Ukraine Russian Invasion: Chad declares food emergency as grain supplies fall

Last week, Chad declared a food emergency due to a lack of grain supplies. The landlocked African nation on Thursday urged the international community to help its population cope with rising food insecurity.

Cereal prices across Africa surged because of the slump in exports from Ukraine — a consequence of the war in Ukraine and a raft of international sanctions on Russia which have disrupted supplies of fertilizer, wheat and other commodities from both Russia and Ukraine.

Read more at: Chad declares food emergency as grain supplies fall | Africa | DW | 06.06.2022

Africa: Chad leader Idriss Deby dies on battlefield after winning reelection

The shock announcement came from the Chadian military, just a day after Deby was confirmed president-elect after securing nearly 80% of the April 11 vote. Meanwhile, Deby's son, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, has taken over as interim leader of a transitional military council, the military said.

Deby was born in 1952 in northeastern Chad, in what was then part of the colonial French Equatorial Africa empire. He started his military career in Chad's capital, now known as N'Djamena, before earning a fighter pilot's license in France in 1976.

Read more at: at Chad leader Idriss Deby dies on battlefield after winning reelection | Africa | DW | 20.04.2021

Venezuela calls US travel ban psychological terrorism -

Venezuela has accused the US of "psychological terrorism" after it imposed travel restrictions on some Venezuelan government officials and their families. 

The foreign ministry said travel bans like the one announced on Sunday were incompatible with international law.

The ban on eight countries includes Venezuela for the first time.
US President Donald Trump said the countries on the list had "inadequate" security protocols.

Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen are all now subject to US travel bans.

Note EU-Digest: One can question why Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Libya, Pakistan are also not on that list? 

Read more: US travel ban is psychological terrorism - Venezuela - BBC News

Irishtimes.com: Chad mission shows EU is effective in giving stability - by Javier Solana

For the complete report from The Irish Times click on this link

Chad mission shows EU is effective in giving stability - by Javier Solana

At midnight tomorrow, the European Union will officially hand over its military peacekeeping mission, operating in Chad and the Central African Republic on the borders of Darfur, to the United Nations follow-on peacekeeping mission. In this 10th anniversary of the European Security and Defence Policy, several elements of the deployment and withdrawal of EUfor mark the evolution of the policy. This mission should be judged not only on what it has achieved, but also in relation to what has been achieved in partnership with the UN, or what will be achieved by the UN as a result of EUfor’s deployment. This operation also demonstrated how the EU has become a global provider of security and stability. At the request of the UN Security Council we deployed EUfor quickly and decisively in order to stop the violence against civilians and to protect refugees and displaced persons in Chad and the Central African Republic resulting from the crisis in Darfur.

Polskie Radio dla zagranicy - Polish soldiers face more dangerous missions this year

For the complete report from the Polskie Radio dla zagranicy click on this link

Polish soldiers face more dangerous missions this year

This is going to be a year of more dangerous foreign missions for Polish soldiers. Although the decision to pull out 900 troops from Iraq by October has already been approved by Poland’s president, the present contingent of 1200 soldiers in Afghanistan is to be enlarged to 1600. Starting this spring Poland will also participate in the EU military mission in Chad.

AP: European Africa Corps: EU Approves 3,000-Strong Africa Force - by Constant Brand

For the complete report from AP click on this link

European Africa Corps: EU Approves 3,000-Strong Africa Force - by Constant Brand

About half of the EU force will be French. Kouchner said the force has already received pledges of more than 2,500 troops from several EU nations. Poland and Spain pledged troops and planes at the EU talks Monday, while Ireland, Sweden, Poland and Belgium are expected to provide smaller contingents of 80 to 300 troops each, officials said.

Note EU-Digest: "This particular military involvement of the EU in Africa is a far better humanitarian or security initiative than having EU troops in Afghanistan or Iraq."