Israel orders evacuations in northern Gaza as Trump calls for war to end

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By Nidal Al-Mughrabi Reuters  The Israeli military ordered Palestinians to evacuate areas in northern Gaza on Sunday before intensified fighting against  Hamas , as U.S. President Donald Trump called for an end to the  war  amid renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire. “Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back,”  Trump  posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold talks later in the day on the progress of Israel’s offensive. A senior security official said the military will tell him the campaign is close to reaching its objectives, and warn that expanding fighting to new areas in Gaza may endanger the remaining Israeli hostages. But in a statement posted on X and text messages sent to many residents, the military urged people in northern parts of the enclave to head south towards the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, which Israel designated as a humanitarian area. Palestinian and U.N. offi...
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Cuba tells non-essential workers, students to stay home in latest blackout

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By Dave Sherwood Reuters

Cuba closed schools and told non-essential workers to stay home on Friday as its electrical grid faltered following the failure of a major power plant, causing widespread blackouts across the crisis-ridden island.

Only six of the country’s 15 oil-fired power plants are in operation, according to government reports, and a dire fuel shortage has made it impossible to run smaller clusters of diesel-fired generators that typically back up the system.

The predicament has hobbled the island’s creaky electrical system and led to the largest blackouts since several nationwide grid collapses late last year left the entire nation of 10 million people in the dark, prompting scattered protests and unrest.

Dwindling oil imports from Venezuela, Russia and Mexico last year pushed the island’s obsolete and struggling oil-fired power plants into full crisis.

The government said late on Thursday it would “suspend… teaching and work activities that are not essential under current conditions.”

Basic services would remain, the government said.

Residents across the capital Havana, typically protected by the government from the worst of the blackouts, reported outages ranging from six to 10 hours this week. Provincial cities and smaller towns in the countryside reported outages of as much as 20 hours a day.

The blackouts increase anxiety in a population already stressed by widespread shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Upwards of one million Cubans have left the island since the COVID-19 pandemic, pressured by fast-deteriorating conditions.

Cuba blames the U.S. trade embargo and stiff sanctions implemented by the Trump administration for difficulties in maintaining its electrical grid and acquiring fuel and spare parts, a situation many on the island feel will only get worse.

U.S. President Donald Trump last month reversed last-second measures taken by his predecessor Joe Biden to lighten sanctions on Cuba.

Cuban officials said residents could expect a slight improvement in conditions through the weekend as fuel supply improved.



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/vUlOGL2

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