Hurricane Rafael knocks out power in Cuba, weeks after nationwide blackout
CBSN
Cuba was without power once again as strong winds from Hurricane Rafael disconnected the power across the island, the county's electric company said, weeks after another nationwide blackout.
The Category 3 storm swirled past the Cayman Islands on its way toward western Cuba on Wednesday afternoon, making landfall in the province of Artemisa, just east of Playa Majana. The hurricane made landfall at 4:15 p.m. with maximum sustained winds near 115 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.
Millions of Cubans were without power in October, which prompted the government to implement emergency measures to slash demand, including suspending classes, shutting down some state-owned workplaces and canceling nonessential services. Cubans without power resorted to cooking with improvised wood stoves on the streets before the food went bad in refrigerators as they waited for the power to go back on.
Johannesburg — It's often called the forgotten conflict, but the civil war that has torn Sudan apart for 19 months is fueling the world's biggest humanitarian crisis. In just over a year and a half, 13 million people have been displaced from their homes. At least one overcrowded camp for displaced civilians is already dealing with famine, while other parts of the country are suffering though famine-like conditions.
Tropical Storm Sara formed in the Caribbean on Thursday, becoming the 18th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season. The system, previously called Tropical Depression 19, developed in the western Caribbean earlier this week and intensified while traveling westward on a path toward Central America.
Paris — Security forces were on high alert Thursday in Paris ahead of a soccer match between France's national soccer team and the visiting Israeli side. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators held protests in the city Wednesday night, and there has been fear of a possible repeat of last week's violence and antisemitic attacks against Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam.
Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukraine orchestrated an attack on the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula that killed a high-ranking Russian naval officer, sources in Ukraine's security services told the AFP and Reuters news agencies Wednesday. The killing, which was confirmed by Moscow, is the latest in a string of targeted attacks on Russian military officers and pro-Kremlin public figures in occupied Ukrainian territory and within Russia.