Michelle Obama to visit southern Africa

Michelle Obama will visit South Africa and Botswana during the weeklong trip that starts Monday.Michelle Obama's first stop will be in Pretoria to meet South African President Jacob Zuma The first lady will highlight the benefits of education and wellness to youth She will also visit Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was detained for almost 27 years
(CNN) -- First lady Michelle Obama's official trip to southern Africa this week will focus on youth leadership and education and will include meetings with key figures in the anti-apartheid struggle.
Obama will make stops in South Africa and Botswana during the weeklong visit that starts Monday.
She will highlight the benefits of education and wellness and urge youth in the continent to be part of the national dialogue, according to the White House.
"The trip is a continuation of Mrs. Obama's work to engage young people, especially girls and young women, at home and abroad," the White House said.
The first lady's first stop will be in Pretoria, where she will meet with South African President Jacob Zuma.
Before heading to Johannesburg and Cape Town, she will take a tour of an apartheid museum with Nelson Mandela's wife, Graca Machel.
She will also visit Robben Island, where Mandela was held for the majority of the 27 years he was in detention for fighting apartheid.
The schedule released by the White House did not mention a meeting with the 92-year-old former president.
The latter part of the trip includes a meeting with Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu and a visit to Soweto and the site of the 2010 World Cup.
Her visit to neighboring Botswana will include a tribute to girls overcoming hurdles to success.
In addition to visits with top leaders, she will also attend a series of public events, meet embassy officials and take part in community service projects in both countries.
After a safari, she will depart from the Botswana capital of Gaborone on Sunday.
Her visit marks the second to sub-Saharan Africa by a member of the Obama family since the president took office more than two years ago.
President Barack Obama went to Ghana in 2009. The first lady made similar trips to Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, India, Mexico and the United Kingdom. She will be accompanied by her mother, Marian Robinson, and two daughters, Sasha and Malia.
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Yemen: 17 al Qaeda terrorists killed

 Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is facing calls to step down.NEW: Seven Yemeni soldiers, 17 Islamic militants killed in two days of fightingNEW: "Death toll among security forces will rise in next 48 hours," medic in Aden saysFighting began in Abyan province on Saturday, official saysThere have been repeated calls for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down
(CNN) -- Ongoing clashes have left seven Yemeni soldiers and 17 Islamic militants dead in the past two days in the southern province of Abyan, a senior security official said Monday.
At least eight soldiers were wounded in the clashes, three of them in serious condition, said the official, who is not authorized to speak to the media and requested his name not be used. The fighting is mainly concentrated in the cities of Zinjibar and Jaar, the official said.
State-run Yemen TV reported that at least 17 al Qaeda militants have been killed in the fighting.
Qasim Bin Hadi, the head of security in Zinjibar in Abyan, said that city has turned into a ghost town and that clashes between government forces and al Qaeda militants have been nonstop since Saturday.
"Bodies of dead people are everywhere in the streets," Bin Hadi said.
Militants seized control of Zinjibar several weeks ago, local residents said.
Airstrikes targeting militant hideouts in Zinjibar and Jaar were behind many of the deaths reported Sunday, said the security official who requested anonymity.
Medics at the Republican hospital in Aden, where injured soldiers are being taken for treatment, said at least 29 soldiers were admitted at the hospital since Saturday night, all having come from Abyan.
"Most of those admitted to the hospital were injured, but the death toll among security forces will rise over the next 48 hours," said one medic, who asked not to be named, as he is concerned for his safety.
On Sunday, more than 100 influential religious and tribal leaders said President Ali Abdullah Saleh was not able to lead the country and should step down.
"Saleh was injured seriously during the assassination attempt on his life. We call on Saleh to hand over powers to his vice president Abdu Rabu Mansoor Hadi, to save the country from further clashes and bloodshed," said the statement, which was circulated to the media.
Saleh and other senior officials were injured in a June 3 attack on the mosque at the presidential palace. Saleh is being treated in Saudi Arabia. Officials loyal to him have said he will return when he has recovered.
Among those signing the statement was Sheikh Abdul Majid al-Zindani, Yemen's most prominent cleric. The United States considers al-Zindani a terrorist, accused in 2004 of supplying weapons to al Qaeda. But he wields considerable influence in Yemen.
The influential signatories are the latest in a growing number of powerful voices seeking Saleh's ouster and demanding a transitional government be formed as quickly as possible.
Unrest has consumed Yemen for months as protesters have demanded an end to Saleh's rule.
In recent weeks, government troops have battled both anti-government tribal forces and Islamic militants, including al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom and journalist Hakim Almasmari contributed to this report.
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The iPad is for grandparents, not just geeks

The iPad is a great tool for grandparents for the same reason candy is -- their grandkids love it.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Apple's iPad tablet isn't just for geeks, yuppies, and rich people
• The iPad is incredibly easy to use and easy to learn with no hidden menus or buttons
• iPad is great for what our grandparents would want to do with it, like photos, games and e-mail

Editor's note: Business Insider is contributing a series of columns to CNN.com that challenge commonly held beliefs about the tech world.

(Business Insider) -- Apple's iPad tablet isn't just for geeks, yuppies, and rich people. It's also for grandparents.
That may not be the target audience you're thinking of for a $500 piece of high-tech metal and glass. But it actually makes sense. Why is that?
First and foremost, the iPad is incredibly simple to use, and easy to learn. (After more than 100 days of owning one, I love it.) For older people, or especially for inexperienced computer users, that's very helpful.
Because the iPad is just a 10-inch touch panel, all you need to think about and interact with is what's on the screen. There are no hidden menus to have to learn about, or buttons to think about. There's no need to master double-clicking or right-clicking. You just touch what you want.
So while there is some learning curve for the iPad, it should be much easier than trying to figure out the intricacies of Windows or even a Mac. And the touch-based user interface should seem very intuitive. There isn't anything much simpler than just touching what you want from the screen.
Second, the iPad is easy for the sort of stuff we imagine our grandparents would want to do with it: Reading the web, e-books with large-as-you-want-it text, magazine articles, and email; looking at photographs and videos; filling out crossword puzzles; and writing short messages.
Some of these apps are built in; others can be downloaded quickly and easily from the iPad app store.
The iPad is admittedly not very good for writing longer e-mails, but that's where an optional wireless keyboard or keyboard dock could be helpful. And it's not designed (yet) for printing stuff, but there are some work-arounds available, depending on what sort of printer you have, what you want to print, or if you want to go through a computer to print.
Lastly, the iPad is a great tool for grandparents for the same reason candy is -- their grandkids love it!
Consider what my colleague Henry Blodget has written at Business Insider, under the title "HELP! My Kids Are Addicted To My iPad."
He says, "We got an iPad because we thought it might provide more peace and quiet during a long trip. And it did. Sometimes. When they weren't fighting over it." He adds, "A month after we bought it, the iPad has become so central to our household that we have to hide it. And in relatively short order, to preserve my family harmony, I'm probably going to have to buy two more of the damn things."
So if there's one way to be the most popular grandparents in the family, it's by keeping an iPad in the living room, stocked with kids' games, e-books, and the Netflix app for movies and TV shows. (Or, when it's cheaper in a few years, an iPad in every room.)
If I were a kid now, I'd love going over to grandma and grandpa's house to play with their iPad -- just as I loved going to my grandparents' house in the '90s because they had cable and MTV, and we didn't at home.

Apple's device is set to be one of the most desired gifts this holiday season. Its mainstream appeal -- to all age groups and levels of tech-savviness, even grandparents -- is a big reason why.