A worker sleeps inside a wheelbarrow in Tanji on September 12, 2026, as prolonged electricity shortages have slowed business activity and disrupt daily life in the area. Since June the tiny west African nation has been hobbled by prolonged blackouts, which have reached a fever pitch in recent weeks, right at the peak of the hot season. Sometimes lasting 12 to 48 hours, the outages have plunged Gambians into steaming darkness at night, and have meant the loss of livelihood for a broad spectrum of society. Two nights of chaotic, spontaneous protests broke out last week as demonstrators called for the president's ouster. (Photo by MUHAMADOU BITTAYE / AFP via Getty Images)