Some U.S. Troops to Leave Chad Amid Strains on U.S. Security Posture in Africa |
Dozens of U.S. troops are expected to withdraw from Chad in the coming days due to differences between U.S. and Chadian officials, three unnamed U.S. officials told the Washington Post yesterday. It is the second time in a week that U.S. officials acknowledged they will draw back from an African counterterrorism partner country due to a host-nation directive, as Chad follows a similar move by neighboring Niger. The decision to move U.S. troops out of Niger is final, while a Pentagon spokesperson said the shift in Chad was a “temporary step” and talks on security cooperation continue.
Niger, as well as its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, which are also run by their militaries, have distanced themselves from Western military partnerships in recent years and increasingly looked to Russia for military assistance. Chad has maintained U.S. security partnership until now and is a major partner (NYT) in U.S. efforts to combat extremism in the region. Earlier this year, Chad’s leader met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where Putin touted opportunities to strengthen relations.
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“Chad kicking the U.S. out is a mostly symbolic negotiation tactic given only a handful of trainers are there & negotiations are expected. However, it may signal a larger anti-Western shift that would impact the one-thousand-strong French contingent and create opportunities for Russia,” the American Enterprise Institute’s Liam Karr posts.
“Western actors must shift their habitual approach to the continent, moving away from security assistance and military action to backing governance reforms and boosting the kind of economic support that improves ordinary families’ chances of securing stable livelihoods,” the International Crisis Group’s Comfort Ero and Murithi Mutiga write in Foreign Affairs. “In response to coups, other Western governments and the UN should continue to offer targeted economic and humanitarian assistance.”
This Backgrounder by CFR’s Mariel Ferragamo looks at Russia’s growing footprint in Africa.
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Blinken Meets With Chinese Leader in Shanghai |
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington is committed (AP) to strengthening communication with Beijing and “responsibly managing” differences at a meeting today with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Blinken also met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who said that while overall the bilateral relationship is beginning to stabilize, it is facing “all kinds of disruptions.”
U.S./China: ByteDance, the Chinese firm that owns social media platform TikTok, said yesterday it has no plans (CNN) to sell the app in the wake of a new U.S. law that aims to force a ban or sale. On Wednesday, TikTok’s CEO said the company plans to challenge the law in court. For the Asia Unbound blog, CFR expert Joshua Kurlantzick explores the outlook of a TikTok ban. |
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Indian General Election Moves to Second Stage of Voting |
Residents of thirteen states and federal territories are voting (Reuters) in the next stage of the election beginning today. During the first phase of the vote, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the opposition Congress Party traded barbs over religious divisions in the country and economic policy.
Sri Lanka: A joint venture between an Indian and a Russian company will take over (PTI) management of a Chinese-financed airport in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government has been seeking another operator for the airport since 2016 as it was taking heavy financial losses.
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Middle East and North Africa |
U.S. Forces Begin Construction of Floating Pier for Gaza Aid |
Construction began (NYT) yesterday on the project that aims to enable the delivery of as many as two million meals a day to the Gaza Strip, Department of Defense officials said. The pier is designed to bypass Israeli land blockades for aid convoys entering Gaza. Officials expect the project to be completed early next month, as the United Nations has warned that famine is likely to set in Gaza by the end of May.
For Think Global Health, CFR’s Simone Lipkind looks at how the war has deepened a preexisting food crisis in Gaza.
Iran: The United States, Canada, and United Kingdom announced (Politico) new sanctions on Iran yesterday following its drone attack on Israel earlier this month.
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CFR’s Robert McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins discuss Blinken’s China visit, International Workers’ Day on May 1, the implications of renewed U.S. aid for Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia, and more. |
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South Africa Marks Thirty Years Since End of Apartheid |
Ceremonies tomorrow will denote (AP) the anniversary of the country’s first democratic elections after decades of white minority rule. The date has prompted (NYT) reflections on progress since South Africa’s democratic transformation, as well as its continued racial wealth and power gap.
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Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Offers Resignation Amid Corruption Probe |
Ukraine’s anticorruption bureau is investigating (RFE/RL) Minister Mykola Solskyi on charges of illegally acquiring some $7 million worth of land. He was detained today before posting bail.
Scotland: A coalition deal between the Scottish National Party and Scottish Greens collapsed (FT) after the country’s First Minister Humza Yousaf rejected some climate targets. Yousaf is due to face a no-confidence vote.
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IMF, Ecuador Reach Preliminary Deal on Loan Agreement |
The four-year, $4 billion loan program is designed (Reuters) to reduce financial risks in the country and is subject to International Monetary Fund (IMF) board approval. Investment bank Goldman Sachs said it did not expect the program to have especially demanding requirements.
Brazil: Thousands of Indigenous Brazilians demonstrated (AP) in the country’s capital yesterday against a government reversal of previous plans to issue new federal protections for four Indigenous territories. Several tribes also protested plans for a rail line to transport soybeans from central Brazil to ports along an Amazon tributary river over deforestation concerns.
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Commerce Department to Increase Restrictions on Gun Exports |
The new regulations due to be announced today will require (Bloomberg) more oversight and shorter licenses for exports of weapons. The plan resulted from a review of how U.S. gun exports are being diverted for use in crimes in countries including Brazil, Canada, and Guatemala.
In this video, CFR’s Jonathan Masters and Thamine Nayeem explain how U.S. gun laws compare with the world’s. |
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The Guardian tunes into a citizen science story as one man chronicles how the sounds of the natural world have disappeared over the last thirty years. |
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