Cuba said it had reconnected most of the country to the national grid by late on Tuesday (7 July), though millions remained without power as the island nation struggles to generate even one-third of current demand during an ongoing U.S. fuel blockade.
Authorities have yet to fully explain the cause of Monday's nationwide blackout. The country's third blackout this year has left an already exhausted population of nearly 10 million people in the dark overnight.
The country's grid operator UNE said late on Tuesday 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.
About two-thirds of the capital Havana had seen power restored by late Tuesday, though another unexpected widespread outage hit the city around 6 p.m. ET.
Havana residents, now accustomed to blackouts spanning 30 hours or more, had largely resigned themselves to another night of swatting mosquitoes and little sleep.
"I don't see a quick fix to this problem," said Amauri Gonzalez, a local resident who had stepped outside his home for a bit of fresh air. "Our power plants are obsolete and there's no fuel."
The U.S. has sought to strangle Cuba's communist-run government into submission, cutting off the island's fuel supply and imposing fresh sanctions that have prompted an exodus of foreign businesses and a near complete collapse of tourism.
Cuba and the United Nations (UN) have called U.S. President Donald Trump's sanctions a violation of international law and the human rights of the island's residents.
Talks between the two nations have stagnated, according to both Cuban and U.S. officials.
The UN General Assembly, in a meeting at Havana’s request, voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to debate U.S. sanctions against Cuba.
However, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz said Cuba's government was to blame for electricity shortfalls.
"Change your ways and turn the lights back on for your people," he said during the UN debate.
The vast majority of countries that spoke during the debate called on Washington to end the now six-month-long fuel blockade and reverse sanctions that have crippled the island's economy.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait on Wednesday after the U.S. launched a wave of military strik...
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 8th of July, covering the latest developments you need to know....
Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, has described fresh U.S. strikes on Iran as "absolutely necessary," in remarks at the start of the second day o...
The U.S. has arrested Adys Lastres Morera, the sister of the head of GAESA, a military-run business group which owns Cuba’s most profitable enterprises, including the island’s five-star hotels, and its largest port.
Russia pledged support for Cuba on Thursday after the U.S. indicted former Cuban president Raúl Castro on murder charges linked to the 1996 downing of exile planes, escalating tensions between Washington and Havana.
The Trump administration plans to announce criminal charges against former Cuban president Raul Castro next Wednesday, according to a U.S. Justice Department official, in a move that would escalate the pressure campaign against the island's communist government.
Widespread protests erupted across Havana on Wednesday evening as Cuba faced its worst rolling blackouts in decades after the government announced it had run out of diesel and fuel oil amid a tightening U.S. blockade.
The U.S. says it has launched strikes on Iran after alleged attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Washington described the action as a response to threats against civilian shipping and a breach of the ceasefire.
NATO leaders are unveiling multi-billion-dollar arms deals in Ankara as President Donald Trump joins the summit, highlighting Europe's increased defence spending amid tensions over Russia and Iran, and following years of U.S. criticism of the alliance.
Christian Dior has secured one of fashion's most coveted celebrity endorsements after both Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce wore custom haute couture designs by creative director Jonathan Anderson for their wedding in New York.
Massive crowds are gathering in the streets of Tehran on Monday for the funeral procession of Iran's slain former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, as part of a week-long farewell. His son and designated successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, has yet to make a public appearance.
Wildfires have taken a hold in southern Europe as the European Union sends four rescEU water bombing aircraft and more than 100 firefighters from Cyprus and Sweden to help tackle the blazes across France and Portugal. The EU is set to send more to at least 14 European countries.
Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, has described fresh U.S. strikes on Iran as "absolutely necessary," in remarks at the start of the second day of the alliance's sumit in the Turkish capital Ankara.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 8th of July, covering the latest developments you need to know.
A Pakistan-registered Boeing 737 cargo aircraft carrying five crew members disappeared on Tuesday night after reporting a navigational system problem while flying from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Karachi, prompting a major search and rescue operation.
The United States, Japan and South Korea have signed an agreement to deepen cooperation on the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs), aiming to accelerate the rollout of next-generation nuclear energy projects in partner countries across the Indo-Pacific.
Ukraine said on Tuesday that its drone forces had attacked a dozen tankers linked to Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" over the past two days, as Kyiv intensifies efforts to disrupt fuel supplies to occupied Crimea.
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