HAVANA -- More than 2.6 million people in Cuba are affected by disruptions to piped water supplies, a water resources official said Wednesday.
"As of Tuesday, 2,681,770 inhabitants were affected by disruptions to the piped water network," Antonio Rodriguez, president of the National Hydraulic Resources Institute, said on a radio program hosted by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and broadcast by state-run Radio Rebelde in Havana.
Another 25 percent of the disruptions were attributed to problems with water-pumping equipment, he said.
In Havana alone, 536,000 people were affected, the highest figure among the country's provinces, he added.(Cuba-Water Insufficiency)
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NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks rallied sharply on Wednesday as investors digested the outcome of the U.S. midterm elections.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,569.40 points, or 3.03 percent, to 53,356.12. The S&P 500 added 119.70 points, or 1.58 percent, to 7,688.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 364.50 points, or 1.44 percent, to 25,736.51.
Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in the green, with consumer discretionary and financials leading the gainers by going up 4.27 percent and 3.46 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, energy and industrials led the laggards by losing 4.77 percent and 1.11 percent, respectively.(US-Equities)
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NEW YORK -- Two people, including the suspect, died in a shooting on Wednesday at Citibank's office complex in Tampa, U.S. state of Florida, police said.
A total of 367 sheriff's deputies responded to the scene to clear the building and secure the area, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) wrote in a post on X.
Authorities believe the shooting was "a targeted incident."
At least four other people were being treated at a local hospital with no life-threatening injuries, said HCSO chief deputy Frank Losat in a press briefing. (US-Florida-Shooting)
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BRUSSELS -- The European Commission hosted talks Wednesday on Ukraine's post-war economic development and instruments to support its reconstruction, according to a Commission statement.
Representatives of the European Union (EU), Ukraine, Germany, France, Britain, the United States, NATO and the World Bank participated in the discussions.
The talks followed recent meetings in Miami and built on a prosperity framework developed earlier this year with Ukraine and the U.S., the statement said.
The work focuses on refining scenarios for Ukraine's post-war economic development and identifying tools to support its future development and complement its own efforts.(EU-US-NATO)
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SANAA -- Thirteen military recruits were killed and 65 others wounded on Wednesday in a ballistic missile attack on a military training center in Yemen's southern province of Al-Dhalea, a government military official told Xinhua.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the attack hit a facility in Qatabah district, northern Al-Dhalea, while newly recruited government soldiers were conducting morning exercises.
He blamed the Houthis for the attack.
Also on Wednesday, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported that three children and a woman were killed and four other children wounded when a Saudi airstrike hit a house in the Hayfan district in the southwestern province of Taiz. (Yemen-Houthis Strikes) ■



