Protests erupt in Havana as Cuba struggles to restore electricity

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...

Ukraine says more than 1,400 Africans from dozens of countries fighting for Russia

More than 1,400 citizens from three dozen African countries are fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, Kyiv’s foreign minister said on Friday.

Ukrainian officials say Russia has tried to bolster the force attacking its smaller neighbour by recruiting fighters from a variety of countries, sometimes through subterfuge.

Andriy Sybiha said Russia was enticing Africans to sign contracts that he described as “equivalent to … a death sentence”, and urged African governments to warn their citizens.

“Foreign citizens in the Russian army have a sad fate,” he wrote on X. “Most of them are immediately sent to the so-called ‘meat assaults’, where they are quickly killed.”

South Africa said on Thursday it would investigate how 17 of its citizens joined mercenary forces after the men sent distress calls for help to return home.

And Kenya said last month that some of its citizens had been detained in military camps across Russia after unknowingly getting caught up in the conflict.

Sybiha said the total number of African recruits could be higher than the 1,436 identified, originating from 36 countries, and that most foreign mercenaries in Ukrainian custody had been captured during their first combat mission.

He said Ukraine would provide more specific information about the countries and regions from which Russia has recruited troops.

SOURCE: REUTERS AND AGENCIES



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/nhyHN4u

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