Chad’s Courteous Phone Thieves

(Wired Magazine Blog) - If you've ever spent an entire day trying, and failing, to make one important phone call, as I just did here in sunny Chad, you might understand how tenuous communications are in a place like Central Africa.

So it's no wonder that Thuraya satellite phones are among the hottest items in the whole region ... and why these handy little phones are at the top of bandits' and rebels' wish lists.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Wired Magazine Blog, David Axe, david_axe@hotmail.com ]

(Photo: David Axe) You can find more Dave Axe articles at www.WarisBoring.com.

Chad’s Deadly Cocktail: Oil, Water, and Blood

Oil, water and blood. In Central Africa the three mix into one volatile cocktail. I came to Chad two weeks ago to understand how a rapidly expanding civil conflict, pitting tribal rebels versus repressive regimes in three countries -- Chad, Sudan and the Central African Republic -- is exacerbated by Central Africa's growing oil reserves and dwindling supplies of natural resources, especially water and wood.

I'm not the only one who's interested in Chad. The U.S. government and private American citizens are the biggest donors to Chad's enormous refugee society -- half a million displaced people plus thousands of aid workers spending hundreds of millions of donated dollars per year. And the European Union has picked Chad to test out its growing military might. 4,000 peacekeepers are deploying to protect refugees and aid workers.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Wired Magazine Blog, David Axe, david_axe@hotmail.com ]

You can find more Dave Axe articles at www.WarisBoring.com.