27 March 2022
Eritrea/Cyclism: Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay won the Gent-Wevelgem race – having been one of a four-men breakaway group with 30 km to go he won by sprint – the first African ever to win one of the one-day classics.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/60894994
Nigeria/Power Cuts: In her “Letter from Africa”, Nigerian novelist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani recalls “sitting with (her) family in (their) home in the south-eastern town of Umuahia at night, the entire living room dark except for the glow of a kerosene lamp on the wooden centre table” – some of her “fondest memories” of her childhood in the 1980s, because these power cuts were times when TV was replaced by Igbo folk tales or parents talking about their childhoods. Such outages lasted an hour or two. Since then, NEPA (Nigerian Electricity Power Authority) has become known as the acronym for Never Expect Power Always. When the company was renamed Power Holding Company of Nigeria, its acronym PHCN soon stood for “Problem Has Changed Name” or “Please Hold Candle Now”. Those who could afford it have long since bought generators. But recently, the national scarcity of fuel meant darkness even for Lagos and Abuja for days on end. So, President Buhari had to apologize to his people.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60828728
26 March 2022
Zimbabwe: Local council elections and by-elections in about a tenth of parliamentary constituencies will serve as a test for Nelson Chamisa’s new party, the Citizens' Coalition for Change. The party says that “some of its rallies have been violently disrupted by supporters of the ruling party, Zanu-PF.” Nelson Chamisa obtained around 44% of votes at the 2018 presidential elections.
BBC Africa Latest Updates 26 March 2022. 7:51
Rape in the Tigray war: Both sides “have allegedly carried out extrajudicial killings and used sexual violence” as a weapon of war. BBC has interviewed some rape survivors and have made a 2:35 video.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60648163
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-60855250