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Bolivians strike and block roads over fuel shortages

La Paz, Bolivia Reuters Transport unions in Bolivia started a national strike on Wednesday to protest fuel shortages, as diesel supplies shipped from Russia fail to arrive and pressure builds on President Luis Arce’s government to address the strain on imports. The protests include “road blockades at specific points throughout the country, in addition to […]

Fuel shortages grip Conakry after deadly oil storage blast

Firemen work to extinguish fire after a blast at an oil terminal in Conakry, Guinea on 18th December, 2023.

Conakry, Guinea Reuters Guineans should brace for power cuts, the government has warned, as the country grapples with the aftermath of a deadly explosion at an oil terminal in the capital Conakry that destroyed fuel tanks and forced hundreds to flee damaged homes. Fourteen people were killed and 190 injured in the blast at the […]

Cuba warns of worsening blackouts as fuel crisis bites

People line up their cars waiting for electricity to fill up their tanks at a gas station in Havana, Cuba, on 11th August, 2022

Havana, Cuba Reuters Power blackouts in Cuba are expected to increase significantly due to a lack of fuel, officials warned in a nationwide TV broadcast, worsening the country’s plight as it deals with food and medicine shortages. Local governments have already begun announcing restrictions on power usage at state-run companies and other entities, including moves […]

Cuba says no quick fix as economic crisis drags on

People buy vegetables on the street in downtown Havana, Cuba, November 30, 2022.

Havana, Cuba Reuters There is no quick fix for Cuba’s sputtering economy, its economy minister said on Thursday, as inflation, fuel shortages, plunging farm production and a cash crunch drag on output and continue to fan discontent in the communist-run island nation.  People buy vegetables on the street in downtown Havana, Cuba, on 30th November, […]

In Syria, a poor wheat harvest adds to food worries

Syria Qamishli harvest1

Qamishli, Syria Reuters Poor rainfall, fuel shortages, soaring fertiliser prices: it’s been a bad year for farmers in north-eastern Syria where a disappointing wheat crop looks set to deal another blow to food supplies in a country grappling with climate change and war. Farmer Mohamed Hussein said he planted around a fifth of the area […]

Haiti protests over fuel shortages go on even as deliveries resume

Haiti Port au Prince burning tyres

Port-au-Prince Reuters Haitian demonstrators on Thursday burned tyres and blocked streets of the capital to protest ongoing fuel shortages even as the country’s main fuel terminal renewed deliveries that had been suspended due to an outbreak of gang violence.  Rights activists say nearly 90 people have been killed since a turf war broke out last […]

Doctors, bankers protest “impossible situation” as Sri Lanka runs out of fuel

Sri Lanka fuel queue

Colombo, Sri Lanka Reuters Doctors and bankers were among hundreds of Sri Lankans who marched on Wednesday to demand the government resolve a severe fuel shortage at the heart of the Indian Ocean island’s worst economic crisis in decades or step down. Weeks of street demonstrations against cascading woes such as power cuts and shortages […]

Sri Lankan medicine shortage a death sentence for some, doctors say

Sri Lanka emergency food supplies

Colombo, Sri Lanka Reuters A shortage of medicine caused by an economic crisis in Sri Lanka could soon cause deaths, doctors said, as hospitals are forced to postpone life-saving procedures for their patients because they do not have the necessary drugs. Sri Lanka imports more than 80 per cent of its medical supplies but with […]

Sri Lanka fuel shortage set to ease; police clash with protesters

Sri Lanka Colombo protestors and water cannon

Colombo, Sri Lanka Reuters Sri Lanka’s central bank has secured foreign exchange to pay for fuel and cooking gas shipments that will ease crippling shortages, its governor said on Thursday, but police fired tear gas and water canon to push back student protesters. Most of Sri Lanka’s petrol stations have run dry as the island […]