STOCKHOLM: Swedish authorities said on Friday they were investigating a damaged cable that was discovered in the Baltic Sea, the latest in a string of recent incidents of ruptured undersea cables that have heightened fears of Russian sabotage and spying in the region.
The breakage was found on a cable that runs between Germany and Finland off the island of Gotland, south of Stockholm, in the Swedish economic zone, the news agency TT reported Friday. The Coast Guard was responding to the site.
A “preliminary investigation into sabotage was opened,” Swedish police said in a statement, adding they had “no further information to share at this time.”
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on the social media platform X that the government takes all reports of damage to infrastructure in the Baltic Sea very seriously.
Late last month, authorities discovered damage to the undersea fiber-optic cable running between the Latvian city of Ventspils and Sweden’s Gotland. A vessel belonging to a Bulgarian shipping company was seized but later released after Swedish prosecutors ruled out initial suspicions that sabotage caused the damage.
The European Commission, the 27-member EU executive branch, presented key measures on Friday for better protection of underwater cables in its region, including stepping up security requirements and risk assessments while prioritizing funding for new and smart cables.
It said threat-monitoring capabilities will be enhanced in the Mediterranean and the Baltic seas for a quicker and more effective response and repair capabilities.
Sanctions and diplomatic measures will also be taken “against hostile actors,” the Commission document said. These actions are to be rolled out progressively in 2025 and 2026 to strengthen measures taken by NATO and EU members.
The Commission said the undersea communication cables connect EU member states “to one another, link islands to the EU mainland, and connect the EU to the rest of the world,” carrying 99 percent of inter-continental Internet traffic.
The underwater electricity cables facilitate the integration of EU members’ power supply and strengthen their security, it said, adding that incidents in recent months “have risked causing severe disruptions in essential functions and services in the EU, impacting the daily lives of EU citizens.”
Sweden is investigating a damaged cable in the Baltic Sea
https://arab.news/cumht
Sweden is investigating a damaged cable in the Baltic Sea
- The breakage was found on a cable that runs between Germany and Finland
- A “preliminary investigation into sabotage was opened,” Swedish police said
35 million Nigerians ‘risk hunger after global funding collapse’
- The UN can only aim to deliver $516 million to provide lifesaving aid to 2.5 million people this year, down from 3.6 million in 2025, which in turn was about half the previous year’s level
ABUJA: Nearly 35 million Nigerians are at risk of hunger this year, including 3 million children facing severe malnutrition, the UN said, following the collapse of global aid budgets.
Speaking at the launch of the 2026 humanitarian plan in Abuja, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Mohammed Malick Fall said the long-dominant, foreign-led aid model in Nigeria is no longer sustainable and that Nigeria’s needs have grown.
Conditions in the conflict-hit northeast are dire, Fall said, with civilians in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states facing rising violence.
BACKGROUND
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Mohammed Malick Fall said the foreign-led aid model in Nigeria is no longer sustainable and that the country’s needs have grown.
A surge in terror attacks killed more than 4,000 people in the first eight months of 2025, matching the toll for all of 2023, he said.
The UN can only aim to deliver $516 million to provide lifesaving aid to 2.5 million people this year, down from 3.6 million in 2025, which in turn was about half the previous year’s level.
“These are not statistics. These numbers represent lives, futures, and Nigerians,” Fall said.
He also said the UN had no choice but to focus on “the most lifesaving” interventions given the drop in available funding.
Shortfalls last year led the World Food Programme to also warn that millions could go hungry in Nigeria as its resources ran out in December and it was forced to cut support for more than 300,000 children.
Fall said Nigeria was showing growing national ownership of the crisis response in recent months through measures such as local funding for lean-season food support and early-warning action on flooding.
