The recent severing of cables in the Red Sea that resulted in internet speeds drastically slowing was probably accidental, a committee focused on the security of underwater cables has said.
Although it is unclear what caused the damage at the weekend, the International Cable Protection Committee said the last documented "state-sponsored sabotage" of a submarine cable probably occurred during the Second World War.
"Early independent analysis indicates that the probable cause of damage is commercial shipping activity in the region," said John Wrottesley, an operations manager for the ICPC.
Recent turmoil in the Middle East prompted speculation that the cables may have been deliberately severed.
In the Red Sea, a critical telecoms route, there has been considerable concern that Yemen’s Houthi rebels might try to cut cables, although the Iran-backed group has previously denied carrying out such acts.
Early last year, several cables were severed after a vessel attacked by the Houthis in the Red Sea drifted and dropped anchor, disrupting service for weeks.
Mr Wrottesley said that shipping activity, more specifically dragged anchors, are still the most likely factors for cable damage.
"The primary causes of cable damage are through accidental human interactions," he said.
The ICPC points out, however, that the threat stemming from deliberate attacks should not be overlooked.
"Sabotage remains important to consider as a risk, and requires close co-ordination between governments and industry to ensure industry can protect and repair submarine cables," read a document provided by the ICPC.
"Seventy to 80 per cent of faults are caused by accidental human activities, primarily fishing and ship anchors, with the remaining attributed to natural hazards or technical failures."
Although it may never be known what caused the recent severing, the US State Department said on Monday that it was “closely monitoring” the situation.
A State Department representative told The National that the US is acutely aware of the vital importance of undersea cables for commerce, communications and security around the world.
Efforts to bolster resilience are advancing
Global efforts to simplify the world of undersea cables are advancing, Tomas Lamanauskas, deputy secretary-general at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), said.
Mr Lamanauskas said the ITU, in collaboration with ICPC and other stakeholders, through the International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience, was trying to work to “clarify and simplify” the process when cables are disrupted “so that actors know who needs to do what and when”.
“We need to pay attention in a more systematic way and that's what we're trying to do by bringing the cable industry and governments together,” he said. “We don't just respond on an incident by incident basis.
“We're making this process more simple, more transparent and with more understanding of the players.”
Mr Lamanauskas said the Red Sea was very connected with about 17 per cent of global traffic flowing through the cables there.
“Every cut does matter,” he said, adding that more countries could recognise undersea cables as critical infrastructure.
“This is a global issue that we're really looking into,” he said, stating the ITU was working with other UN entities, governments, authorities, telecom providers, lawmakers and more to advance co-operation.
“Industry is working to address these issues,” he said. “But of course our role is to help shine a light on this.”
Future protection requires a mix of measures, Fahmi Albaheth, co-founder and former president of the internet Society – Yemen Chapter, added.
He said these included diversifying routes so that traffic isn’t dependent on one corridor, strengthening regional co-operation, investing in satellite and other backup technologies, and increasing transparency between governments and telecom companies.
Slower speeds across the region
Countries in the Middle East, India and Pakistan this weekend reported significantly slower internet speeds after the cables were severed, causing many devices to switch over to 5G. But that also created a problem, with wireless networks overburdened, leading to slower speeds.
In the UAE, customers of telecoms companies du and e& said home broadband and mobile services were running significantly slower on Saturday night, with many websites and apps failing to load.
By Sunday, services had sped up, although internet monitor DownDetector.ae showed some reports of problems for both companies.
On Monday, there were still complaints in several countries of slow service.
Experts in the UAE told The National that, given the complicated nature of repairs and logistics of the affected cables, it could take up to six weeks for internet service to return to normal speeds for some.
Technology giant Microsoft, which was one of the first to report slow internet speeds throughout the Middle East at the weekend, said it had maintained network traffic by rerouting it through alternative network paths for its Azure cloud computing business.
Although the US-based company was not responsible for the severed cables, it has continued to provide status updates for those affected on its Azure service page.
“Undersea fibre cuts can take time to repair, as such we will continuously monitor, rebalance and optimise routing to reduce customer impact in the meantime,” Microsoft said early on Sunday.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
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The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Afghanistan squad
Gulbadin Naib (captain), Mohammad Shahzad (wicketkeeper), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
ODI FIXTURE SCHEDULE
First ODI, October 22
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Second ODI, October 25
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
Third ODI, October 29
Venue TBC
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The biog
Name: James Mullan
Nationality: Irish
Family: Wife, Pom; and daughters Kate, 18, and Ciara, 13, who attend Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS)
Favourite book or author: “That’s a really difficult question. I’m a big fan of Donna Tartt, The Secret History. I’d recommend that, go and have a read of that.”
Dream: “It would be to continue to have fun and to work with really interesting people, which I have been very fortunate to do for a lot of my life. I just enjoy working with very smart, fun people.”
