When Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim took office, even his own supporters doubted that he could tackle much-needed reforms. But they expected to see at least some of the changes he had promised during his years in opposition. Slightly more than a year into Anwar’s term, however, he has scant progress to show on any front.
Last week’s defeat of a controversial amnesty measure underscores the difficulties facing Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Having deftly engineered an improbable return to office after last year’s elections, Sanchez now finds himself at the head of a coalition even more unruly than his previous complex, multiparty alliance.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel replaced the country’s economy minister, amid delays to planned price hikes for fuel and transportation that the government blamed on a cyberattack. The fate of the measures, which had been scheduled for Feb. 1, is now uncertain. But the economic crisis that made them necessary is exceedingly clear.
Djibouti has built its economic model around shipping services and maritime logistics, and among its most prominent partners is its landlocked neighbor, Ethiopia. To cater to Ethiopia’s needs, Djibouti has built a host of new infrastructure. Unsurprisingly, Ethiopia’s port deal with Somaliland has set off alarm bells in Djibouti.
When Nigerian President Bola Tinubu was elected chairperson of the ECOWAS last July, he underscored his commitment to defending democracy across the region, which had already seen a string of military coups. That could come back to haunt him, given recent developments in the region and ECOWAS’ performance under Tinubu’s leadership.