Griezmann to leave Atletico for Orlando at end of season

Ilia Malinin pulled off a stunning short programme on Thursday, a month after his Winter Olympics collapse, to boost his hopes of a third consecutive world figure skating title.

The 21-year-old American slumped to an eighth-place finish at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games, having led after the short programme in Italy.

But in his first competition since, Malinin hit a quadruple flip, triple Axel and quad Lutz-triple toe loop combination to score a personal best 111.29 points for his skate to a medley from "The Lost Crown" video game.

Malinin, who finished his routine with a beaming smile on his face, takes a 9.44-point lead over France's Adam Siao Him Fa into Saturday's free skate. Estonia's Aleksandr Selevko is in third place.

Japan's Yuma Kagiyama, the silver medallist at the last two Olympics, is sitting sixth after falling on the takeoff of a planned triple Axel.

The world championships in Prague are taking place just a month after the Olympics where Malinin had been the overwhelming favourite.

The undefeated star of skating for over two years had been leading after the short programme before crumbling under the pressure in the free skate.

"A lot of the times, I'll try to find anything positive in whatever outcome or whatever situation happens," said Malinin. 

"So, also realising that it's done.

"There's nothing I could have done to change it. I don't have a time machine to go back.

"Maybe in a few years we'll have one, who knows. But, a lot of the time, I just look at it, it's done. I just have to move on and keep going."

- Germans poised for pairs gold -

Siao Him Fa had a similar experience in Italy after a perfectly executed short programme that placed him third before the free skate relegated the Frenchman to seventh.

Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov went on to win the Olympic gold ahead of Kagiyama and Shun Sato. 

Shaidorov is not competing in Prague.

On Thursday, Siao Him Fa also appeared relaxed and smiling after his performance, a tribute to Leonardo da Vinci.

"When it works best is when I stop thinking and leave my brain at the sidelines," said the Frenchman, who said he had learned valuable lessons from his Olympic experience.

"The Games helped me a lot to realise that in a competition, you really have to adapt to what's happening on the day.

"I can feel good, not good, or even be sick. I don't know what might happen, but you have to do the job in the moment."

Japan's Sato is fourth after the short programme.

Meanwhile Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin are leading going into the pairs free skate later on Thursday, as they bid for their first world gold.

The German duo hold a slim lead over Georgians Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava.

The two pairs, bronze and silver medallists respectively in Milan, are the clear favourites in the absence of the Olympic champions, Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, who skipped the event.

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Jannik Sinner dominated Frances Tiafoe for a 6-2, 6-2 victory on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the ATP and WTA Miami Open.

The world number two from Italy, a four-time Grand Slam champion, cruised over the 19th-seeded American in one hour and 11 minutes at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the NFL's Miami Dolphins.

Sinner, hoping to complete a "Sunshine Double" with March titles at Miami and Indian Wells, stretched his ATP Masters 1000 set win streak to 30, having not dropped a set at the level since last October in Shanghai.

Sinner advanced to a semi-final against the winner of a later match between world number four Alexander Zverev of Germany and 19th-ranked Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina.

Tiafoe netted a backhand to surrender a break to Sinner in the opening game of the match and the American swatted a forehand long in the fifth game to hand Sinner a 4-1 edge. The Italian held twice to take the set in 31 minutes, Sinner losing only four points on his serve in the set.

In the second set, Tiafoe saved a break point and held serve in the opening game but Sinner broke in the third for a 2-1 lead when the American netted a forehand.

Sinner broke again, this time at love for a 5-2 lead when Tiafoe smacked a forehand wide, and held to take the match, improving to 5-1 all-time against Tiafoe.

Sinner fired 33 winners against 15 unforced errors.

In later women's semi-finals, world number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus faces second-ranked Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and US fourth seed Coco Gauff meets Czech 13th seed Carolina Muchova.

Rybakina beat Sabalenka in January's Australian Open final and their rematch will be the first time outside the WTA Finals that the world's two top-ranked players meet before a final since Martina Hingis and Jana Novotna in the 1998 US Open semifinals.

Defending champion Sabalenka hopes to complete the "Sunshine Double" with March titles at Miami and Indian Wells, where she defeated Rybakina in the final.

Sabalenka leads Rybakina 9-7 in their all-time rivalry.

