Barack Obama

Obama urges Ethiopia to curb crackdowns on media, opposition

"When all voices are being heard, when people know they are being included in the political process, that makes a country more successful," Obama said during a news conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

Obama, African leaders to hold talks on South Sudan crisis

Obama's meeting in Ethiopia on Monday comes as an Aug. 17 deadline to reach a deal approaches.

Senior Obama administration officials say if there's no agreement, the U.S. and other nations would deepen pressure on South Sudan's warring factions, possibly through increased sanctions and the pursuit of an arms embargo.

Obama: Kenya at 'crossroads' between peril and promise

Closing his historic visit with an address to the Kenyan people, Obama traced the arc of the country's evolution from colonialism to independence, as well as his own family's history here. 

Today, Obama said, young Kenyans are no longer constrained by the limited options of his grandfather, a cook for the country's former British rulers, or his father, who left to seek an education in America.

Obama urges Kenya to use tough past to guide its future

Closing out a historic visit to the land of his father's birth, Obama said Kenya has come so far in just his lifetime, but can go even further.

"You can choose the path to progress, but it requires making some important choices," he said in a speech to several thousand Kenyans packed into an indoor arena here in Kenya's capital, a normally bustling place that largely has been on lockdown during Obama's stay.

Obama's visit raises Ethiopia's stature amid rights concerns

Grave concerns remain, however, over political freedoms in this nation of more than 90 million — Africa's second largest — and opposition figures fear that the visit, coming on the heels of an improbable 100 percent ruling party win in elections, will give international legitimacy to a repressive government.

Obama pushes African nations to treat gays equally under law

Obama's Kenyan counterpart responded by calling the matter a "non-issue" for his country.

Obama tackled the sensitive issue on his first full day in Kenya, the country of his father's birth. He drew on his own background as an African-American in the U.S, saying he is "painfully aware of the history when people are treated differently under the law."

VIDEO: US President Barack Obama arrives in for visit

It is his first visit to his father's homeland as President of the United States.

Obama returns to Kenya, reunites with father's family

The president spent the evening reuniting with his Kenyan family, including his elderly step-grandmother who made the trip to the capital of Nairobi from her rural village. U.S. and Kenyan flags lined the main road from Nairobi's airport, and billboards heralding Obama's trip dotted the city.

"I don't think that Kenyans think of Obama as African-American. They think of him as Kenyan-American," said EJ Hogendoorn, deputy program director for Africa at the International Crisis Group.

VIDEO: Airport security ahead of Obama's visit

Both Kenyan and American security personnel were in the process of securing the airport in the afternoon.

Local media have set up their live trucks in anticipation of Obama's arrival.

The Latest: Obama briefed on deadly movie theater shooting

Obama was briefed aboard Air Force One on Thursday by Lisa Monaco, his homeland security adviser, while on his way to Africa for a two-nation visit.

Obama asked his team to keep him updated on the investigation and the status of those wounded in the shooting.

He also offered his thoughts and prayers to the community of Lafayette, Louisiana, where the movie theater is located, and to the families of those who were killed.