An undersea cable connecting Sweden and Estonia was damaged at about the same time as a pipeline and cable connecting Finland and Estonia, government officials have said.
Finnish investigators have identified a Russian-flagged ship and a Chinese-owned vessel operating in the area where the damage to the pipeline and cable occurred on October 8.
The Russian authority responsible for nuclear-powered vessels, Atomflot, denied that one of its ships had been involved.
Sweden’s Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said: “What we can say is that this damage has happened at a similar time and in physical proximity … to the damage that was previously reported to a gas pipeline between Estonia and Finland and a telecoms cable between Estonia and Finland.”
Swedish network provider Arelion confirmed one of its subsea fibre cables had been “partially damaged”.
“We currently do not know what caused the damage. The cable will be repaired over the next few weeks depending on the weather,” an Arelion representative said.
Estonian Economic Affairs and Communications Ministry said the damage occurred on a cable to Sweden about 50km west of Hiiumaa Island.
Rear Admiral Ewa Skoog Haslum, head of the Swedish navy said: “The situation at sea is very intense.
“There is a lot of traffic on the surface and everything that happens under the surface is 'deniable.' The challenge for us is to monitor this volume of water.”
Estonia and Finland are Nato members and Sweden is an applicant nation.
European nations and Nato have become increasingly concerned about the vulnerability of critical infrastructure around and under the Baltic Sea.
The latest incidents follow explosions in September 2022 that ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines and cut Europe's supply of Russian gas.
Finland said on October 8 that the Baltic connector subsea gas pipeline and a telecoms cable connecting Finland and Estonia had been damaged in what may have been a deliberate act.
In an update, Finland's National Bureau of Investigation said it had used open sources to determine the vessels operating in the area at the time of the incident.
“Investigative measures have been focused on several vessels, including the NewNew Polar Bear and Sevmorput, but also on others which, according to data, had been in the area at the time of the damage,” the NBI said.
“Besides the movements of the vessels, their background and earlier activity are examined in co-operation with authorities from other countries,” it said.
The NewNew Polar Bear is a container vessel owned and operated by Chinese company NewNew Shipping, while Sevmorput is a Russian-flagged, nuclear-powered, cargo ship.
Sevmorput owner Atomflot, a subsidiary of Russian nuclear industry company Rosatom, rejected the claims as “groundless”.
Atomflot said that on the day at issue, the Sevmorput had been operating from Murmansk to St Petersburg and had passed through the Gulf of Finland “without slowing down”.
“The crew did not observe or record anything unusual, suspicious, or otherwise reportable,” Atomflot said.
NewNew Shipping declined to comment.
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