Rybakina, who seeks her 100th match victory at the Masters 1000 level, was the Miami runner-up in 2023 and 2024 but has yet to lift the trophy.

Gauff is 5-0 in career meetings with Muchova, most recently winning in the round of 16 at the Australian Open.

Gauff, the reigning French Open champion and 2023 US Open winner, seeks her sixth WTA Masters 1000 final and at 22 would be the third-youngest to achieve the feat behind Caroline Wozniacki and Iga Swiatek.

Muchova, the 2023 French Open runner-up, seeks her eighth career WTA final and third title after 2019 in Seoul and last month in Qatar.

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(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump says a Loyola University student would still be alive if Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker asked his administration to help stop crime.

The president spoke at a Cabinet meeting Thursday morning.

“It would be great if people like the mayor of Chicago and the governor of Illinois would say, ‘Please come in and stop the crime,’” Trump said.

Trump referred to 18-year-old Loyola student Sheridan Gorman, who was allegedly shot and killed by a Venezuelan migrant Thursday.

“This young lady would be around today if we were around, because we have nobody coming through our border,” Trump said.

The president said crime is down 75% in Memphis, five months after the National Guard reported to the city.

“It’s a young lady whose life would be saved if we did what we did, as an example, in Washington D.C. which is now a safe city,” Trump said.

When asked for comment by The Center Square, the governor’s office pointed to a recent statement from a spokesperson.

“The family of Sheridan Gorman remains in Gov. Pritzker’s thoughts as they grieve and navigate the unimaginable loss of their daughter. He believes the person responsible for their daughter’s death needs to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” the statement said.

The governor said at Ag Day in Springfield on Monday that President Trump failed to follow his own edict to go after the worst of the worst.

Greg Bishop contributed to this story.

Ghanaians in the streets of the capital Accra were full of pride -- and already looking toward future "justice" -- Thursday after the United Nations recognised the transatlantic slave trade as "the gravest crime against humanity."

The day prior, the resolution -- pushed for by Ghanaian President John Mahama, who travelled to New York for the vote -- was adopted to applause by a 123 in favor.

"It's not just a historic moment for us as a country, but it also validates the suffering of our ancestors and opens the door for justice," said Abigail Selikem Teye, a casually dressed student with a handbag slung over her shoulder.

The excitement was also evident in nearby Benin, which, like Ghana, has leaned into its painful past to encourage tourism and offer citizenship for descendants of slavery.

West and central Africa were devastated by the transatlantic slave trade, which from the 16th to 19th century saw millions of men, women and children shipped to the Americas to work in brutal -- and often deadly -- conditions.

In many of those same countries, black people continue to face discrimination and poverty today.

"This vote allows us to name things without fear of reprisals. The next step will, I hope, be an uninhibited call for reparations," said Ousmane Aledji, a Beninese writer in Cotonou, who told AFP he followed the vote "with much interest."

Others in the country's economic capital, like art historian Lylly Houngnihin, were "disturbed by the abstention of certain countries -- those which were the most enriched by the crime".

- 'Africa has suffered' -

Despite being non-binding the vote at the General Assembly headquarters in New York was contentious.

The United States, Israel and Argentina opposed the measure, while 52 member states abstained.

Critics including France said the resolution's designation of the transatlantic slave trade as "the gravest" crime "risks pitting historical tragedies against each other". 

It also comes, however, as countries like the United States have been criticised for restricting education on slavery and black history.

The resolution did not mention other slave routes in Africa, including across the Sahara Desert or Indian Ocean.

But it singled out the transatlantic trade's duration, brutality of the "racialised chattel enslavement of Africans" -- as well as present-day consequences including "the persistence of racial discrimination and neo-colonialism".

It did not explicitly demand reparations, though it "encourages member states to support initiatives aimed at reparatory justice".

Many argue Africa is still living with the slave trade's dire consequences.

"Who will pay for all the problems this caused? Africa has unfortunately suffered the two greatest scourges in history: slavery and colonization," said Franck Ogou, director of a pan-African heritage preservation programme in Porto Novo.

Larissa Adjivon, a 42-year-old Beninese entrepreneur, told AFP: "Recognition is good, but concrete actions should follow."

