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Mr Obama is expected to meet lawmakers as well as business and civil society leaders and youth on his trip.
The 26 June - 3 July visit will be Mr Obama's second to sub-Saharan Africa as president. He spent less than a day in Ghana in 2009.
Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush both visited Africa during their second terms in office.
Mr Clinton visited six countries while Mr Bush went to five.
"The president will reinforce the importance that the United States places on our deep and growing ties with countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including through expanding economic growth, investment, and trade; strengthening democratic institutions; and investing in the next generation of African leaders," the White House said in a statement.
"The trip will underscore the president's commitment to broadening and deepening cooperation between the United States and the people of sub-Saharan Africa to advance regional and global peace and prosperity."
Analysts say such trips are common for US presidents after they are relieved of the pressure of domestic campaigning.
Meanwhile, a developing threat of Islamist militants in the west African country of Mali has raised the region's profile in Washington.
First Lady Michelle Obama is due to accompany Mr Obama on his trip. | US President Barack Obama will visit Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania in June, the White House has said. |
Paul Ryan was announced as Mr Romney's choice for vice-president in one such state, Virginia, on Saturday.
The pair are going on to tour North Carolina, Florida, Ohio - and Mr Ryan's home state of Wisconsin.
Mr Ryan vowed to save the country from "high unemployment, declining incomes and crushing debt".
But Mr Obama's campaign has said Mr Ryan stood for what they called "flawed" economic policies that would repeat "catastrophic" mistakes.
Mr Ryan is chairman of the House of Representatives budget committee and authored a controversial alternative budget to counter President Barack Obama's plans in 2011 and 2012.
Profile: Paul Ryan
How media sees choice
Mr Romney, 65, formally unveiled his 42-year-old running mate before hundreds of cheering supporters at the retired battleship USS Wisconsin in Norfolk, Virginia.
In a slip of the tongue, the former Massachusetts governor introduced Mr Ryan as "the next president of the United States", before correcting himself to say he meant vice-president.
"I didn't make a mistake with this guy," he added.
Mr Ryan told the crowd that he and Mr Romney would "restore the greatness of this country".
"Mitt Romney is a leader with the skills, the background and the character that our country needs at a crucial time in its history," Mr Ryan said.
"Following four years of failed leadership, the hopes of our country, which have inspired the world, are growing dim, and they need someone to revive them. Governor Romney is the man for this moment."
Tight race
Prompting one of the loudest cheers from onlookers, he said: "Our rights come from nature and God, not from government."
By Mark MardellNorth America editor
After Mr Ryan was revealed as Mr Romney's running mate in Norfolk, the men stopped in Ashland, Virginia, before embarking on the next step of their tour of swing states, flying from Virginia to North Carolina.
In a little over two weeks' time, Mr Romney will be formally confirmed as the Republican nominee at the party convention in Tampa, Florida.
Mr Ryan chairs the budget committee in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, and is seen as likely to add electoral firepower on what are expected to be the key election issues - jobs, the economy and the budget deficit.
Recent opinion polls suggest a close race between Mr Romney and President Obama, with Mr Obama tending to have a slight lead in most surveys. | The US Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, and his running mate are touring key states that they need to win in November's election. |
1 April 2013 Last updated at 13:13 BST
In a strong attack, Communities and Tackling Poverty Minister Huw Lewis accuses the UK government of "coming for ordinary Welsh people".
He also claimed the coalition was setting out to "make the poor pay the most" for the banking crisis.
But the UK government says the changes are needed and are fair.
Guto Bebb, Conservative MP for Aberconwy, said Mr Lewis' comments were "completely unacceptable".
"These welfare changes are happening because the previous Labour government was responsible for creating the biggest bust in Britain's economic history," he told BBC Radio Wales.
Mr Lewis was interviewed by BBC Wales Political Editor Betsan Powys.
Devastation claim on benefit changes
Welfare reforms fair - Duncan Smith | Changes to welfare and benefits will have a "destabilising, damaging and devastating impact on communities", a Welsh government minister has claimed. |
The arrangement allows the free movement of people between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
But the deputy first minister said that is now at risk, adding that he viewed that prospect "with great alarm".
