Quieter royal tour heads for mixed Quebec reception (Reuters)

OTTAWA (Reuters) – A visit to Canada by Britain's Prince William and Kate took on a quieter note on Saturday as the newlyweds prepared to head for Quebec and a politically sensitive phase of their royal tour.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended a tree-planting ceremony with invited guests in Ottawa and helped unveil a newly purchased mural at the Canadian War Memorial where they also greeted military veterans and war brides.

They are later heading to Montreal where they planned to visit a hospital neo-natal ward, then attend a cooking class before boarding a Canadian Navy frigate for an overnight trip down the St Lawrence River to Quebec City.

Saturday's schedule contrasted with the first two days of the nine-day Canadian tour that included events with thousands of people watching and often chanting "Will and Kate" at the potential future king and queen of Britain and Canada.

Anti-monarchist groups in Quebec have vowed to protest the visit by Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to the French-speaking province and security was expected to be even tighter than at events in Ottawa, Canada's capital.

Some recent tours by members of the Royal family have avoided Quebec, where many still see Britain's defeat of France in 1759 giving it sovereignty over Canada as a raw wound.

Supporters of the monarchy in Canada see the couple's first overseas tour since becoming married in April as an opportunity to reinvigorate public interest in the royal family.

William and Kate are touring seven cities in four provinces and one territory on their Canadian tour. They head to California on July 8.

A poll this week found almost half of Canadians believe that the nation should sever ties with the monarchy when Queen Elizabeth dies, although that was down 10 percentage points from a year ago.

(Writing by Allan Dowd in Vancouver, Editing by Eric Walsh)

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Mixed messages out of Africa (OneWorld.net)

May 9 (OneWorld.net) - Two contrasting narratives on Africa's fragile economic development will confront heads of state gathering in Turkey for a critical UN conference on the world's "Least Developed Countries" which starts today.

At the World Economic Forum on Africa which concluded in Cape Town on Friday, leading politicians and development bankers painted a picture of dynamic economic recovery, positioning the continent as the most exciting destination for foreign business investment.

Preparatory papers for the LDC conference tell a very different story. Poverty and hunger figures in Africa are rising rather than falling. And richer countries are accused of failing to control the unstable global economic and environmental conditions which inflict unjust setbacks on the most vulnerable economies.

Such views remained in the background at the World Economic Forum where a study published by the African Development Bank told prospective business investors what they most wanted to hear. A new middle class is emerging in Africa.

The AfDB puts this figure "in the neighborhood of 300 to 500 million people," a potential market for consumer goods that commercial interests cannot ignore. "Africa's emerging middle class comprises roughly the size of the middle class in India or China," claims the report, titled "The Middle of the Pyramid: Dynamics of the Middle Class in Africa."

The World Bank lent its authority to the findings. Interviewed by the UK's Overseas Development Institute, the Bank's Africa Chief Economist, Shanta Devarajan, said: "there is a palpable sense of optimism around Africa and the private sector at the Forum, with delegates referring to Africa as an Investment Destination."

This investor-friendly picture is consistent with anecdotal evidence from business travellers. The working environment of Africa's major cities is beginning to converge with global norms whilst there is no shortage of young entrepreneurial Africans ready to do business.

A note of caution at the World Economic Forum event was sounded by the Africa Progress Panel, a high level research and advocacy group chaired by former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. The Panel's annual Africa Progress Report, published last week, describes the continent's economic recovery as "low quality growth....heavily dependent on the export of primary, generally unprocessed commodities."

The official input of African governments to the LDC conference contains more explicit reservations, devoid of Cape Town's eldorado rhetoric. Their verdict warns that: "improved economic performance in African LDCs has not contributed to commensurate gains in poverty reduction."

The African paper also observes that the chaotic state of global food and energy markets, combined with the impact of climate change, is such that "hunger remains pervasive in many African LDCs."

Held every ten years, the UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries will review progress since the previous event in Brussels in 2001. It will also seek renewal of the international community’s commitment to the special needs of LDCs made at various UN conferences and summits over recent years. Of the 48 countries falling within the LDC classification, 33 are in Africa.

It is evident from this review by Africa's LDC governments that fresh optimism about an emerging middle class should be tempered by the rural economic facts of life. The majority of Africans live and work in farming communities where agriculture remains trapped in a primitive state, with only 3% of land benefiting from irrigation.

Despite international commitments to the Millennium Development Goals, the number of people living in extreme poverty in Africa has increased over the decade from 270 million to more than 300 million. This was the finding of the Rural Poverty Report 2011, published by the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

The challenge for more inclusive African economic development is to break down the barriers between embryonic urban consumers and impoverished farming communities. African leaders increasingly articulate a vision of farming as a business proposition, attracting investment and persuading the younger generation not to migrate to the cities.

This is the vital issue for South Africa's minister of agriculture, Tina Joemat-Pettersson. "If they stay on the farm, these upcoming smallholder farmers will be in the forefront of innovative, knowledge intensive agriculture," she said at a debate on the IFAD report in Cape Town.