"We talk about reparations or restitution, but for me, the question is, what does this change for Africa today?"

- 'Return' to Ghana, Benin -

For Obadele Bakari Kambon, if "enslavement in totality is the wound," then the "healing part of it comes through repatriation."

The African American professor became a Ghanaian citizen in 2016, part of a wave of black people from the United States and elsewhere that Ghana has pushed to "return" to the country.

In recent years, more than 1,000 people have reclaimed citizenship as the country has also encouraged tourism as a way for people to learn about slavery -- and for some, their direct family heritage.

At the end of last year, Benin also launched a citizenship programme for members of the African diaspora.

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San Diego FC's billionaire owner Mohamed Mansour on Thursday said his Egyptian compatriot Mohamed Salah would be an "asset," as speculation builds over the Liverpool forward's next club. 

Superstar Salah announced this week he will leave Anfield at the end of the season after a glittering nine-year spell at Liverpool, where he has scored 255 goals and stands alongside the all-time greats.

While Saudi Arabia is thought to be the most likely destination, Salah could choose to follow the likes of Lionel Messi, Son Heung-min and Antoine Griezmann to the United States' burgeoning Major League Soccer.

If he does, recent MLS expansion club San Diego FC -- which reached the playoff semi-finals in its debut season last year -- has been heavily linked with Salah, not least due to deep-pocketed British-Egyptian owner Mansour.

"He's probably one of the great players today. And any team that will get him, or any country that will get him, he will definitely be an asset," Mansour told AFP Thursday, on the sidelines of the Business of Soccer summit in Atlanta.

Mansour declined to answer whether he is actively trying to recruit Salah or has previously sounded out a move for the striker.

But he added: "Of course Mo Salah is somebody that, as an Egyptian, my origin, I'm very proud of. He is somebody that reached the world stage as one of the great players."

"And I think he will, if he does decide... wherever he will go, he will add a lot to that league and to that country and to that team for sure. So he's somebody I'm very proud of."

Salah won two Premier League titles along with a Champions League and other silverware with Liverpool, as well as a record-equaling four Golden Boot awards.

He was the poster boy of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool revolution at Anfield, propelling the team back to the summit of English and European football, and is undoubtedly the greatest ever player to emerge from Egypt, or arguably Africa.

Mansour told a panel discussion that the whole of Egypt comes to a halt whenever Salah plays, and named the forward as his favorite footballer of all time.

Salah has endured an uncharacteristically difficult season at Liverpool, scoring just five league goals, and telling reporters in December that he had been "thrown under the bus" by the club after a dramatic dip in form meant he was benched.

- 'Opportunity' -

While effusive in his praise for Salah, Mansour insisted that footballing recruitment decisions are left to San Diego FC's sports director and coach.

"I let the people in charge" decide, he told AFP.

"I just say, 'I got this opportunity. My belief is so. You guys make the decision. Come back to me.' If you say, 'No, he's not (a) fit,' whoever it is, in whichever sector, then that's it."

That philosophy has paid dividends so far.

San Diego FC became MLS's 30th club last season, after Mansour partnered with the Native American Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation to pay a $500 million expansion fee.

In the franchise's first season, it broke the record for the most points by an expansion team, with 60, and currently sits fourth and undefeated in the Western Conference.

One of the youngest squads in the MLS, San Diego FC draws from the Right to Dream global academy network run by Mansour, which has operations in Ghana, Egypt and Denmark.

Tottenham and Ghana winger Mohammed Kudus is among the network's alumni.

"What I like about our style of play is it's a team effort, it's resilience, it's energy, it's the winning spirit," said Mansour.

"Soccer, football, is a team sport. It's not a 'one person.'"

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For the first time more than half of Parmesan cheese was exported, as Italy's population declines and consumers watch their spending, producers said Thursday.

Exports of the flavourful hard cheese produced around Parma in northern Italy rose by 2.7 percent to nearly 75,000 tonnes last year, the industry's trade association said.

Shipments of Parmesan Reggiano -- its full name -- even rose by 2.3 percent to the United States despite tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

The tariffs, which currently stand at 25 percent, have slowed down orders in Parmesan's top export market, however.

Imports were down 16 percent year-on-year in January.

"The big problem in the United States is uncertainty," said the head of the Parmesan Reggiano Consortium, Nicola Bertinelli.

