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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Mozambique prison riot kills 33 as civil unrest grips the country

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A prison riot in Mozambique’s capital Maputo left 33 people dead and 15 injured, the country’s police general commander Bernardino Rafael said on Wednesday, as civil unrest linked to October’s disputed election continues.

A decision on Monday by Mozambique’s top court confirming long-ruling party Frelimo’s victory in the election has sparked fresh nationwide protests by opposition groups and their supporters who say the vote was rigged.

While Rafael blamed protests outside the prison for encouraging the riot, Justice Minister Helena Kida told local private broadcaster Miramar TV that the unrest was started inside the prison and had nothing to do with protests outside.

“The confrontations after that resulted in 33 deaths and 15 injured in the vicinity of the jail,” Rafael told a media briefing.

The identities of those killed and injured were unclear.

About 1,534 people escaped from the prison in the incident but 150 have now been recaptured, Rafael said, adding that there were prison break attempts at two other prisons.

“We are worried as a country, Mozambicans and security forces,” Rafael said. “We expect in the next 48 hours a rise in crime.”

Mozambique’s interior minister said on Tuesday that at least 21 people were killed in unrest after the top court’s decision.

Prior to Tuesday, civil society monitoring group Plataforma Decide said at least 130 people have been killed in clashes with police since the unrest started.

SOURCE: REUTERS AND AGENCIES



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/29UzhSW

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