The LDC conference is likely to see a shift of emphasis away from potential private investment towards the responsibilities of richer governments to honor their commitments to Africa. The poverty-centered narrative of Africa's fortunes will be prominent once again in Istanbul this week.

* More Information:

Africa Progress Panel highlights continent's economic recovery

OneWorld Global Poverty Guide

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Arab reaction to operation mixed

The killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. forces in Pakistan made headlines across the Arab world.Posts on CNN Arabic's Facebook page suggest West has much to do to convince Arab world of its intentionsOne user hails bin Laden as "hero of this era", others condemn al Qaeda leader's actionsSome dispute whether bin Laden is really dead, call for proof

(CNN) -- The news of Osama bin Laden's killing may have been greeted by raucous celebrations and flag-waving in the U.S., but the reaction in other parts of the world has been very different.

Posts on CNN Arabic's Facebook page suggest the West has much left to do to convince many in the Arab world of its intentions.

The site's users hold a wide variety of opinions on bin Laden, from those who view him as a terrorist whose death should be welcomed, to those who see him as a martyr to be feted.

Sheikh Gamal Mohammed hails the al Qaeda leader as a Muslim figurehead, "the hero of this era", adding "he is indeed a martyr... he lived as a lion and died as a lion."

But Rubatabi Abdel Gadi, from Sudan, takes the opposite view, insisting that "a person like bin Laden has no relation or connection to Islam... by saying that he is a Muslim, his actions have caused more damage to Muslims than to non-Muslims."

Nada Ali offered her congratulations to those responsible for killing bin Laden: "Terrorists are a cancer that should be eliminated. Long live the heroes who took him out."

There has been no video or any kind of hard evidence to prove anything at all, and they threw his body into the sea: Sounds more to me like a Hollywood movie.
--CNN Arabic Facebook page user

As U.S. authorities debate whether to release images of bin Laden's body, the comments of some on the site suggest that even that may be insufficient to prove his death.

One poster, calling himself "Algeria Stand Up And Wake Up" and from Algeria, said: "I'm doubting the entire story for a lot of reasons, for example the picture circulating on the internet is a clear fake.

"There has been no video or any kind of hard evidence to prove anything at all, and finally they threw his body into the sea: Sounds more to me like a Hollywood movie."

While some of the more unusual views on the site include the suggestion that the world's most-wanted man never existed in the first place. Melhem Melhem, from Jordan, and Ahmed Shiha both claim there is no such person as bin Laden -- that he is nothing more than an American invention.

It's an opinion echoed in part by Hassan Gawad, from Iraq, who argues that the whole episode was one of U.S. propaganda.

"The United States manufactures all these tyrants for its own use and then whenever any of these made-in-USA terrorists turns his back to his maker they become international fugitives," he said.

"If it wasn't for bin Laden, America wouldn't have found a reason to invade Afghanistan and if it wasn't for someone like Saddam there wouldn't have been a reason to invade Iraq."

CNN Arabic's Facebook users are also debating whether bin Laden's death means the end of al Qaeda.

"I don't think so," wrote Khalid Hages. "A snake the size of bin Laden has more than one head and more than one tail.

"But we shouldn't forget the moral side of the game: The demoralization that his death will cause to his followers is disastrous."

CNN's Mariam Thabet contributed to this report.

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Forecast is a mixed bag for Texas firefighters

By the CNN Wire Staff STORY HIGHLIGHTSForecaster: Higher humidity could help fight against wildfiresBut high winds could counteract the advantage, meteorologist saysWeekend thunderstorms could also bring threat of fire-sparking lightningFires have burned more than 1.4 million acres since January 1 Dallas (CNN) -- Hundreds of firefighters from across the United States faced a mixed forecast Friday in Texas as they continued to battle fires that have burned across more than 1.4 million acres of the state.

While higher humidity forecast for Friday could help slow the fires' advance, higher winds -- up to 25 miles per hour -- that are also in the forecast could also fan the flames, said Jennifer Dunn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.

The PK Complex of fires burning west of Fort Worth continues to threaten hundreds of homes around the Possum Kingdom Lake, Caddo, Strawn, and Bunger communities, where more than 100 homes have been destroyed.

The largest fire, the 202,150-acre Rockhouse fire near Fort Davis was 75 percent contained as of Thursday night, according to the latest update provided by the Texas Forest Service.

Other fires include the 158,867-acre Wildcat fire north of San Angelo which was 30 percent contained as of Thursday night, and the Cooper Mountain Ranch fire in Kent, Stonewall, Scurry and Fisher counties. That 162,625-acre fire was 90 percent contained, the Forest Service said.

Cooler temperatures, higher humidity and rain helped firefighters make some advances Thursday, but thunderstorms in the forecast for the weekend could actually do more harm than good, forecasters warned.

