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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Kenya and Uganda to mediate in Ethiopia-Somalia dispute

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Kenyan President William Ruto said on Saturday he and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni would help mediate between Ethiopia and Somalia in a dispute that threatens to destabilise the Horn of Africa region.

Landlocked Ethiopia, which has thousands of troops in Somalia to fight al Qaeda-linked insurgents, has angered the Mogadishu government with its plan to build a port in the breakaway region of Somaliland.

Somaliland, which in exchange for the port could gain possible recognition as an independent nation from Ethiopia, has struggled to gain international recognition despite governing itself and enjoying comparative peace and stability since declaring independence in 1991.

The spat has drawn Somalia closer to Egypt, which has quarrelled with Ethiopia for years over Addis Ababa’s construction of a vast hydro dam on the Nile River, and Eritrea, another of Ethiopia’s foes.

“Because the security of Somalia … contributes significantly to the stability of our region, and the environment for investors and business people and entrepreneurs to thrive,” Ruto told a press conference at a regional heads of state summit.

Several attempts to resolve the feud in Ankara, Turkey, have failed to make a breakthrough.

The office of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said in a statement that Mohamud had met Ruto and Museveni on the sidelines of the summit, but it did not make reference to a potential mediation.– a move that could result in French troops leaving the central African country.

Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, Somalia’s foreign minister, told Reuters previous resolutions by regional leaders had fallen on deaf ears in Addis Ababa, but he had confidence ongoing mediation efforts by Turkey would be fruitful.

Ethiopia’s government and foreign affairs spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

SOURCE: REUTERS AND AGENCIES



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/mNPsXAJ

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