AFRICA

Mbabane, Swaziland | AFP |  The king of Swaziland, one of the world’s few absolute monarchs, announced on Thursday that his country had changed its name to eSwatini to mark 50 years since independence from British rule. Meaning “place of the Swazi”, eSwatini is the Swazi language name for the …

Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Fuel smuggling is costing Libya more than $750 million each year and harming its economy and society, the head of the National Oil Company in the conflict-riddled country said. “The impact of fuel smuggling is destroying the fabric of the country,” NOC president Mustafa Sanalla …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Ethiopian new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reshuffled his cabinet Thursday in a bid to stem growing discontent with the long-ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition. Abiy, 42, is the first prime minister to come from Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group the Oromo, who …

Gwagwalada, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian forces battling Boko Haram jihadists need a change of mindset to overcome an evolving guerrilla threat, US military officials said this week on the sidelines of an African security summit. Boko Haram’s tactics — from improvised explosive devices to hiding within the local population …

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea | AFP | Equatorial Guinea called Wednesday for national human rights institutions to replace international organisations across Africa, after facing accusations of a bloody crackdown following a failed coup bid last year. “I will propose the creation of human rights institutions in each African country”, longtime President …

Country marks 100 days of Kwibuka Kampala, Uganda | STEPHEN NUWAGIRA & FRANCIS BYARUHANGA | President Paul Kagame used the launch of the annual Kwibuka genocide against the Tutsi commemoration to urge Rwandans to be open and truthful about it. “Rwanda’s truth can neither be erased nor be forgotten,” he …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe has fired all nurses who went on strike to demand higher salaries, in a hardline response by the country’s new leadership to growing labour arrest. Several thousand nurses were sacked in a terse statement issued on Tuesday evening by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa on Tuesday announced it has banned KPMG from auditing its government institutions following a series of scandals involving the international auditor in the country. The decision to terminate KPMG’s contracts is with “immediate effect”, auditor-general Kimi Makwetu’s office said in a statement. …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Fourteen people have died as a result of days of torrential rains and flooding in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s economic capital, police said Tuesday. “The balance sheet has worsened. This morning, we have reached 14 killed,” city police chief Lazaro Mambosasa told reporters. The number …

Bunia, DR Congo | AFP | A first group of around 600 people who fled deadly violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo in early February returned to their homes in the northeast on Tuesday, authorities said. They returned voluntarily, said Laurent Chelo, secretary general of the social affairs ministry. …