Venezuela cuts workday, cancels school as blackouts drag on

Venezuela's government announced Sunday that it is reducing the length of the workday and keeping schools closed, due to devastating electricity blackouts plaguing the country. "To achieve consistency in the provision of electricity, the Bolivarian government decided to maintain the suspension of school activities and establish a workday until 2 p.m. in public and private institutions," Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez said on state television. Power went out across Venezuela on Sunday, just as it did on Saturday, and the day before that. But while some electricity had returned by Sunday afternoon, jittery Venezuelans weren't so much celebrating the lights coming on as wondering when the next outages would flick them off. More…