apartment for around 10 hours – with the couple’s one-year-old son – without noticing that her husband was dead.

Detectives are also investigating reports that the couple had been arguing before returning to their room on Friday evening and that Gatti had been drunk.

The couple are said to have rented the apartment for a month in order to have a “second honeymoon” but only arrived on Friday, reports the BBC’s Gary Duffy, in Sao Paulo.

Glittering career

Gatti’s career spanned 49 fights and he won 40 of them, 31 by knockout.

He first fought Micky Ward in May 2002 and the pair traded devastating blows for 10 rounds before Ward earned the split decision from the judges.

The rematch was just as brutal, with Gatti knocking Ward down in the third round with a big right. Ward not only recovered from the blow, which broke Gatti’s hand, but managed to go the distance. This time, Gatti earned a unanimous decision.

Gatti and Ward had their decider at Boardwalk Hall in June 2003, Ward knocked Gatti to the floor in the sixth round, but despite fighting with his right hand broken again, Gatti managed to win the decision.

Ward and Gatti became close friends toward the end of their careers.

Hearing what happened to Arturo is like a piece of you is gone Micky Ward

Ward told The Ring: “I’m walking around in a daze. I’m just dazed by it all. You fight a guy, you go to war with them, and there is a respect there. But with me and Arturo, it was greater.

“There was a real bond between us. It’s why hearing this, hearing what happened to Arturo is like a piece of you is gone, because we shared so much of everything in the ring. We were friends, close friends.”

Gatti eventually retired two years ago following a seventh-round knockout defeat by Alfonso Gomez.

Kathy Duva, of Gatti’s promoters Main Events, described his death as an “unspeakable tragedy”.

She said: “His entire boxing career he fought with us, we’ve known him since he was 17. He just captured the imagination of so many people.”

Duva added: “I remember walking away from his last fight and somebody walked up to him in the casino late at night and congratulated him.

“He said ‘Why did he congratulate me?’ and I said ‘He was excited to meet you’ and he kind of looked very surprised by that. He had no idea what an icon he was or how much he meant to people.”