But she said the challenge was not insurmountable.

"We're not sitting around crying about it; we're ramping up our investments," Bertinelli said.

Parmesan has notably sponsored the Utah Jazz basketball team and the ATP tennis tournament in Miami at great expense.

- Cheap competition -

Parmesan producers plan to make further dents in the American market by increasing their visibility, particularly on supermarket shelves but also in restaurants, in order to differentiate themselves from local cheese labelled as "Parmesan" and sold at half the price.

Italy's Parmesan Reggiano carries the DOP certification to indicate "Protected Designation of Origin", but the name Parmesan is also used by lower-quality competitors abroad.

Back home in Italy, Parmesan sales are declining as the population declines.

Some 80 percent of Italians still consume it, but they are buying it less often and in smaller quantities, accounting for a 10-percent drop in sales by volume last year.

Bertinelli also acknowledged that Parmesan faced competition as Italians watch their spending.

"If you just need to grate some cheese over pasta, there are alternatives," she said.

Ranked among the kings of Italian cheese, with its cows fed on hay and grass, Parmesan has risen in price by three euros in a year to reach an average of 23.5 euros ($27.10) per kilo in Italy's supermarkets.

This widens the gap with Grana Padano, a competitor with less stringent production rules, as well as other cheeses meant for grating.

To stay competitive, Parmesan plans to position itself more as an appetiser cheese.

Producers also want to strengthen their tourism offerings for food enthusiasts, as Piedmont and Tuscany have already done for wine.

France, the second-largest export market, remained stable in 2025 as did Germany, the third-largest market.

In the longer term, Parmesan also plans to expand marketing in Northern European countries and Latin America, followed by Southeast Asia.

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Business leaders are warning that the United States lacks the infrastructure to alleviate a global LNG shortage caused by the US-Israel war on Iran, which has kept a fifth of the world's energy supplies from leaving the Gulf.

US President Donald Trump's commitment to fossil fuels has been typified by his "Drill, baby, drill" mantra and policies that have sidelined renewable energy.

At the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston this week, however, energy leaders said the US LNG industry has the reserves but not the capacity to quickly expand production.

"We will not be able to make that volume up," said Charles Reidl, chief of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG), which represents several US giants in the sector.

"It's not that we don't have the resources to do it," he told AFP at CERAWeek, dubbed the "Davos of energy," which runs through Friday in Houston. "We don't have the infrastructure to provide it."

In response to US-Israeli strikes launched on February 28, Iran has virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20 percent of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows.

Qatar, the world's second-largest LNG producer, has seen exports hit a brick wall due to the blockade, with Iran also carrying out strikes on its energy facilities.

That has turned attention to the United States, which in recent years has become the world's leading LNG exporter.

Since 2016, the United States has ramped up LNG production and its exports have increased 30-fold, according to the US Energy Information Administration. 

Eight LNG export terminals are in operation, eight are under construction and nine more projects have been approved, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

- European dependence -

Reidl said facilities were running hard, "at about 135 percent" of their usual capacity. 

Still, "we have not reached a level of maturity in the US LNG space that we have extra supply available."

The crisis is causing concern in Europe -- the leading market for US LNG -- that it may not be able to build up gas reserves for next winter, or may have to do so at extremely high prices.

Europe has increased its dependence on US and Qatari LNG after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Asian nations -- the destination of 80 percent of oil and 90 percent of LNG that transits the Strait of Hormuz -- have been implementing demand conservation measures, said Jack Fusco, chief executive of major US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy.

"We're going to try to get as many molecules as we can to those countries in Asia that really need it," Fusco said Tuesday in Houston. "We're looking at our maintenance schedules really hard, but at the end of the day, we have to be safe and we have to be reliable." 

- Permitting delays -

One perceived obstacle keeps surfacing in conversations at CERAWeek: the process of obtaining permits for building or expanding energy infrastructure.

Trump returned to power in January 2025 promising to "unleash" US energy resources. But administrative delays and political gridlock have hindered the expansion of US LNG, said Dena Wiggins, president of the Natural Gas Supply Association.

"There has been so much litigation and so much effort to stop projects by people who are opposed to them that I think that it's the permitting process that has gotten off the rails," she told AFP.

