HAVANA: Cuba’s efforts to restore power to the island were derailed for a third time late on Saturday, Cuban authorities said shortly before midnight, leaving millions in the dark and raising fresh questions over the viability of the government’s bid to reestablish electrical service.
Cuba’s national electrical grid first crashed around midday on Friday after the island’s largest power plant shut down. The grid collapsed again on Saturday morning, state-run media reported.
By early evening, authorities reported some progress restoring power before announcing the grid had once again collapsed.
“Tonight at 10:25 p.m. the total disconnection of the national electro-energetic system occurred again,” the Havana Electric company said on Telegram late on Saturday.
The post was later removed from the company’s Telegram feed. It was not immediately clear why the post was removed, but millions were still without power on early on Sunday.
Cuba’s energy ministry said shortly after the Havana Electric post that it was working to reestablish service, adding that “another disconnection” had occurred in the “western sub-system,” which includes the capital Havana.
“The process of reestablishing the electrical system continues to be complex,” the ministry said on X.
A third grid collapse marks a major setback in the government’s efforts to quickly restore power to exhausted residents already suffering from severe food, medicine and fuel shortages.
Reuters reporters witnessed two small protests overnight, one in Marianao and the other in the Cuatro Caminos area of Havana. Various videos of protests elsewhere in the capital began to crop up on social media late on Saturday, though Reuters was not able to verify their authenticity.
Internet traffic dropped off sharply in Cuba on Saturday, according to data from Internet monitoring group NetBlocks, as vast power outages made it all but impossible for most island residents to charge phones and get online.
“Network data show that Cuba remains largely offline as the island experiences a second nationwide power outage,” Netblocks said on Saturday.
Even before the grid failures, a dire electricity shortfall on Friday had forced Cuba’s Communist-run government to send non-essential state workers home and cancel school for children as it sought to conserve fuel for power generation.
The government has blamed weeks of worsening blackouts — as long as 10 to 20 hours a day across much of the island — on deteriorating infrastructure, fuel shortages and rising demand.
Cuba also blames the US trade embargo, as well as sanctions instituted by then-President Donald Trump, for ongoing difficulties in acquiring fuel and spare parts to operate and maintain its oil-fired plants.
The US has denied any role in the grid failures.
Cuba suffers third major setback in restoring power to island, millions still in dark
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Cuba suffers third major setback in restoring power to island, millions still in dark
UAE partnership gives boost to Philippines’ energy transition
- Coal still accounts for over half of Philippines’ power generation
- Cooperation with Masdar will provide up to 1 GW of clean power by 2030
MANILA: The Philippines is on track to achieve its energy transition goals following a $15 billion renewable energy deal with UAE’s state-owned energy firm Masdar to develop solar, wind and battery energy storage systems.
Manila has been working to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and aims to increase the share of renewable sources in the energy mix from around 22 percent currently to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.
The deal with Masdar, which was signed last week in Abu Dhabi, will provide up to 1 gigawatt of clean power by 2030, with plans to scale up to 10 GW by 2035, according to the Philippines’ Department of Energy.
“This collaboration will significantly advance our goal of achieving 35 percent renewable energy in power generation by 2030,” Philippine Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said in a statement.
The new partnership followed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s inaugural visit to the UAE last November, which saw the two countries signing various new agreements, including in investment, artificial intelligence and energy transition.
The deal with Masdar will not only increase energy security in the Philippines but also deliver “significant economic benefits” for the country as it creates new jobs and drives technology transfer, Lotilla said.
“Together, we are positioning the Philippines as a regional leader in sustainable energy.”
The project also marks Masdar’s entry into the Philippines’ renewables market.
The Southeast Asian nation has been exploring clean and sustainable options to generate power as the country regularly suffers outages and faces high tariffs. Coal is the main source of electricity in the Southeast Asian state, accounting for more than half of its power generation.
Indonesia opens carbon credit market to foreign buyers to help finance climate action
- Initial carbon credit certificates up for trade are worth 1.78 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent
- Jakarta has pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, plans to build 75 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity
JAKARTA: Indonesia began offering carbon credit certificates for international buyers on Monday, as one of the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters seeks to raise funds to achieve its climate goals.
The move comes after countries agreed on the rules for a global market to buy and sell carbon credits at the COP29 climate conference last November, which its proponents say will mobilize billions of dollars into projects to help fight climate change.
Indonesia is ready to issue carbon credit certificates from emission reductions from a number of power projects on Java island worth about 1.78 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said.
“The implementation of international carbon trading is a reflection of Indonesia’s commitment following COP29,” he said at a launching ceremony in Jakarta.
“It can be ensured that the emission reduction certificates issued by Indonesia are of high integrity … It is hoped that this will serve as (a) foundation for global climate action that (turns) ambition into action, aligning economic growth with environmental responsibility.”
Carbon credits are generated by activities that avoid or reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas. They can be purchased by companies or countries seeking to “offset” or cancel out some of their own emissions to help reach their climate goals.
Indonesia, an archipelago with the world’s third-largest rainforest area, is one of the world’s biggest polluters. It has pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, including by phasing out hundreds of coal-fired power plants and replacing them with renewables.
With goals to build around 75 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2040, the government plans to raise some of the required funds through carbon offset projects.
