HAVANA (AP) — After a nationwide blackout left millions without electricity for several hours in Cuba, the power grid was restored Thursday, authorities said, adding that scheduled power outages will now resume.
The latest blackout, the third one of this severity in less than two months, occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, after a breakdown at a thermoelectric plant in Matanzas province, east of Havana. The incident triggered a chain reaction, overwhelming an already strained power system.
On Thursday, classes and work activities gradually returned to normal.
As for the scheduled power outages, Cuban authorities said they will continue their current practice of implementing daily, five-hour power outages by block or zone as they have been doing for the past few months.
On Oct. 18, the island suffered a significant blackout that, added to the passage of Hurricane Oscar two days later, left the island without electricity for several days.
Weeks later, Hurricane Rafael’s strong winds triggered another system-wide blackout that left the national energy system disconnected again.
Cuba’s power grid has been plagued by frequent outages in recent months, with more than half of the country experiencing power cuts during peak hours. The outages are primarily caused by fuel shortages and aging infrastructure. In many parts of the island, electricity is crucial for cooking and water pumping.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
A man cooks soup over an open fire on a sidewalk, during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — European Union foreign ministers will meet in late January to discuss easing sanctions imposed on Syria, the bloc's foreign policy chief said Sunday. However, she said the move would depend on Syria's new rulers carrying out an inclusive political transition after last month’s overthrow of President Bashar Assad.
Kaja Kallas' comments came at a gathering of top European and Middle Eastern diplomats in the Saudi capital of Riyadh to discuss Syria’s future.
Saudi Arabia called for the lifting of sanctions, which threaten to undermine Syria's recovery from nearly 14 years of civil war that killed an estimated 500,000 people and displaced half the country's prewar population of 23 million.
European countries and the United States have been wary over the Islamist roots of the former insurgents who drove Assad out of power and who now lead an interim government.
The former rebels have promised to hold a national dialogue summit that includes different groups across Syria to agree upon a new political road map leading to a new constitution and an election.
Kallas said EU foreign ministers will look at how to ease sanctions during a Jan. 27 meeting in Brussels.
“But this must follow tangible progress in a political transition that reflects Syria in all its diversity,” she said in a post on the social media platform X. She also posted a photo of herself meeting the new Syrian foreign minister, Asaad al-Shibani at Sunday’s gathering.
The U.S., the EU and some Arab nations began imposing sanctions on Syria after Assad’s brutal crackdown on the 2011 uprising against his rule and tightened them as the conflict spiraled into war.
Some of the measures are against individuals in Assad’s government, including freezing of assets. But many target the government in general, including bans on many financial and banking dealings, on oil purchases and on investment or trade in some sectors, crippling the wider Syrian economy.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said sanctions against “Assad’s henchmen who committed serious crimes” must remain in place.
But she called for “a smart approach to sanctions, providing rapid relief for the Syrian population. Syrians now need a quick dividend from the transition of power.” Baerbock did not elaborate but announced an additional 50 million euros ($51.2 million) in German aid for food, emergency shelters and medical care.
At the gathering, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said international and unilateral sanctions on Syria should be lifted.
Continuing them “will hinder the aspirations of the brotherly Syrian people to achieve development and reconstruction,” he said. He praised steps taken so far by the interim Syrian government, including promises to start a political process “that includes various components” of the Syrian people.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his country, which was a strong supporter of the Syrian opposition to Assad, would try to help Syria in normalizing ties with the international community.
He said it was important to establish a “balance between the expectations of the international community and the realities faced by the new administration in Syria.”
He pledged Turkish support to the new government, especially in combating threats from the Islamic State group.
“As Turkey, we are ready to do our part to ease the difficult path ahead for the Syrian people,” he said in comments carried by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.
Last week, Washington eased some of its restrictions on Syria, with the U.S. Treasury issuing a general license, lasting six months, that authorizes certain transactions with the Syrian government, including some energy sales and incidental transactions.
The U.S. has also dropped a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of Ahmad al-Sharaa, a Syrian rebel leader formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month. Al-Sharaa was a former senior al-Qaida militant who broke with the group years ago and has pledged an inclusive Syria that respects the rights of religious minorities.
The rebels led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule.
Much of the world severed ties with Assad and imposed sanctions on his government — and its Russian and Iranian allies — over alleged war crimes and the manufacturing of the amphetamine-like stimulant Captagon, which reportedly generated billions of dollars as packages of the little white pills were smuggled across Syria’s porous borders.
With Assad out of the picture, Syria’s new authorities hope that the international community will pour money into the country to rebuild its battered infrastructure and make its economy viable again.
Follow AP’s Syria coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/syria
Germany's foreign minister Annalena Baerbock speaks to the press during a conference on Syria's future attended by top European and Middle Eastern diplomats hosted by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Baraa Anwer)
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud speaks during a press briefing, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Baraa Anwer)
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud speaks during a press briefing, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Baraa Anwer)
Two men walk along the cells gallery of the infamous Saydnaya military prison on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
People peer through a hole in the wall into the cells gallery of the infamous Saydnaya military prison on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
A girl writes "Worship your God" in Arabic as a group of young volunteers paints a mural symbolizing peace on a wall on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Germany's foreign minister Annalena Baerbock speaks to the press during a conference on Syria's future attended by top European and Middle Eastern diplomats hosted by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Anwer Baraa)
A group of young volunteers paints a mural symbolizing peace on a wall on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock holds a press conference during an official visit, in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syria's de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, right, meets with German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, left, and French foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, center, in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (SANA via AP)
