It is easy to forget that most of the world’s internet traffic does not traverse satellites or distant clouds, but rather lies beneath our oceans, coursing through thousands of kilometres of fibre-optic cables. These lines, laid across the seabed, are the unacknowledged arteries of the modern economy.
They transmit trillions of dollars in financial data daily, underpin critical infrastructure, and form the backbone of global commerce and statecraft. Submarine cables carry more than 95 per cent of global internet data traffic across nearly 1.5 million kilometres of the ocean floor. Just as ports and shipping lanes underpin global commerce, these digital supply chains form the essential backbone of our connected world.
Global vulnerabilities
This year’s series of incidents in the Red Sea has brought this hidden reality into sharp focus. Whether caused by sabotage or maritime accidents, the severing of multiple subsea internet cables caused ripple effects across continents – latency surged, services slowed and, in some cases, critical operations faced disruption. These outages underscored how fragile global connectivity is when chokepoints are hit.
According to the International Cable Protection Committee, between 100 and 200 subsea cable incidents are reported each year, highlighting how exposed and frequent such disruptions have become. Recent incidents show that when these assets are compromised, the consequences can cascade across economies, politics and societies.
The Red Sea handles a significant portion of Europe–Asia data traffic. While risks to undersea cables are not new, recent events highlight their growing exposure and the need to elevate their protection within maritime security frameworks. It reflects a threat landscape where non-traditional actors test the boundaries of infrastructure protection, security co-ordination and geopolitical preparedness. The cables that connect us digitally are increasingly becoming targets in the physical world, where conflict, instability and strategic calculation intersect. This challenge demands far greater attention than it has received.
Chokepoints and complexities
The Red Sea, and specifically the Bab Al Mandeb strait, is a critical node in global maritime flows. This strategic concentration makes the region especially vulnerable to instability on land and often mirrors threats below water. When hostile actors seek leverage, they often go for high-value, low-visibility targets. Subsea cables offer precisely that profile.
Subsea cables are critical not just to one nation’s connectivity, but to entire regions and global systems. A single cable can carry data for a number of nations and continents, from India and East Africa to Europe and the Gulf. If a major sabotage effort damaged several cables simultaneously, the result could be prolonged outages, degraded internet speeds, financial delays and disrupted cloud-based operations for millions.
These cables can take weeks or even months to repair due to the specialised vessels, complex seabed recovery operations, splicing procedures and global co-ordination involved. Preventing future disruption means investing in route redundancy, enhanced monitoring technologies, shared threat intelligence and new frameworks for public-private maritime infrastructure co-operation that treat these cables as essential to national security, not just commercial utilities.
The threat landscape is evolving and so must our approach. It is time to frame subsea cable protection as a central issue of maritime security. A recent UK parliamentary report reinforces this mindset, describing subsea cables as no longer just telecoms infrastructure, but a frontline national security concern. This means integrating infrastructure protection into the broader architecture of maritime awareness, resilience and collaboration.
Big financial stakes
Submarine cable projects require 24 to 36 months to complete from initial planning to full deployment. Timelines are often influenced by permitting processes and deep-water surveys among other factors. Depending on the route and configuration, new systems can cost anywhere from $200 million to $250 million or more, underscoring the strategic and financial stakes involved in protecting these investments.
Technological innovation will also be a vital part of any long-term solution. Early-warning systems, advanced sonar monitoring and AI-powered analytics for vessel activity can offer new layers of prevention. Yet technology alone cannot resolve what is ultimately a human and strategic problem. The maritime industry will need to cultivate a more robust shared operating picture across sectors and borders, one that includes subsea infrastructure in the very definition of critical maritime assets.
Security imperative
The events in the Red Sea have exposed the strategic importance of the infrastructure that binds our digital societies together. Today, these cables are geopolitical assets as critical as shipping lanes or energy corridors and should be protected with the same foresight.
Building resilience requires diversified landing points, real-time monitoring, stronger cross-border frameworks, and a mindset that places digital connectivity at the heart of national and regional security. The real challenge now is foresight, how governments, private operators and international bodies can work together before the next disruption strikes.
Carl Sykes, chief executive of Neptune P2P Group, an international private security company specialised in maritime security
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The biog
Favourite film: The Notebook
Favourite book: What I know for sure by Oprah Winfrey
Favourite quote: “Social equality is the only basis of human happiness” Nelson Madela. Hometown: Emmen, The Netherlands
Favourite activities: Walking on the beach, eating at restaurants and spending time with friends
Job: Founder and Managing Director of Mawaheb from Beautiful Peopl
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Oppenheimer
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Key developments in maritime dispute
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.
"Nothing and no-one can stop you from succeeding with the right work application, and a little bit of luck along the way.”
Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
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'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
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White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SHAITTAN
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EA Sports FC 24
The specs: 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
Price, base / as tested: Dh101,140 / Dh113,800
Engine: Turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 148hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm @ 2,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed CVT
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
The biog
Favourite hobby: I love to sing but I don’t get to sing as much nowadays sadly.
Favourite book: Anything by Sidney Sheldon.
Favourite movie: The Exorcist 2. It is a big thing in our family to sit around together and watch horror movies, I love watching them.
Favourite holiday destination: The favourite place I have been to is Florence, it is a beautiful city. My dream though has always been to visit Cyprus, I really want to go there.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
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Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