Monday’s launch was an “important milestone in our collective journey towards a sustainable future,” Nurofiq said.
Indonesia’s carbon credit market has attracted little interest after it was first launched for domestic players in September 2023.
Trading value as of December 2024 was 50.64 billion rupiah ($3.10 million), while trading volume reached 908,018 tons of CO2e, according to Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority.
Trial opens into UK stabbing spree that sparked riots over misinformation attacker was Muslim
- Authorities blame far-right agitators for violence, including by sharing misinformation alleged attacker was Muslim asylum seeker
- Unrest, which lasted several days, saw far-right rioters attack police, shops, hotels housing asylum seekers and mosques
LONDON: The trial of a teenager accused of killing three young girls in a stabbing spree last year that sparked the UK’s most violent riots in a decade is set to begin Monday.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, is due to stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court, accused of murdering three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last year in Southport, northwest England.
Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were killed in the attack in the seaside resort near Liverpool on July 29, 2024.
Ten others were injured, including eight children, in one of the country’s worst mass stabbings in years.
Rudakubana faces a total of 16 charges, including three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and one count of possessing a blade days after the attack.
The trial is expected to last four weeks after pleas of not guilty were entered on his behalf.
The stabbings sent shock waves across the UK, triggering unrest and riots in more than a dozen English and Northern Irish towns and cities, including in Southport and Liverpool.
Authorities blamed far-right agitators for fueling violence, including by sharing misinformation claiming the alleged attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker.
The unrest, which lasted several days, saw far-right rioters attack police, shops, hotels housing asylum seekers and mosques, with hundreds of participants subsequently arrested and charged.
Rudakubana was born in Wales to parents of Rwandan origin and lived in Banks, a village northeast of Southport.
Despite being 17 years old at the time, restrictions on reporting Rudakubana’s name were lifted in August due to concerns over the spread of misinformation.
“Continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum,” judge Andrew Menary said as he lifted the restrictions.
Taylor Swift, then in the middle of her Eras tour, wrote on Instagram that she “was completely in shock” the day after the attack on the dance class at the start of the school holidays.
The pop star reportedly met two of the survivors of the attack during her August shows in London.
The UK’s head of state King Charles III also traveled to Southport in August to meet with survivors, inspecting a sea of floral tributes laid outside the city’s town hall.
And Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Prince William visited Southport in October “to show support to the local community,” Kensington Palace said. It was their first joint public engagement since Kate ended a course of chemotherapy for cancer.
In October, the suspect was charged with two additional offenses in relation to evidence obtained “during searches of Axel Rudakubana’s home address” following the attack, the Crown Prosecution Services (CPS), which brings public prosecutions, said.
The charges were for the “production of a biological toxin, namely ricin,” and “possessing information ... likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.”
The terrorism offense related to suspicion of possessing an Al-Qaeda training manual, although the attack was not treated as a terrorist incident.
Following speculation on social media related to policing decisions in the case, Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said she realized the added charges could trigger fresh rumors.
“We would strongly advise caution against anyone speculating as to motivation in this case,” Kennedy was quoted as saying.
She urged people to be patient and “don’t believe everything you read on social media.”
Rudakubana has appeared in several hearings since the attack, often wearing a grey sweatshirt, and refusing to speak in all of them.
In the last hearing in December, he appeared via videolink at Liverpool Crown Court from high-security Belmarsh prison, in southeast London.
The Attorney General and Merseyside police have warned the press and public against publishing any material that risks prejudicing the trial.
Russia says captured two more villages in east Ukraine
MOSCOW: Russian forces have captured two more villages in east Ukraine, including one just a few kilometers from Pokrovsk, a key supply hub for Kyiv’s forces, the defense ministry said Monday.
Army units “liberated” Shevchenko and Novoyegorivka in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk respectively, it said. Shevchenko is around three kilometers (two miles) from Pokrovsk.
Indian police volunteer gets life sentence for rape, murder of Kolkata junior doctor
- Sanjay Roy was convicted by judge Anirban Das on Saturday who said circumstantial evidence had proved the charges against him
- The sentence was announced in a packed courtroom as the judge allowed the public to witness proceedings on Monday
KOLKATA: An Indian court awarded the life sentence on Monday to a police volunteer convicted of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the hospital where she worked in the eastern city of Kolkata.
The woman’s body was found in a classroom at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital on Aug. 9. Other doctors stayed off work for weeks to demand justice for her and better security at public hospitals, as the crime sparked national outrage over a lack of safety for women.
Sanjay Roy, the police volunteer, was convicted by judge Anirban Das on Saturday who said circumstantial evidence had proved the charges against Roy.
Roy said he was innocent and that he had been framed, and sought clemency.
The federal police, who investigated the case, said the crime belonged to the “rarest-of-rare” category and Roy, therefore, deserved the death penalty.
Judge Das said it was not a “rarest-of-rare” crime, adding that Roy could go in appeal to a higher court.
The sentence was announced in a packed courtroom as the judge allowed the public to witness proceedings on Monday. The speedy trial in the court was not open to the public.
The parents of the junior doctor were among those in court on Monday. Security was stepped up with dozens of police personnel deployed at the court complex.
