International
Kiev suffers power cuts again due to Russian attacks on the electricity sector
After more than a year of normality, the Ukrainian capital is experiencing power cuts again this week as a result of the latest campaign of Russian air strikes against the Ukrainian electricity system, which has lost much of its generation capacity in just one week.
The blackouts – programmed throughout the country to save energy by the national electricity company, Ukrenergo, and by other suppliers – began this Wednesday, coinciding with the increase in demand throughout the country due to the drop in temperatures.
Other regions such as Kharkov (northeast) or Sumi (northeast) had already suffered cuts for weeks, after the Russian attacks destroyed generation and distribution infrastructures on which the service depended.
The return of the blackouts in Kiev – which are applied in different time intervals depending on the area and at the moment do not affect critical infrastructures – brings with it the return of electric generators to which many small businesses such as hairdressers, grocery stores, restaurants or pharmacies turn to continue serving their customers.
“It is the first time we have power cuts this year and at the moment we are putting the generator on to be able to continue offering people medicines and live normally,” Nadiya Turchyna tells EFE while setting up a mobile electric generator at the doors of the pharmacy where she works.
At nightfall, and among the noise of the generators, many residents of Kiev resort to the mobile flashlight to see and be seen in the twilight.
Given the lack of light, the phosphorescent patches and badges with which the neighbors of the Ukrainian capital adorned their backpacks, fanny packs or clothing in the fall of 2022 are also useful to be visible to the vehicles that then began to circulate in the dark through the streets of Kiev.
Russia began its first major bombing campaign against the Ukrainian energy system at the end of October 2022, leaving millions of Ukrainians without electricity or electricity during some of the coldest months of the year.
This same year, since last March, there have been five major attacks that the Ukrainian energy sector has suffered, which have destroyed some of the thermal and hydroelectric power plants that generated the most electricity in
According to the Ukrainian authorities, the damage caused to the system by these attacks exceeds that caused by the wave of bombings of 2022.
The Ukrenergo electricity company has warned that the power cuts that Kiev and the rest of the country suffer again could also continue in winter.
International
Pope Francis meets former Gaza hostages
Pope Francis met on Thursday at the Vatican with 16 Israelis who had been held hostage in Gaza for months by the Islamist group Hamas, according to the official Vatican news website.
The group consisted of ten women, four men, and two children, as reported by the same source. Several of the former hostages showed the Argentine pontiff banners or photos of their loved ones who remain in captivity.
Francis had previously met with the families of hostages in April this year and November 2023, but this was the first time he had met with individuals who had personally endured captivity.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began, the pope has repeatedly called for the immediate release of Israeli hostages, while also condemning the suffering of the Palestinian population.
The war erupted on October 7, 2023, when Islamist militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,206 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures that include hostages who died in captivity.
Of the kidnapped, 97 are still being held in Gaza, but the Israeli military estimates that 34 of them have died.
The military offensive launched by Israel in response has killed at least 43,736 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, according to data from the Ministry of Health in the Hamas-governed territory.
International
Israeli airstrikes on Damascus kill 15 and injure 16, including women and children
Israeli forces carried out airstrikes on residential buildings in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and its surroundings on Thursday, resulting in at least 15 deaths and 16 injuries, according to Syria’s Ministry of Defense and state television.
The ministry stated that around 3:20 p.m. local time (12:20 GMT), the Israeli military launched an aerial attack from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights, targeting several residential buildings in the Mazzeh neighborhood in western Damascus and the Qudsaya suburb to the northwest of the capital.
The airstrikes “resulted in the death of 15 people and injuries to 16 others, including women and children,” based on initial estimates, in addition to significant damage to private property and civilian buildings, the ministry added.
Meanwhile, state television reported Israeli airstrikes on three buildings in Mazzeh and another on a building in an educational complex located in a residential area of Qudsaya.
Following the strikes, loud explosions were heard throughout the city, and thick plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the targeted locations. Ambulances and emergency services rushed to the scene to attend to the victims.
International
Drug trafficker dies after boat collision with Guardia Civil Vessel in Sanlúca
Three people were on the boat that collided with a Guardia Civil vessel around midnight at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, near the Andalusian city of Cádiz, a spokesperson for the Civil Guard reported.
Two officers sustained “contusions,” the spokesperson explained.
The drug traffickers managed to bring the boat to shore, where one of them was “abandoned” severely injured. The other two fled.
The Civil Guard officers attempted to resuscitate the victim before transporting him to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, but he ultimately died early in the morning.
The other two suspects took advantage of the officers’ absence while they were taking the victim and returned to set their boat on fire.
The collision occurred very close to the site of another accident on September 1, where a drug trafficker died following a Guardia Civil pursuit.
The suspects’ boat traveled “400 meters” before crashing head-on and “at full speed” into the riverbank, where a hundred bundles of hashish were found.
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