First Minister Arlene Foster said there was a need to be "innovative" on how to "police" the Irish border.
They were speaking ahead of a specially convened meeting of the British-Irish Council (BIC) to discuss the implications of the UK's decision to leave the EU.
The summit in Wales is looking at how Brexit could affect trade and the economy.
Sinn Féin's Mr McGuinness said the border will be discussed by the ministers.
"I was alarmed when I heard Theresa May before she became prime minister effectively say that she believed there would be a hard border between north and south," he said.
"I don't see how the Common Travel Area could survive the negotiations which we are told are about to take place.
"We have spent the last 20 years forging various agreements which have placed the Irish peace process as one of the most successful peace processes in the world today.
"Anything that resembled a return to border checkpoints would represent a grievous undermining of the Good Friday Agreement."
Mrs Foster, the Democratic Unionist Party leader, said there needed to be a a "realistic way" of dealing with the Common Travel Area.
"When people talk about a hard border, I think they think back to the Troubles in Northern Ireland," she said.
"Our colleagues in the Republic of Ireland have said very clearly they want to make the Common Travel Area work.
"There are ways to deal with this that we can be creative and flexible about."
Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire, Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Enda Kenny and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon are among the figures attending Friday's meeting in Cardiff.
It is being hosted by Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones.
Mr Jones said: "For the first time ever there'll be different immigration policies on both sides of the border.
"The Common Travel Area was based on having a common immigration policy that's not going to be there any more."
The talks are looking at how the devolved administrations can help each other during the Brexit process.
Other possible discussion topics include Mr Kenny's suggestion that Brexit could lead to a referendum on Irish reunification. | Martin McGuinness has said he cannot see how the Common Travel Area between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland could survive in Brexit talks. |
Ian Grillot, 24, has been widely praised as a hero by Indians, including foreign minister Sushma Swaraj.
On Thursday he met with Indian diplomats who invited him to visit India when he is able to travel, the University of Kansas Hospital said.
"We will stand with you," Houston-based consul general Anupam Roy said.
Mr Grillot, who was released from hospital on Tuesday, had said earlier in the week that he had always found India "interesting".
"I think I've found myself a good reason to go there now," Indian newspaper the Hindustan Times quoted him as saying.
He was at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas on 22 February when suspected gunman Adam Purinton allegedly yelled "get out of my country" and opened fire at two Indian engineers, Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani.
Mr Kuchibhotla, 32, died, while Mr Madasani, also 32, was injured.
As Mr Grillot tried to stop the gunman, he was hit by a bullet in the hand and chest.
Since his release from hospital he has already visited Austins, seeking "closure", according to a hospital statement.
Adam Purinton has been charged with first degree-murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder.
The US Navy veteran fled the scene after the shooting, and later reportedly told a bartender that he had "shot two Iranians".
The fallout from the attack has reverberated across India and the large Indian community in the US.
US President Donald Trump condemned the shooting in a speech to Congress on Tuesday. He had earlier faced criticism for his silence on the attack.
Amid the grief, horror and shock of what happened in Olathe are stories of heroism.
As gunfire rang out in Austins Bar and Grill, Ian Grillot had been hiding under a table.
Thinking the assailant's magazine was empty, he got up to chase him. It wasn't, and the final bullet pierced Ian's hand before ripping through his chest.
There were other tales of courage too. Alok Madasani told me how a man named Brad ripped off his shirt and tied it around his leg to stem the bleeding, after a bullet hit his thigh. Brad's actions probably saved his life.
And earlier that evening, when the Indian engineers were at the receiving end of racial abuse, a businessman told them he'd taken care of their bill. He wanted to show that the language used by the suspected attacker was un-American. | The US man who was shot while trying to intervene in a deadly gun attack on two Indians at a Kansas bar has been invited to visit India. |
The English Romantic artist was chosen from a list of public nominations - the first time the Bank has asked who should appear on a specific banknote.
The note, to be made of polymer, will eventually replace the current £20 note featuring the economist Adam Smith.
The choice means all but one Bank of England banknote character will be men.
Of the five characters on banknotes by 2020, other than the Queen only Jane Austen - appearing on the £10 note from 2017 - is a woman.
