Will Grant

From dawn, supporters of the Cuban revolution gathered outside the US embassy in Havana in defiant mood to reject the murder charge recently brought against their former president Raul Castro. The 94-year-old ex-Cuban leader wasn't present for the event himself, but his handpicked successor Miguel Diaz-Canel led the support for him, as numerous speakers denounced what they see as a politically motivated pretext for a US invasion.

Rally came after Mr. Castro was indicted on murder and conspiracy to murder charges over the shooting down in 1996 of two US civilian airplanes by Cuban fighter jets. Four people, three of them Americans, were killed. At the time, Mr. Castro was the island's defense minister. Speaking to the media, his daughter, Mariela Castro, said the nation was prepared for the possibility of conflict.

At the same time, the war of words continues across the Florida Straits. The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has voiced doubts over the possibility of a diplomatic solution with Cuba, saying the island represents a national security threat to the US. In reply, the Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez accused him of telling lies to instigate a military aggression against Cuba. Will Grant in Cuba.

Welcome, I'm John Scott. Miksei aina vois olla perjantai? No voihan, koska nyt minulla. Eli Vallu Valppialla on Pikkuperjantai-klubi Helsingin John Scotts ravintolassa joka perjantai ja vielä aina ilmaiseksi. Huippuesintyjä joka perjantai John Scott ravintolassa Helsingissä. Showtime kello 22 Vallun Pikkuperjantai-klubilla. Welcome to John Scotts.

I think it's really a question for most Cubans, a sense of, well, for now, I mean, until the next one.

They're simply aware that while the grid might have been brought back online

for the time being, that it won't be long before it collapses again, probably.

That has been the case before the US imposed fuel blockade on the island, but certainly since US elite troops removed Nicolas Maduro from power in Venezuela, Venezuela being Cuba's closest energy ally in recent years.

has made the situation in Cuba almost unbearable for ordinary people.

The rolling blackouts were already very, very bad.

This nation was already going through its biggest energy crisis since the end of the Cold War.

And since Nicolas Maduro was removed from power in Venezuela, Washington has imposed an almost total oil blockade on the island.

So

While the grid might be back up and running again for now, I think most Cubans are simply expecting it to go down again very soon.

In all different ways that you could imagine.

I mean, on the very, very basic ways, obviously with having no power, that means when it comes back on, whether or not that's two in the morning, three in the morning, four in the morning, people have to immediately get up and start to cook.

Because if they don't cook when they have power, if they have electric hobs or electric stoves, then they may not get another chance again that day because power can come back for maybe three, maybe five hours and then not be on again for another 20.

So it is very, very exhausting for people to be waking at all hours, trying to do the very basic things of life, charge their phones, be back in communication with their family members abroad.

And of course, for children, it can mean schools being shuttered or it's very, very difficult to do schoolwork from home with no power.

Workplaces are closed.