Déby's nephew Bedey takes transitional military council to the skies

• MADAGASCAR - Macron and Rajoelina in Parisian tête-à-tête

• DRC - Former adviser 'JCK' invites himself along on Tshisekedi's Oyo trip
  

• CHAD - Abakar Manany, a minister far from N'Djamena

• CAMEROON - Senate president Marcel Niat Njifenji holidays in Geneva

African Union calls for national reconciliation conference in Libya 

At the 36th summit of the African Union, the High-Level Committee on the Libyan question strongly urged the holding of a national reconciliation conference.

Abakar Manany preferred as Mahamat Idriss Deby's sherpa in Washington 

Mahamat Idriss Deby's special adviser, Abakar Manany, made extensive use of his connections to prepare the Chadian president's December visit to the United States. He got the upper hand over the president's step-brother, Abdelkrim Deby, who took a more guarded approach.

Congo Airways engaged in a frantic race for secondhand aircraft  Free

The serious financial difficulties of the Congolese airline have made it impossible for it to fulfil its order book with Embraer and has forced its interim director to turn to leasing aircraft.

N-Soft to take possession of N'Djamena's French property 

The telecommunications group has won its case in Paris to take over the Chadian government's assets to cover payment of a €25m debt.

New foreign minister names her African adviser 

Catherine Colonna has appointed a diplomat previously posted to the UN and to Burkina Faso to be her senior advisor on Africa.

Nouakchott mends fences with Qatar, one plank at a time 

The presidential palace is taking baby steps to restore the ties it abruptly cut with the gas-rich emirate four years ago.

Sassou sends diplomatic stalwart for AU seat 

According to our sources, former Conogolese ambassador to China, Daniel Owassa, will hand over his credentials to the chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki, in the coming days.

Touadera becomes a Bestfly client after Tshisekedi and Sassou Nguesso 

The head of state of Central African Republic (CAR) recently began using jets operated by Angolan company Bestfly, which has seen its clientele of West African leaders grow fast in line with regional diplomatic activity.

Sassou reshuffles his UN representation in New York 

Raymond-Serge Bale left his post at the head of the New York representation in mid-December, after being appointed ambassador to India. He will be replaced by Lazare Makayat Safouesse, currently Congo's representative to the African Union.

Nurol Holding, standard bearer of Turkish interests in N'Djamena 

Having recently delivered a new batch of twelve armoured vehicles for the Chadian army, the Turkish conglomerate Nurol Holding has consolidated its presence in N'Djamena and is also eyeing opportunities in the construction, infrastructure and mining sectors.

French military still banned from Algerian air space despite diplomatic outreach 

Paris hopes Algeria will soon lift its ban on the use of its airspace to resupply military operations in the Sahel, namely Barkhane. The army is currently using private foreign sub-contractors, not part of the ban, to fly equipment over Algeria.

EU set to stump up €40m for Chad transition 

Little inclined to support N'Djamena directly under the rule of Idriss Déby, the European Union has agreed to provide exceptional budgetary assistance to Chad at a time when its finances are in especially poor shape.

Several African heads of state to attend Paris Peace Forum 

Over ten African heads of state will travel to France for the Paris Peace forum, due to be held 11 November.

The Council of the Portuguese Diaspora looks to develop its presence in Africa 

The Eurafrican Forum, which has just taken place, has put the spotlight on the Council of the Portuguese Diaspora that organised it. The council is composed of influential Portuguese business people, based outside their home country, who are looking to extend lusophone influence in Africa.

AU summit switch to Addis deals diplomatic blow to Kaka 

Interim president Mahamat Idriss Déby's hope of winning tacit approval for his rule have been dashed after the African Union chose Addis Ababa over N'Djamena for its next summit.

'Kaka' and Faki's cold war paralyses African Union 

Relations between N'Djamena and the AU's Moussa Faki Mahamat are at such a low ebb that they are undermining the organisation's ability to deal with the crisis in Chad. Various initiatives are being studied to up the pressure on the junta, which has failed to amend controversial clauses of the charter serving as the rulebook for the 18-month transition period supposed to lead to a democratic future.