The Emperor’s New Clothes
NEED TO KNOW
The Emperor’s New Clothes
CHAD
French troops will soon complete their exit from Chad, their last foreign deployment in the Sahel region, ending what some interpreted as colonial meddling in the West African country, if not a tilt toward instability.
President Mahamat Déby has chosen to turn his attention diplomatically from the country’s former colonial master and instead foster closer relations with Russia, Turkey, and other countries, wrote Deutsche Welle. He is also taking a big risk saying goodbye to a rich and powerful, democratic partner in favor of countries that are facing significant problems in their own neighborhoods, however.
French fighter jets, for example, have frequently stopped rebels from reaching the capital of N’Djamena. “French policymakers have long viewed their presence in Chad as a fundamentally stabilizing element in a broadly unstable region,” wrote World Politics Review. “Explicitly or not, this view has been shared by successive Chadian regimes.”
The move was arguably one of the most significant since Déby took office three years ago after the death of his father, Idriss Déby, who served as Chad’s president from 1996 to 2021, when rebels killed him in northern Chad. The military installed the younger Déby in office, then organized an election in May that aimed to legitimize his rule but came under criticism for election irregularities, Agence France-Presse reported.
Legislative elections in late December, meanwhile, cemented Déby’s hold on power. Opposition figures boycotted the vote, saying they did not offer people a real choice. Some political dissidents called for voters to remain home in order to avoid potential violence that many feared might flare up, Voice of America added.
But some Chadians casting ballots were hopeful Déby and his allies were at least holding a vote and giving people the chance to make their voice heard. “This is the first time that I am voting for three candidates at the same time – for the legislative, provincial, and municipal elections,” Moussa Ali Hissein, 27, told Reuters. “I hope that these candidates will keep their promises to young people. I especially need a job.”
Almost 45 percent of Chad’s people are impoverished, according to the World Bank.
Before he can improve the economy significantly, though, Déby will need to fix the instability in the country, especially outside the capital. Rebel group Boko Haram, an affiliate of the militant terrorist group Islamic State, is active in the Lake Chad region, noted Al Jazeera. Rebel groups seeking the downfall of Déby are also still active.
The leader also faces a French judicial probe into clothing he purchased in Paris for Eur 900,000 ($1 million) that French prosecutors say was paid for with embezzlement public funds and other “ill-gotten gains.”
According to Le Monde, Déby is furious over the probe.
Meanwhile, as the French troops departed, Chadian officials are looking toward Russia, China the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey to help. That might be in vain, wrote the Associated Press.
“(Déby) would not have made this decision if he did not have security guarantees from another actor,” Will Brown, a senior policy fellow at the European Center for Foreign Relations, told the AP. “We know he’s received serious support from the United Arab Emirates, who are very interested in what’s going on in neighboring Sudan and Darfur. We know that Turkey also made some outreach.”
Still, the newswire added, kicking out French troops and replacing them with Russian mercenaries paid with local funds hasn’t worked out so well for Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso – they saw an uptick in violence over the past two years.
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Like Father, Like Son
CANADA
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned Monday, following months of mounting internal pressure and plummeting public support for his Liberal Party, which has seen its popularity drop to 16 percent in polls as the country prepares for elections later this year, Axios reported.
In a statement, Trudeau announced he would step down as both prime minister and party leader once his party selects a new leader through a “robust, nationwide, competitive process.”
Trudeau, who has led the party for 11 years and served as prime minister for nearly nine, admitted he was no longer the “best option” to lead the Liberals into the next federal elections, set to take place before October.
His resignation marks a dramatic fall from the popularity he enjoyed in 2015 when he was elected aged just 43 with approval ratings above 60 percent.
Trudeau’s decision comes after weeks of speculation following key resignations from his cabinet and growing criticism over its handling of rising inflation, housing costs, and immigration concerns.
Calls for him to step down increased after the departure of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who warned of Canada’s economic challenges, including threats of US tariffs that have fueled fears of a trade war.
Despite defending his economic policies and achievements in reducing poverty, Trudeau acknowledged the deep unpopularity of his government, citing “internal battles” and parliamentary gridlock as obstacles to progress, NPR noted.
He vowed to remain in office as a caretaker until his successor is chosen. The Liberal Party now faces the challenge of selecting a new leader capable of rebuilding voter trust and countering a resurgent Conservative Party in the upcoming election.
Trudeau’s resignation echoes that of his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who also stepped down as prime minister in 1984.
Contradicting Statements
KENYA
Autopsy reports from Kenya showed discrepancies in the deaths of protesters during anti-government demonstrations in June and July, with findings contradicting police records, sparking renewed scrutiny of law enforcement practices and allegations of systematic cover-ups, Reuters reported Monday.
Recent reports collected by the newswire showed that police would record deaths inaccurately in morgue logbooks, often attributing them to “road accidents” or “mob justice” despite evidence of police involvement.
In one case, 19-year-old Charles Owino was recorded by police as a road accident victim, but an autopsy confirmed he died from a gunshot wound to the head during protests in the district of Kitengela on July 16. Similarly, Shaquille Obienge, 21, was logged as another road accident fatality, but the government’s autopsy revealed he was shot in the neck.