Thunderstorms bring the threat of lightning, which can ignite new fires, Dunn said. They also may not bring enough rain to quench the dry ground and vegetation in Texas, which is undergoing an historic drought.

"If the storms are slow-moving and drop a lot of rain in some areas that would be beneficial," Dunn said. "But, if we're talking about scattered or isolated storms that are moving at a pretty good clip, they're not going to provide much help in this case."

West Texas averages nearly 15 inches of rain a year, according to David Hennig, a meteorologist in Midland. Over the past six months, just 13-hundredths of an inch of rain have been recorded in that part of the state.

While October through March is typically the dry season, that amount of rainfall is far below what it should be, Hennig said.

Friday marked the first day of a "Days of Prayer for Rain" proclamation issued by Gov. Rick Perry.

Perry's resolution urges "Texans of all faiths and religious traditions" to pray for "an end to this ongoing drought and these devastating wildfires."

CNN's Matt Cherry contributed to this report.

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A year after Gulf spill, group gives mixed report card for wildlife

A new National Wildlife Federation study says some Gulf Coast wildlife still faces significant challenges after the oil spill. STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe National Wildlife Federation releases a report on the Gulf a year after the spillThe federation finds some species recovering, while others need helpThe report says Gulf factors in place before the spill also combine to hurt wildlifeThe report calls on Congress to take actions toward helping Gulf restoration effortsRELATED TOPICSGulf Coast Oil SpillGulf of MexicoNational Wildlife Federation (CNN) -- Nearly a year after the start of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, some wildlife is recovering, while other species could need significant help, according to a National Wildlife Federation study released Tuesday.

The current status of the coastal wetlands -- where a wide variety of animals live or breed -- is classified in the report as "poor," with that classification based on several factors in place before the April 20, 2010, explosion on the drill rig Deepwater Horizon killed 11 workers and triggered what scientists say was the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Even before the spill, the area was hard hit due to erosion, storms and river channeling.

The federation says the spill caused 3,000 miles of beaches and wetlands to be contaminated by varying amounts of oil. Even the efforts to clean it up can cause damage. Combining all factors before and since the spill, the report's author, Douglas Inkley, writes that if there isn't a massive coastal restoration, "Louisiana will have lost an area of coastal wetlands larger than the state of Rhode Island" by 2050.

"Experience with other disastrous oil spills tells us that the damage is far from over," the report says.

Bouncing back from catastrophe

"What is clear is that the disaster response has focused on removing oil, with little action taken to address the long-term wetlands habitat degradation exacerbated by the oil disaster."

Sea turtles and Atlantic bluefin tuna are among the species currently classified in poor condition.

"In terms what I'm more concerned about; I would go straight to the sea turtles," Inkley said Tuesday.

Before the spill, four of the five species of sea turtles in the Gulf were endangered. The report notes during the spill "sea turtle strandings were 8 times higher than the 22-year average."

It's unclear how many animals actually died, but "of 609 known dead, 481 were Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles, the most endangered sea turtle species in the world," the report says. It goes on to say that in addition to the loss of population, the turtles continue to be at risk due to impact on their habitat, climate change and accidentally being caught by commercial fishing boats.

The wildlife federation says even before the spill, the tuna population was in decline due to overfishing. The animals only breed twice a year, and the spill took place in one of their breeding seasons.

The report says "contact with oil may have reduced the number of juvenile bluefin produced in 2010 by 20 percent." The National Wildlife Federation calls for restrictions or a halt on commercial fishing of the animals until they recover.

Photos from the Gulf oil spill

The situation for other animals is more promising.

Brown pelicans had been recovering prior to the spill and were removed from the endangered species list in 2009. During the spill more than 700 were found in the area, with two-thirds of those dead. Despite that and the ongoing threat from loss of habitat from the oil, climate change and storms, their status in the Gulf is classified by the federation as "good."

Another "good" species is shrimp. The report cites experts saying shrimp "catch levels are likely to recover to recent pre-spill harvest levels by the end of 2012" but it also acknowledges the continued impact on populations due to the degraded wetlands.

Dolphin strandings were up five times the normal rate during the spill, according to the report. It goes on to add that despite the spill "the overall status of dolphins in the Gulf is good," though, "reduced fitness of adults and reproductive failure could spell trouble for the future."

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The total impact of the spill, however, is still not certain. George Crozier, director of Dauphin Island Sea Lab says, "It will be critical to monitor these key species in the months ahead, especially given the unknown impacts of weathered and 'dispersed' oil remaining in the Gulf."

In fact, Inkley, said Tuesday, "The effects will be long-lasting. This Gulf oil disaster is far from over." He points to the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska 1989, which was on a much smaller scale and is still unfolding.

The National Wildlife Federation calls for several actions that should be taken to solve the problems highlighted in the report. It calls on Congress to dedicate fines from the spill to Gulf restoration, develop programs to stop wetland loss, reform oil and gas leasing, conduct long-term studies and make payments toward restoration efforts more quickly.

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