Some areas of Caracas are running out of water as well as enduring long power shortages

Venezuelan women have been told not to blow-dry their hair between 6pm and 10pm under President Maduro’s 30-day plan to ration electricity after power cuts across the country.

Tania Masea, the state’s “efficient energy use director” made the recommendation on television after Mr Maduro announced his plan on Sunday.

Power supplies in Caracas, the capital, and other big cities have been intermittent, and some areas are also without running water. Schools and most businesses across the country have been closed for weeks.

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Mr Maduro, 56, has blamed the blackouts on cyberattacks and physical assaults by enemies seeking to force him from office, although he has offered no evidence. Analysts have said that the power cuts are the result of years of neglect and mismanagement that