Environmental lawsuits have targeted current terminal projects. In the US Congress, several bills aimed at speeding up permitting have failed to pass.

But Wiggins said the current geopolitical crisis has created a window of opportunity, with both Democrats and Republicans pushing for permit reforms.

If projects are held up by the permit process, US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum urged companies to contact relevant government officials. "There is an opportunity that we haven't had before for bipartisan support," he said Wednesday in Houston. 

Still, such reforms -- even with wider support -- cannot address the immediate shortages facing the world. 

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(The Center Square) - Republican National Committee chairman Joe Gruters called on the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down late arriving mail-in ballot laws across the country.

In an exclusive interview with The Center Square, Gruters said justices on the court have an opportunity to clarify what Election Day means across the country. On Monday, the high court heard arguments in Watson v. RNC, a case challenging late arriving mail-in ballot laws.

“We shouldn’t have these races that are unknown for sometimes weeks on end because they’re trying to get additional votes in,” Gruters told The Center Square.

The case challenges a Mississippi law that allows mail-in ballots to be recieved and counted up to five days after an election, as long as it is postmarked by Election Day. Thirteen other states and the District of Columbia allow a similar process

Gruters, a former Florida state senator, called on other states to implement policies similar to his native state. He said Florida has made immense progress since its “hanging chads” controversy during the 2000 presidential election.

The 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore came down a consequential Florida recount. The U.S. Supreme Court settled ir with Bush winning the state and the Electoral College.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor referenced Florida's recount in oral arguments as a concern over blocking late arriving mail-in ballots for federal elections.

“We were the laughing stock of the country with our hanging chads and other issues,” Gruters said. “After the 2000 race, we got to work, and we wanted to make sure that people had confidence in the system.”

Florida requires all mail-in ballots to be received 12 days before a federal Election Day. Early voting in Florida can start as early as the 15th day before an election. Gruters urged other states to follow Florida’s example in reforming its election initiatives.

“There’s no excuse for people not to vote, and there’s no reason why you can’t vote within the allotted time because there’s certainly plenty of time available,” Gruters said.

During oral arguments, Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart said no evidence had ever been presented of a fraudulent vote cast among mail-in ballots received after Election Day. Gruters said many states do not cooperate with efforts by the Trump administration and the RNC to analyze voter rolls for potential fraud.

“We should all strive to come to a place where we could say, yes, our election systems are fear free, secure and safe and I think a lot of people can't say that, and they can't say it because the Democrats block any type of common sense reform,” Gruters said.

He said absentee and early voting should be reported within 15 minutes of polls closing in a state to increase transparency and accountability. In Pennsylvania, officials cannot count mail-in ballots until Election Day itself.

“I would hope all states would follow the model that Florida has created, because it works, it’s widely supported,” Gruters said. “You have both Republicans and Democrats administrating the laws at different locations without any type of issues whatsoever.”

Gruters said he has confidence that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of setting a firm Election Day. He called for a limited election time frame where hard deadlines are put in place.

“People aren't dumb. They don't need two months. They don't need three months. They don't need an unlimited timeframe. People could figure it out,” Gruters said.

The high court’s justices are expected to issue a decision in June. States with late arriving mail-in ballot receipt deadlines will need to adjust their policies if the court overrules the practice.

Washington's envoy to the UK said Thursday it would be a "big mistake" to cancel King Charles III's planned state visit to the US, following calls to abandon the trip over the Middle East war.

It has been rumoured for months that the British monarch will visit the United States in April, but Buckingham Palace has not officially confirmed the trip.

The plans have met with opposition, including from politicians urging it to be called off over the US-Israel war against Iran and President Donald Trump's harsh critiques of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

"I think that would be a very big mistake," US ambassador to the UK Warren Stephens said when asked about the calls to cancel or delay the visit after a speech at the British Chambers of Commerce.

"I think he will go and I think it will be a very meaningful trip for him," said Stephens, who however could not confirm the visit.

He also said the US House Speaker Mike Johnson had invited Charles to address both Houses of Congress during his visit.

Should he accept, Charles would be the first British monarch to address Congress in more than three decades.

Politico reported that the trip was set for the last week of April.

If confirmed, it will be Charles's first trip to the US as king, after hosting Trump for a lavish state visit last September.

