Protests erupt in Havana as Cuba struggles to restore electricity

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By Dave Sherwood and Ayose Naranjo Reuters Scattered protests broke out across Havana on Tuesday evening, with residents banging pots, honking horns and shouting “turn on the lights” as millions ‌of Cubans remained without power amid a six-month-long U.S. fuel blockade. Cuba experienced a nationwide outage on ‌Monday — its third this year — but while authorities said most of the country had been reconnected to the island’s grid by late ​Tuesday, many remained in the dark and without electricity as the island doesn’t have enough fuel. The country’s grid operator UNE said it had reconnected the grid from Pinar del Rio, in far western Cuba, to Holguin in the east. Santiago de Cuba, the island’s second-largest city, remained disconnected and without power, authorities said. The U.S. in January ‌cut off Cuba’s fuel supply, then ⁠imposed fresh sanctions that have prompted an exodus of foreign businesses and a near-complete collapse o...
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Spectators gathering for 52nd annual pride parade

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Spectators flocked to North Broadway Street and Montrose Avenue late Sunday morning, where the 52nd annual Chicago Pride Parade was scheduled to start at noon.

Many could be seen fanning themselves with signs to stay cool while a marching band played music.

Lex Rybicki, 28, has been attending the parades on and off for 11 years. For her, the parade represents freedom.

“Even though we’re all strangers, it feels like one huge family coming together.”

Lex Rybicki ties a pride flag to her partner near the starting point of the 52nd annual Chicago Pride Parade in Uptown, Sunday, June 25, 2023.

Mohammad Samra / Chicago Sun-Times

The parade, which will run through the Uptown, Northalsted and Lincoln Park communities, commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Riots, the protests in New York that were pivotal in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the United States.

The parade starts at Broadway and Montrose then proceeds south on Broadway to Halsted; south on Halsted; east on Belmont; south on Broadway; and east on Diversey to Cannon Drive.

Interim Chicago Police Supt. Fred Waller outlined safety plans for the parade late last week, saying there will be additional officers and command posts.

More experienced officers will work after the parade and into Sunday night, and undercover officers will be in the crowds throughout the day, Waller said.

Officers’ days off were canceled to ensure the department has enough police to monitor the parade and other activities in the city, and the department’s counterterrorism unit has been monitoring for potential threats toward the parade or the LGBTQ+ community in general.

“We want to be accepted, we want to be welcomed, we want to be loved,” Rybicki said.



from Chicago Sun-Times - All https://ift.tt/fseuqE3

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