46 h. ago Power cut leaves hundreds of Scottish homes without electricity on Good Friday

Engineers are working to restore power.

Politics

51 h. ago ‘She had no interest in the comfort zone’: celebrating the centenary of Celia Cruz, Cuba’s Queen of Salsa

Exiled from Castro’s Cuba, she became a superstar – and a trailblazer in the macho world of salsa. Fans and collaborators including Angélique Kidjo hail an icon of Black empowermentOn 13 November 1973, at Roberto Clemente Coliseum in Puerto Rico, Celia Cruz took to the stage in a bejewelled, psychedelic blue dress and vast afro, saluting the 12,500-capacity arena with her trademark rallying cry: “Azucar!” – sugar.The Cuban singer had been a star for more than two decades by this point, but this concert marked a rebirth. Backed by the Fania All-Stars, the in-house orquesta of the label that brought salsa to the US, Cruz performed Bemba Colorá. Devotees have variously decoded its lyric and “big red lips” metaphor as a repudiation of a neighbourhood gossip, a commentary on anti-Black racism or an anthem for female empowerment. Stretched out to a righteous 12-minute call-and-response in Puerto Rico, she recast the song as a cry of anguish over her exile from her homeland, adding lines l...

Politics

58 h. ago 1.4 million people plunged into darkness as solar storm causes terrifying blackouts across swath of US

A widespread blackout hit parts of the US around the same time a massive solar storm struck Earth. More than 1.4 million people were plunged into darkness.

Events

61 h. ago Power restored to more than half of Puerto Rico after island

Wednesday’s outage the latest in series of blackouts to affect Puerto Rico in wake of Hurricane Maria in 2017About 58% of Puerto Rico has has had power restored following an island-wide blackout on Wednesday, the government of Puerto Rico federal affairs administration said on Thursday.It added that current generation stands at 1,439MW. A total of 31 generation units are online, with 16 additional units in the process of being brought back online, it said. Continue reading...

Politics

67 h. ago Passengers ‘thought it was the end’ after terrifying hard landing damaged plane on Puerto Rico runway

‘All of a sudden... everybody starts screaming’ said one passenger

Events

3 d. ago Puerto Rico hit by total blackout as all electricity wiped out across island

Puerto Rico has been hit by a total blackout after electricity was wiped out across the island. The public is being urged to take precautions to deal with the power shortage in the coming hours

Events

5 d. ago Haiti's government announces 'war budget' as town after town falls to gangs

Haiti’s government says it has approved what it called a “war budget” of $275,000 aimed at alleviating the country’s crisis as gang violence surges

Events

8 d. ago A timeline of the roof collapse at an iconic Dominican club that killed 221

A roof collapse at the legendary Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo has plunged the Dominican Republic into mourning

Events

8 d. ago Criticise Trump’s tariffs all you like, but western sanctions aren’t any better – just ask Syria | Simon Jenkins

This form of economic aggression is macho and myopic, yet countries including the UK refuse to give it upAmong the more improbable countries that Donald Trump punished most severely last week was Syria, with a 41% tariff in retaliation for its part in the “raping and plundering” of the US economy. That should teach it a lesson for toppling Bashar al-Assad last year.The Damascus regime that subsequently came to power is pleading for help in keeping order and restoring its economy. But the chief obstacle is not Trump’s absurd tariff – now reduced to 10%. It is the sanctions regime imposed on it for the past 14 years by the west, including Britain. The US prohibits nearly all trade and financial transactions, extending this to foreign companies engaged with the Syrian government. EU sanctions targeted crude oil, investments, banking, telecoms and more. No tariff could be as severe as this.Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Trump’s tariffs are ruinous, but are western sanctions any better? Just look at Syria | Simon Jenkins

Sanctions as a form of economic aggression are macho and myopic, yet countries including the UK refuse to call a haltAmong the more improbable countries that Donald Trump punished most severely last week was Syria, with a 41% tariff in retaliation for its part in the “raping and plundering” of the US economy. That should teach it a lesson for toppling Bashar al-Assad last year.The Damascus regime that subsequently came to power is pleading for help in keeping order and restoring its economy. But the chief obstacle is not Trump’s absurd tariff – now reduced to 10%. It is the sanctions regime imposed on it for the past 14 years by the west, including Britain. The US prohibits nearly all trade and financial transactions, extending this to foreign companies engaged with the Syrian government. EU sanctions targeted crude oil, investments, banking, telecoms and more. No tariff could be as severe as this.Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in th...

Politics

1 week ago Woman stuck in Puerto Rico as airline refuses to let emotional support parrot on flight

Maria Fraterrigo, 81, had flown into Luis Manoz Marin International Airport in San Jose, Puerto Rico without an issue, but when she got to the gate she was told to "get rid" of her emotional support parrot, Plucky

Politics

1 week ago What is known about the roof collapse at a club in the Dominican Republic that killed at least 44

The roof of an iconic nightclub in the capital of the Dominican Republic collapsed nearly an hour after a merengue concert killing at least 44 people and injuring at least 160

Events

1 week ago UN mission details deadly attacks in Haiti's capital and questions government's delayed response

A new report by the U.N. political mission in Haiti says more than 260 people were killed during recent gang attacks on two communities in the country's capital

Events

2 w. ago Heathrow Airport shutdown: What we learnt from travel chaos and how could it be prevented?

It takes 10 hours to restore key airport systems if they lose power, MPs on the Transport Select Committee were told

Events

2 w. ago Mario Joseph, a renowned human rights attorney in Haiti, dies after a car accident

Mario Joseph, a human rights attorney in Haiti known for his involvement in high-profile cases, has died

Events

3 w. ago Adani restores full electricity supply to Bangladesh after four months

Adani had to halve supply to conflict-hit country as Dhaka defaulted on payments while battling a foreign exchange shortage

Politics

3 w. ago UN warns of 'severe' human rights abuses in Haiti as illegal weapons proliferate

A U.N. report states that a steady stream of illegal weapons smuggled into Haiti is fueling an increase in gang violence and leading to severe human rights abuses

Events

4 w. ago Government orders 'urgent investigation' into Heathrow Airport power outage

It comes after power has been restored to the airport and the surrounding areas

Politics

4 w. ago Power restored to west London homes after Heathrow substation fire

The blaze forced the airport to axe more than 1,300 flights

Society

4 w. ago Heathrow partially reopens after fire that caused power cut and travel chaos

Airport expects to be fully operational on Saturday, but airlines say closure will have ‘huge impact’ in coming daysDowning Street has said there are “questions to answer” after a fire at an electrical substation closed down London Heathrow airport, stopping more than 1,350 flights and disrupting the journeys of hundreds of thousands of passengers.Counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation into the “unprecedented” incident that left Britain’s biggest airport unable to function as engineers tried to restore power, but said there was “no indication of foul play”. Continue reading...

Events