In the four months since taking over in a coup, the junta leading Gabon appears to have consolidated power, relying on a multipronged approach intended to secure domestic popularity and the international legitimacy needed to distinguish from the military regimes that have seized power in other parts of Africa in recent years.
Much discussion this past year has centered on the scourge of war, and rightfully so. But the incidence of famine and food insecurity in the world are problems that are just as critical at the moment. Indeed, 2023 was a year of famine and hunger, according to the U.N. World Food Program.
In late November, Algeria adopted new laws regulating the media and journalism, characterized by the government as allowing for more press freedoms. But considering the government has done so much to eviscerate freedom of expression and tame independent journalism in Algeria, that characterization doesn’t hold weight.
