Eswatini

MBABANE, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Southern African regional bloc SADC said on Saturday that Eswatini's King Mswati III - Africa's last absolute monarch - had accepted the need for a national dialogue after pro-democracy protests intensified this month.

Envoys from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and the regional group visited Eswatini on Thursday and Friday and met the king, the prime minister, civil society organisations, trade unions and others, SADC said in a statement.

MBABANE, June 29 (Reuters) - Demonstrators in the small southern African kingdom of eSwatini demanded reforms to its system of absolute monarchy on Tuesday, and security forces tried to repel them with gunfire and tear gas.

"I can hear gunshots and smell teargas. I do not know how I will get home, there is nothing in the bus rank, there is a strong presence of riot police and the army," Vusi Madalane, a shop assistant in the capital Mbabane, said by telephone.