South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has dismissed key allies of his longtime rival, First Vice President Riek Machar, from government positions, a move that raises fresh doubts about the viability of their power-sharing agreement under the 2018 peace deal. The deal, signed by Kiir, Machar, and other leaders, ended a brutal five-year civil war and established a unity government tasked with drafting a permanent constitution, unifying armed forces, and preparing for elections. In a late-night decree broadcast Wednesday on state-owned South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation, Kiir removed Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Bech George Anyak, replacing him with Yien Chan Ruei. The order also targeted Machar loyalists in both houses of parliament—the Transitional National Legislative Assembly and the Council of States. The purge came just a day after the African Union Peace and Security Council reaffirmed its support for the 2018 agreement, urging progress toward elections and inclusive dialogue. Machar, leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), has been under house arrest since March 26, accused of involvement in violence in Nasir County—a charge his supporters dismiss as politically motivated. Radio Tamazuj

A year after famine was first declared in Sudan, the United Nations warned on Wednesday that the crisis has spread catastrophically, with 17 areas now at risk and the besieged city of El Fasher facing starvation, a spokesman said. The warning marks a significant deterioration since famine was officially confirmed in the Zamzam displacement camp in August 2024. “The famine has since spread to areas in Darfur and Kordofan,” U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters, adding that at-risk zones now include parts of the Nuba Mountains, Khartoum and Gezira. The situation is particularly dire in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, which remains cut off from aid. The U.N.’s World Food Programme (WFP) has called for immediate humanitarian access to the city…He reiterated that the ongoing conflict is the root cause of the crisis and renewed the U.N.’s appeal to the warring parties. Sudan Tribune

The African Union has backed a campaign to end the use by governments and international organisations of the 16th-century Mercator map of the world in favour of one that more accurately displays Africa’s size. Created by cartographer Gerardus Mercator for navigation, the projection distorts continent sizes, enlarging areas near the poles like North America and Greenland while shrinking Africa and South America. “It might seem to be just a map, but in reality, it is not,” AU Commission deputy chairperson Selma Malika Haddadi told Reuters, saying the Mercator fostered a false impression that Africa was “marginal”, despite being the world’s second-largest continent by area, with 54 nations and over a billion people. Such stereotypes influence media, education and policy, she said. Criticism of the Mercator map is not new, but the ‘Correct The Map’ campaign led by advocacy groups Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa has revived the debate, urging organisations to adopt the 2018 Equal Earth projection, which tries to reflect countries’ true sizes…Haddadi said the AU endorsed the campaign, adding it aligned with its goal of “reclaiming Africa’s rightful place on the global stage” amid growing calls for reparations for colonialism and slavery. The AU will advocate for wider map adoption and discuss collective actions with member states, Haddadi added. Reuters

A quanto swap is a cash-settled, cross-currency interest rate swap, where one of the counterparties pays a foreign interest rate to the other. The notional amount is denominated in the domestic currency. Interest rates may be fixed or floating.