The men who will feature by 2020 are Sir Winston Churchill on the £5 note who will replace campaigner Elizabeth Fry from September, Turner on the £20 note, and Matthew Boulton and James Watt remain on the £50 note.
The Bank received 29,701 nominations from the public after it announced it wanted to celebrate an artist on the note. Some 590 eligible visual artists were considered for the honour - about a fifth of whom are women.
The list was considered by a Bank committee chaired by the Bank's deputy governor Ben Broadbent, and including chief cashier Victoria Cleland and independent experts Sir David Cannadine, Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey and Sandy Nairne. Three visual arts experts - John Akomfrah, Alice Rawsthorn, and Andrew Graham-Dixon - were also consulted.
The committee drew up a shortlist of five - Turner, filmmaker Charlie Chaplin, sculptor Barbara Hepworth, painter William Hogarth, and designer Josiah Wedgwood.
The final decision was made by the Bank's governor, Mark Carney.
He said diversity was a consideration in the decision, and he admitted that "further progress" was needed on all measures of diversity when thinking about representation on banknotes. However, he said the process was more transparent and independent now.
But Caroline Criado-Perez, whose campaign for more women to appear on banknotes was followed by the announcement of the Jane Austen £10 note design, said: "Obviously it would be nice for it to have been a woman given women make up half the population, but I guess the Bank of England thinks one woman out of five historical figures ticks off their gender quota."
Joseph Mallord William Turner, or JMW Turner (1775 - 1851), is known as "the painter of light" and described by artist Tracey Emin as a "wild maverick".
Mr Carney, the Bank's governor, said: "Turner is perhaps the single most influential British artist of all time. His work was transformative, bridging the classical and modern worlds. His influence spanned his lifetime and is still apparent today.
"I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who got involved in the process and that sent us their suggestions for visual artists to celebrate. The range and breadth of these nominations is testament to the UK's achievements in the arts and the public's passion for it."
The banknote features Turner's self-portrait, from 1799, currently on display in the Tate Britain, and one of his most eminent paintings - The Fighting Temeraire - which can be seen in the National Gallery. In 2005, the painting - a tribute to the ship HMS Temeraire in Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 - was voted Britain's greatest painting in a poll organised by the BBC.
The quote on the banknote - "Light is therefore colour" - comes from an 1818 lecture by Turner at the Royal Academy, where he first exhibited at the age of 15. His signature is from his will in which he bequeathed his work to the nation.
The unveiling was held at the Turner Contemporary in Margate, Kent. It was in the town that the London-born Turner, the son of a barber and wig maker, loved and more than 100 of his works were inspired by the East Kent coast.
Arts editor Will Gompertz
I suppose if you were to choose the most influential British artist whose work resonates around the world and influenced a modern movement, you'd have to choose JMW Turner.
There is no doubt that he was magnificent painter, a visionary artist and a fabulously interesting character.
But, and this is only a personal opinion, I really wish they had gone for the Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.
She too, in her own way, was a pioneer - coming to the art form late in life and creating iconic images of great intellectuals of her day including that of Charles Darwin which can be seen on the face of the £10 note.
The new £20 note will be the third Bank of England banknote to be made from polymer, following the new £5 note and new £10 note.
The theory is that the plastic notes will be more sturdy, such as surviving a spin in the washing machine, and be more resistant to counterfeiting.
Only the £50 note will remain a paper Bank of England banknote.
Clydesdale Bank in Scotland has issued a series of polymer notes. In 1999, Northern Bank of Northern Ireland issued a polymer £5 commemorative note celebrating the year 2000.
A plastic note was introduced in the Isle of Man in 1983 but was withdrawn in 1988 owing to problems with the ink. | Artist JMW Turner and his painting The Fighting Temeraire will feature on the new design of the Bank of England's £20 note to enter circulation in 2020. |
Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey discussed on Sunday's Andrew Marr Show how Labour would raise money to pay for £63bn of extra spending.
But Mr Corbyn told BBC Radio 4's Today: "I don't recognise the figure.
"Our programme is not complete... the figure that was used on the Marr programme is not one we recognise."
During her interview with the BBC's Andrew Marr, Ms Long-Bailey was repeatedly challenged over how her party would raise the £63bn to pay for promised extra commitments if it got into government.
