Cuban cuts

HAVANA (Reuter) - Daily power cuts in the capital have been increased to around eight hours a day, the Cuban news media reported. The new cuts will be in effect until Thursday but might be extended. The announcement said the cuts were due to a critical shortage of fuel for generating plants. It termed the present situation an emergency.

An official said that if expected oil tankers arrive, the situation might return to normal - the power cuts of about four hours a day that went into effect a year ago. The energy crisis began after the break-up of the Soviet Union, which supplied Cuba with 13 million tons of oil a year.