Power outage said to hit Sudan during president's speech

CAIRO – A Sudanese online news service says a power outage has hit the entire country during a televised address by the president.

The Paris-based Sudan Tribune says Wednesday's outage took TV channels broadcasting President Omar al-Bashir's address off the air.

Al-Bashir was speaking in the town of Roseires, south of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

The tribune quoted officials as saying power was being gradually restored across the country.

The power outage was also reported by regional news outlets, including in neighboring Egypt.

It was not immediately clear what caused the outage, the second in as many years to hit Sudan.

Sudan saw street protests this week after the government lifted bread subsidies and devalued its currency, reforms designed to overhaul the country's battered economy.