International
Cuba tries to recover two days after the impact of Hurricane Rafael
Brigades of linemen (electrician technicians) fixing laying and fallen poles on the ground, people cleaning the streets and some private businesses operating with generators illustrate this Friday Cuba’s attempts to recover, after two days of the impact of Hurricane Rafael.
There are still roads cut, streets crossed by fallen trees, debris and garbage accumulating, traffic lights turned off and many people on the streets collecting part of the damage caused by the cyclone that hit the west of the country with winds of up to 186 kilometers per hour and rains of up to 195 millimeters (or liters per square meter).
Many areas in the west of the country – including the capital – continue without electricity since Wednesday, despite the fact that the National Electric System (SEN) managed to unify again on Friday morning after almost 48 hours of fracturing in subsystems after the second total blackout in three weeks.
Cuba is recovering electricity after the passage of Hurricane Rafael
The SEN synchronization means that the whole country is already interconnected in a single network, but not all Cubans have electricity because in many places the poles, cables and transformers affected by the cyclone have not yet been repaired.
In Havana, with at least 495 fallen electric poles, only 17% of its almost two million inhabitants currently have electricity, according to official data.
In addition, great effects persist in the provinces of Mayabeque, Artemisa and Pinar del Río. These last two provinces are totally disconnected from the SEN.
In the rest of the country, blackouts are also occurring, but due to the SEN’s inability to produce enough electricity to meet demand, a chronic and growing problem in Cuba due to the frequent breakdowns of old power plants and the fuel deficit, the result of the lack of foreign currency to import it.
Resumption of classes and public transport
Rafael is the second hurricane to make landfall in Cuba in 2024. The previous one was Oscar, who hit the northeastern end of the island for 24 hours between October 20 and 21, leaving eight dead, 12,000 damaged homes and 13,000 hectares of crops affected.
The authorities do not report missing or deceased for the moment due to Rafael, who have recognized “strong damage” in homes, infrastructure and crops of Artemisa, Mayabeque and Havana, although without providing specific figures for the moment.
They also reported that the 250,000 evacuated throughout the country by Rafael, most of them in Havana, are returning to their homes as conditions improve.
As part of the recovery, the Minister of Education, Naima Trujillo, assured that next Monday the school year will resume “in most institutions”, after its suspension prior to Rafael’s impact. In the west there are many schools with affected.
In Havana, the local transport company reported on the “gradual restoration” of service in the main arteries, but said that the maritime transport of passengers through the capital’s bay remains suspended.
Damage to housing and agriculture
Rafael made landfall in Cuba as a hurricane of great intensity on Wednesday afternoon and crossed the island from south to north for more than two hours.
In Artemisa, where Rafael made landfall on Wednesday afternoon as a category three hurricane, the houses affected total 2,825, according to the official newspaper Granma, which presented a meeting of the National Defense Council headed by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Artesa authorities detailed that there is damage to 15,000 hectares of banana, cassava, bean and rice crops; and 40 schools suffered damage. In Mayabeque they counted 441 homes with “significant damage” and reported damage to agriculture as in Artemisa. In Havana they reported more than 461 collapses between total and partial.
The most critical situation in the Cuban capital, in addition to the 461 total and partial collapses, is concentrated in the fallen trees, which have torn off electrical and telephone cables, reported the local governor, Yanet Hernández.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
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