In the outskirts of Havana, Maria Elena Veiga lights a charcoal fire to cook dinner. She has no choice—blackouts have become a daily struggle, and gas is scarce. Across Cuba, millions are adjusting to life without reliable electricity.
Power outages in Cuba are no longer just an inconvenience—they define daily life. In towns far from the capital, electricity cuts stretch for over 20 hours, leaving residents to find alternatives just to cook a meal.
"We have opted to cook with charcoal," says Veiga, a 60-year-old housewife from San Nicolás de Bari, about 60 km from Havana. "Otherwise, we go through a lot of trouble just to eat."
The country's power grid is crumbling. Aging thermoelectric plants are failing, fuel shortages are widespread, and diesel generators meant to support the system are running dry. At the end of last year, a series of collapses left the entire nation of 10 million in darkness.
"The electricity is very bad. Sometimes we go the whole day without power," says 72-year-old Mirella Martínez, stirring a pot of beans over a charcoal stove.
The crisis has forced the government to take drastic steps—schools have closed for two days, and non-essential workers are being urged to stay home to cut energy use.
Officials blame the U.S. trade embargo, arguing that sanctions make it harder to import fuel and spare parts for the island’s outdated power plants. But for many Cubans, explanations offer little comfort. They just want to turn the lights back on.
U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong are stepping down, marking the first significant change in the President’s inner circle since he took office in January, U.S. media reported on Thursday.
South Korea has won a landmark $18.2 billion contract to build two nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic—its first overseas nuclear power project in 16 years—signaling a renewed push into Europe's growing energy market.
In Tunisia’s capital Tunis on Thursday, both opponents and supporters of President Kais Saied held separate demonstrations, reflecting an increasingly polarized political climate.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet diplomats from the European troika—France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—in Rome on Friday, ahead of a scheduled fourth round of indirect talks with US Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
The World Health Organization is set to recommend weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound for treating obesity in adults, marking its first official backing of such medications and signaling a major shift in global health policy.
The United States and Ukraine have signed a sweeping economic partnership agreement focused on developing Ukraine’s mineral resources, as the Trump administration pushes for a long-term peace plan more than three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion.
U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong are stepping down, marking the first significant change in the President’s inner circle since he took office in January, U.S. media reported on Thursday.
South Korea has won a landmark $18.2 billion contract to build two nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic—its first overseas nuclear power project in 16 years—signaling a renewed push into Europe's growing energy market.
In Tunisia’s capital Tunis on Thursday, both opponents and supporters of President Kais Saied held separate demonstrations, reflecting an increasingly polarized political climate.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet diplomats from the European troika—France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—in Rome on Friday, ahead of a scheduled fourth round of indirect talks with US Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
In an expansive interview marking his first 100 days back in office, President Donald Trump sketched out an agenda that touches everything from punitive tariffs and China policy to cease-fire hopes in Ukraine and an overhaul of domestic programmes. Below are the highlights.
A deadly explosion at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port has left at least 40 dead, with more than 1,200 people injured, state media reported on Sunday, halting operations at one of the country’s most vital trade hubs.
North Korea has launched a new 5,000-tonne destroyer as part of Kim Jong Un’s plans to expand the country’s naval power far beyond its coastal waters.
A vehicle crashed into a crowd at a Filipino festival in Vancouver, killing 11 and injuring dozens.
A massive explosion at Shahid Rajaee Port in southern Iran on Saturday killed at least four people and injured nearly 600 others, officials said, prompting an urgent government investigation.
The United States and Ukraine have signed a sweeping economic partnership agreement focused on developing Ukraine’s mineral resources, as the Trump administration pushes for a long-term peace plan more than three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion.
U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong are stepping down, marking the first significant change in the President’s inner circle since he took office in January, U.S. media reported on Thursday.
South Korea has won a landmark $18.2 billion contract to build two nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic—its first overseas nuclear power project in 16 years—signaling a renewed push into Europe's growing energy market.
In Tunisia’s capital Tunis on Thursday, both opponents and supporters of President Kais Saied held separate demonstrations, reflecting an increasingly polarized political climate.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet diplomats from the European troika—France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—in Rome on Friday, ahead of a scheduled fourth round of indirect talks with US Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
The United States and Ukraine have signed a sweeping economic partnership agreement focused on developing Ukraine’s mineral resources, as the Trump administration pushes for a long-term peace plan more than three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion.
U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong are stepping down, marking the first significant change in the President’s inner circle since he took office in January, U.S. media reported on Thursday.
South Korea has won a landmark $18.2 billion contract to build two nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic—its first overseas nuclear power project in 16 years—signaling a renewed push into Europe's growing energy market.
In Tunisia’s capital Tunis on Thursday, both opponents and supporters of President Kais Saied held separate demonstrations, reflecting an increasingly polarized political climate.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet diplomats from the European troika—France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—in Rome on Friday, ahead of a scheduled fourth round of indirect talks with US Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
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