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Cuba Says Nationwide Blackouts to End by Saturday

Associated Press

   SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - Cuba's energy minister says breakdowns in the
   country's power plants have caused a string of blackouts across the
   country this week, and he promises the problem will be solved by
   Saturday.
   Minster of Energy and Mining Raul Garcia Barreiro told state media
   Tuesday night that a series of blackouts in cities and towns throughout
   Cuba was due to mechanical problems in three power plants as two others
   were down for maintenance.
   The statement came after days of official silence in response to
   reports on Twitter from Cubans experiencing power cuts. Dozens of users
   reported the times, duration and locations of blackouts, in a dramatic
   example of the government's broken monopoly on information in the face
   of increased access to mobile internet, which came into wide use this
   year.

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