Al Jazeera English’s The Stream Asks ‘Why Do The Lights Keep Going Out In Zimbabwe?’

Why do the lights keep going out in Zimbabwe?

Zimbabwe’s energy crisis
Zimbabweans are enduring hours-long power cuts as the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) tries to manage dwindling electricity output. But the restrictions are just one of the daily challenges millions of Zimbabweans face – fuel prices recently rose 46 percent, pushing petrol prices towards five dollars a litre. As Zimbabweans grow ever-more frustrated with getting less while paying more, we’ll look at how the ruling Zanu PF party is handling the crisis.

Botswana’s elephant hunting ban ends
Elephant hunting has resumed in Botswana following a decision by the government to end a five-year ban on the practice. The country’s environment ministry says hunting will be organised in an “ethical manner”, but conservationists and animal-rights campaigners are outraged. The government of President Mokgweetsi Masisi says the reinstatement of elephant hunting is a way to safeguard rural communities that often face herds of elephants that eat or trample their crops, but critics say the government’s move to allow hunting is designed to court rural voters in the run-up to elections due later this year. We’ll look at both sides of the argument.

Mauritanian bloggers imprisoned
Campaigners are urging authorities in Mauritania to release two prominent bloggers who have been imprisoned for more than two months after being arrested for Facebook posts critical of the government. Abderrahmane Weddady and Cheikh Ould Jiddou were charged with ‘malicious accusation’ after being detained on March 22. In a series of Facebook posts Weddady and Ould Jiddou covered allegations that authorities in the United Arab Emirates froze assets in Dubai bank accounts held by Mauritanian government officials. We’ll consider what the case says about the right to free expression in Mauritania.