She said independent research showed that reverses to a series of tax cuts would raise £70bn by 2020: "We certainly wouldn't have made the decisions that this government has, for example, slashing taxes for the most wealthy in society - inheritance tax, capital gains tax, the bank levy, corporation tax."
During an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Corbyn rejected suggestions that Labour would spend £60-70bn more than the Conservatives paid for by taxation, stressing: "I don't recognise the £60bn figure.
"Corporation tax was 28%, it's now dropping and is due to drop to 17% - and indeed both the prime minister and chancellor threatened to drop it even further if Brexit didn't work and they would go down to an Irish figure of 12%.
"On a calculation of OBR figures, [it] shows that by 2022 £70bn will have been given to corporations and the very wealthiest by tax breaks and tax cuts - we would reverse the corporation tax cut, yes, and put corporation tax up."
Mr Corbyn said some of the cash would come from inheritance tax and the threshold for higher paid earners.
"But our programme is not complete - I fully concede that - it could not be, we're still working that out," he said. "So the figure you gave and was used on the Marr programme yesterday was not one we recognise." | Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said his party's spending plans are not complete, and appeared to contradict his business spokeswoman. |
South Africa's president has warned that the protests, which have caused about $44m (£34m) in damage to property in the last few weeks, could threaten to sabotage the country's entire higher education system.
In 2015, proposed tuition fee hikes of between 10% and 12% sparked protests.
The demonstrations began last October at Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand when students blocked the entrance to the university campus, following indications that the institution would raise fees by 10.5% for 2016.
The demonstrations, under the banner #FeesMustFall, led to the closure of some of the country's top universities - and President Zuma ordered a freeze on tuition fees for a year.
But protests erupted again last month after a government proposal to raise tuition fees by up to 8% in 2017.
They are now demanding free education for all students.
The government says it will subsidise the increase for students from families earning up to 600,000 rand ($45,000; £36,000).
However this seems to have gone largely unnoticed.
Many of those protesting are arguing that they come from poor families, and despite the government promise, fear the increase will rob them of the opportunity to continue studying.
Students say the fee hikes amount to discrimination in a country where the average income of black families is far less than that of white families.
They want free education for everyone, starting with the poor and "missing middle"- those whose parents have jobs but don't make enough to afford tertiary education.
Extreme income inequality remains a persistently stubborn problem more than two decades after the end of apartheid in 1994.
Correspondents say the protests show growing disillusionment with the governing African National Congress (ANC), which took power after 1994, over high levels of poverty, unemployment and corruption in government.
The students want the opportunities promised when apartheid ended.
Annual increases in student fees differ between universities as fees are determined by institutions. Fees also vary across degree programmes.
Universities have three main sources of income: Government subsidies, student fees and private sources. The number and financial background of students influence individual university subsidies.
While government funding for higher education has increased by nearly 70% since 2001, according to news organisation Ground Up, student enrolment numbers have also increased leading to a decrease in the subsidy per student.
In addition South African institutions want to provide a "world class" education and argue that they battle to maintain standards amid financial constraints.
The proposed fee increases are not exceptional in comparison to usual annual increases, which are often between around 7% and 14%. While there have been protests about fees at individual universities in previous years, the national scale of these protests over the last 12 months has been unprecedented.
It seems impossible to separate the protests from demonstrations earlier in 2015 around a lack of transformation at South African universities more than two decades after the end of white-minority rule.
Apartheid and education:
A move to "decolonise" higher education was sparked when politics student Chumani Maxwele emptied a bucket of excrement over the statue of British imperialist Cecil John Rhodes at the University of Cape Town's (UCT) campus in March 2015.
The statue was eventually removed, but similar movements formed at other universities calling for diverse academics and changes to curriculum. This gave the movement a springboard: To correct the historical legacies of apartheid in higher education.
In the wake of last year's protests, President Zuma set up a fees commission, chaired by a judge, to look at whether South Africa can afford free education.
The findings were supposed to be released in August, but this has been delayed until April 2017, adding tension to the latest demonstrations.
Roshuma Phungo of the South African Institute of Race Relations has said free education is possible.