- 'Safer to delay' -

The mercurial US president has frequently expressed admiration for Britain's royal family, which threw him a full state dinner at Windsor Castle, military parades and a flyover during his visit.

The royal trip would come at a rocky time for the so-called US-UK "special relationship", with Trump criticising Starmer's reticence over the Middle East war.

It has also been a tricky few months for the British royals.

Charles's younger brother, the former prince Andrew, was arrested last month on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following the latest US release of files linked to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

A YouGov poll published Thursday found nearly half of British citizens opposed the visit to the US, with only a third saying it should go ahead.

Emily Thornberry, a senior MP in Starmer's ruling Labour party, said earlier this month it would be "safer to delay" the visit.

She warned that Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, could be left feeling "embarrassed" because of the ongoing conflict.

"Why are we rewarding Donald Trump with a state visit from our king?" asked Ed Davey, leader of the minority opposition Liberal Democrats party.

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Doctors at Cuba's main pediatric heart hospital face wrenching decisions as a US fuel blockade further strains an already fragile health system: which children receive life-saving treatment first -- and which must wait longer.

During a visit by AFP journalists, mothers wearing medical masks were bedside next to children sitting or laying in dim rooms, with the sun providing the only light through the windows.

Universal health care is one of the proud achievements of the Cuban revolution, but the island's hospitals have struggled with shortages and aging equipment for years.

The situation has deteriorated since US President Donald Trump imposed a de facto oil blockade in January, with Cubans enduring daily blackouts that last several hours.

Herminia Palenzuela, a 79-year-old doctor, said the William Soler Pediatric Hospital must now make "very difficult" decisions.

Children with the least serious cases are "at the end of the list and simply wait," she said.

- 'Lucky' so far -

The hospital treats newborns, children, and pregnant women whose fetuses have been diagnosed with severe congenital heart defects.

It has 100 beds, but they are not all used as doctors says they must conserve equipment and medical supplies for the sickest patients.

"Resources are always reserved for that type of patient, because they are the ones who could die at any moment," said Palenzuela, her face etched with anguish.

"We would like to operate more. We would like to do more, but the resources don't allow us to do so," said Palenzuela, who founded the hospital in 1986.

Yaima Sanchez waited in a dimly lit hallway for her nine-year-old son to be seen and given the portable device needed to monitor his heart rate.

"I come here with the faith that the doctors will see me with whatever they have available," said Sanchez, whose son has tachycardia, an abnormally fast heartbeat.

"Sometimes the device isn't there, or it's dead because there are no batteries," she told AFP. "So far, we've been lucky, but you never know."

- 'Dramatic levels' -

With daily blackouts affecting Cubans across the island -- including two nationwide outages last week alone -- the government has prioritized hospitals, which are equipped with generators to ensure they never go dark.

Palenzuela said she can only visit the hospital three times a week. Colleagues walk several kilometers to work every day. A transport system has been set up for health workers, but not all have access to it.

In Havana, nurses and doctors in white lab coats are among people seen hitchhiking along the capital's famous Malecon seafront promenade.

According to the health ministry, more than 96,000 Cubans, including 11,000 children, are waiting for surgeries due to the energy crisis.

The director of the William Soler hospital, Eugenio Selmam, said a US trade embargo in force since 1962 has always made it difficult for Cuba to get medicine and medical equipment.

"It's something we have lived with for decades," Selmam said. "But now, with this new situation, it has reached dramatic levels."

The United Nations, which is in talks with Washington to allow imports of fuel for its aid work in Cuba, has proposed an action plan to keep critical services running in the country.

"If the current situation continues and the country's fuel reserves are exhausted, we do fear a rapid deterioration, with the potential loss of life," the UN's coordinator in Cuba, Francisco Pichon, said Wednesday.

The hospital this week received a shipment of medicine, food and hygiene products from an international humanitarian aid convoy that brought 50 tonnes of supplies to Cuba by sea and air.

"The situation is clearly complicated," said Martina Steinwurzel, a 41-year-old Italian activist and member of the Our America Convoy.

As volunteers and medical staff stacked boxes of donated supplies in a hospital room, Steinwurzel looked around and said: "These are people who have resisted for many years, and now they are living through a siege they have never experienced in their history."

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