Morgue records also showed further inconsistencies: Between late June and September, only nine gunshot deaths were recorded, despite evidence of police shootings during protests.
In contrast, deaths attributed to “mob justice” and “drownings” surged to 94, compared with 59 during the same period in the previous year. Amnesty International and other rights groups suspect these classifications are part of a cover-up to mask the extent of police violence.
The protests – dubbed the “Gen-Z protests” due to their youthful demographic – erupted in response to tax hikes and alleged corruption in government.
Officials said the demonstrations left at least 42 people dead, with rights groups alleging that police used excessive force, including live ammunition.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reported 82 enforced disappearances between June and December, with 29 individuals still unaccounted for. Among the missing are young protesters and politically active individuals, some allegedly targeted by a covert police unit linked to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
In a New Year’s address, President William Ruto acknowledged “instances of excessive and extrajudicial actions” by security personnel – but stopped short of detailing accountability measures, Africanews wrote.
Meanwhile, families of victims have called for justice, as human rights organizations demand independent investigations.
With mounting pressure on Kenyan authorities to address police misconduct and ensure accountability, the crisis has underscored a deepening mistrust between citizens and law enforcement, further inflamed by economic challenges and public discontent with governance.
Yes, We Can
INDONESIA
Indonesia’s new government kicked off the first free meal program for children and pregnant women Monday, hoping to fight malnutrition in the county, with economics stressing fiscal concern for the multi-billion-dollar project, according to the Associated Press.
The Free Nutritious Meal program was the election campaign centerpiece promise of President Prabowo Subianto, who was elected last year. The program is expected to feed nearly 90 million children and women, costing around $28 billion by the end of Subianto’s term in 2029.
The government and military, who will prepare and distribute the meals, have been running pilot programs in the country.
The first part of the scheme was rolled out this week on a small scale, with just 90 kitchens involved in preparing the first meals in more than 20 provinces, officials said, according to Al Jazeera. At an elementary school in West Jakarta, students were given food trays of rice, fried chicken, fried tofu, beans, and an orange in class on Monday morning.
Indonesia is home to more than 282 million people and is Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Subianto said that the program aims to fight the stunting of growth that afflicts 21.5 percent of Indonesian children younger than five and would raise the income of farmers, reported the wire.
But the policy has sparked concern among some economists who believe it could dent Indonesia’s hard-won reputation for fiscal prudence. Some investors and analysts warned about the scale of its logistics, as well as its burden on the economy and state finances.
Nailul Huda, a researcher at the Center of Economic and Law Studies, told the AP that the food program will lead to additional national debt and that the nation’s state finances are not strong enough to support it.
Prabowo has defended his plan, claiming that his team has made the calculations and that “We are capable.”
In his inauguration speech in October, the president also noted that the free meal program is part of a longer-term strategy to develop Indonesia’s human resources and achieve a “Golden Indonesia” by 2045.
One in 12 children younger than five years old in the country suffers from low weight while one in five is shorter than normal, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund.
DISCOVERIES
The Comeback
In California’s Elkhorn Slough, a furry ally has emerged in the fight against one of the West Coast’s most notorious invasive species: European green crabs.
A new study found that these destructive crustaceans – once abundant in the tidal estuary – are now on the decline thanks to the big appetites of southern sea otters.
European green crabs (Carcinus maenas), introduced to North America in the 1800s, are notorious for destroying eelgrass beds, preying on juvenile salmon, and disrupting coastal ecosystems. They’ve spread along the Pacific Coast since the 1980s, becoming one of the most invasive species in marine environments, explained Smithsonian Magazine.
Southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis), on the other hand, were nearly hunted to extinction by the early 1900s for their thick fur. Conservation efforts and federal protections have helped their population rebound to around 3,000 individuals, including a thriving group of 120 at Elkhorn Slough.
Known for their insatiable appetites – they consume up to 25 percent of their body weight daily – these otters have turned green crabs into a main course.
“The otters are a just super voracious predator,” co-author Kerstin Wasson told USA Today. “We calculated that the current otter population here eats somewhere between 50,000 and 120,000 green crabs a year.”
Wasson and her team added that the mammals’ impact has been transformative.
At the height of the green crab invasion in the early 2000s, traps often yielded 100 crabs. Today, traps rarely catch more than 10.
“I’ve studied green crabs in estuaries on three coasts and two continents for decades, and this is one of the first pieces of good news we’ve gotten,” ecologist and co-author Rikke Jeppesen said in a statement.
The team added that the otters’ presence has allowed native eelgrass beds to recover, improving water quality and restoring balance to the ecosystem.
Elkhorn Slough is now the only West Coast estuary where green crab populations have remained low, offering a rare success story in the fight against invasive species.
Jeppesen noted that the study underscores the need to protect apex predators to help biodiversity and provide a natural solution to ecological challenges.
“The sea otters, they’re like an assistant manager for us,” she quipped to USA Today.