Middle East & Africa | Here comes Trouble

Names in southern Africa are both creative and revealing

They illuminate the past as well as aspirations for the future

|JOHANNESBURG AND LILONGWE

IF HE IS in a tight spot, says Trouble Kalua, people mention his name, asking, “What do you expect?” Shortly before his birth in Malawi, his father had lost his job as a bus conductor, impoverishing the family. Then the baby nearly died. “This boy is trouble,” his father said. “His name is Trouble.”

The Economist today

Handpicked stories, in your inbox

A daily newsletter with the best of our journalism

Discover more

Hospital in Brazzaville in Congo

Congo-Brazzaville has lost a big chunk of its oil revenue

A court case offers a glimpse into what may have happened to the country’s money

Iranians walk past an anti-US mural in Tehran

Will Donald Trump “stop the wars” in the Middle East?

What he does may depend on which son-in-law spoke to him last


 A member of the Hezbollah-affiliated civil defense force raises the Lebanese flag amid rubble after an Israeli air-strike in Lebanon

Israel’s war aims in Lebanon are expanding

It is hoping for political change as well as the destruction of Hizbullah


Why the fertility gap between north and south Nigeria matters

It has enormous implications for development

Binyamin Netanyahu fires his defence minister

The Israeli prime minister stamps his authority on his government

What the world can learn from Botswana

Peaceful transfers of power are a wonderful thing