"If higher education was to be funded solely through taxpayer subsidies then a further 71bn rand ($5.2bn £3.4bn), over and above the existing R25bn [current government subsidy], would be necessary," she wrote in the privately-owned Daily Maverick in 2015.
"Our analysis suggests that, with sufficient prioritising, that 71bn rand could be raised."
Adam Habib, vice-Chancellor of Wits University which tried to reopen for classes this week, says the prestigious institution cannot provide free education.
"We have said multiple times to the student leadership we cannot deliver free education... Wits University is prepared to commit to free education to the poor and the missing middle," he told 702 Talk radio. | South African universities have been affected by the biggest student protests to hit the country since apartheid ended in 1994. |
It uses similar hardware to the firm's earlier Shine - which was already waterproof - but adds new algorithms to its firmware, which were developed with sportswear-maker Speedo.
Garmin, TomTom and Timex are among firms that already sell watches that can count swimming laps.
But the Speedo Shine stands out from the other "mainstream" activity trackers in offering the facility.
Industry leader Fitbit warns that its current line-up of devices are not designed to "withstand the force associated with swimming strokes," while Jawbone had originally marketed its Up3 wristband as being suitable for the pool but had to announce a U-turn after it failed to make them as water resistant as hoped.
California-based Misfit claims its own tests suggest its algorithms provide "industry-leading accuracy" at counting laps and swimming distance.
However, the Speedo Shine cannot count the individual number of strokes or identify stroke types, which some of the more expensive swimming watches can do.
"Swimming has come late to wearable tech, partly because it's not as popular an activity as running," commented Ben Wood from the tech consultancy CCS Insight.
"But this is a good brand partnership and for Misfit it's a good way to keep its product fresh and broaden its appeal to new users."
Like earlier models of the Shine, the new device can also track steps, overall calorie burn and sleep states.
Because Misfit is a private company, it does not publicly reveal its earnings.
However, the firm recently told the South China Morning Post newspaper that it had shipped more than two million trackers over the past 18 months and was outselling Fitbit in China.
The Speedo Shine will cost $80 in the US and £60 in the UK when it is launched next month. | Misfit's latest activity tracker counts swimmers' lengths as they exercise. |
The Northern Irish player, who has slipped to 78th in the world rankings, carded four birdies in his two-under round at a windswept Castle Stuart.
"I'm really happy with that round - it was a battle out there at times," said the 2010 US Open winner.
"It would be great for my confidence to play well here."
McDowell, who won the event in 2008 at Loch Lomond, has struggled this season and missed the cut at the recent French Open.
He spent last weekend playing two practice rounds at Royal Troon, where he will compete next week at the Open.
"Those two days at Troon have been a big help and prepared me well for the wind," added McDowell.
"It it continues to blow it's going to be a real grind so I need to hang in there.
"It's been a funny year for me. It has looked volatile from a results point of view but I've felt I've played better than that.
"I'm just trying to stay relaxed and to enjoy it."
Meanwhile, Belfast man Michael Hoey started his challenge with a 74. | Graeme McDowell was pleased with a first-round 70 at the Scottish Open, which left the former champion just one shot off the lead. |
The headgear was spotted at a gift shop at the Tatton Park estate in Cheshire, prompting derision on social media.
Laura Goss tweeted the trust: "This stupid hat is for sale at Tatton Park. Your young female visitors deserve better merch (+ better grammar)."
Cheshire East Council, which runs the estate, said the hats were a "genuine mistake".
A spokesman said they had been "removed immediately from the shelves as we would obviously not want to upset or cause offence to anyone".
Su-Lin Garbett tweeted: "Unacceptable to promulgate sexism anywhere but especially upsetting from a national treasure like the @nationaltrust."
Wendy Pillar wrote: "How about just 'Future footballer'? England women's team wins more than the men."
The council spokesman said: "Our gift shop receives a bulk supply from our supplier, which includes a number of children's hats.
"Unfortunately, we don't know how this has exactly happened, but we have put the hats out on the shelf as part of that bulk supply without thinking whether they were appropriate for the shop and our visitors."
The National Trust said it had shared the feedback with Cheshire East Council, which had removed the product from sale. | Hats bearing the slogan "Future Footballers Wife" have been removed from sale at a National Trust property. |