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Inside the undersea kingdom: the secret, sinister battle to control what lies beneath the waves

Every day, trillions of dollars, oil and gas and 99% of the world’s web traffic move through undersea pipelines that bear no state’s protection. With superpowers and corporations vying for control, should we be worried about this new wild west? On Christmas Day 2024, six weeks before Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were due to disconnect themselves from Russia’s power grid, a Finnish engineer was just about to sit down to lunch when his phone rang. He was responsible for the Finnish side of the undersea cables that keep Finland and the Baltic states supplied with electricity, and one was malfunctioning. Within a couple of hours, authorities knew that a Cook Islands-registered tanker called the Eagle S, part of the shadow fleet carrying sanctioned Russian oil, in this case to Egypt, had sailed over the cable at the moment and location at which it had stopped working. The coastguard hailed the Eagle S. Were their anchors up? Yes, they replied – though they did not seem to check – and sailed on. Three hours later the ship hit another four cables in quick succession, nearly hobbling internet provision in Finland and Estonia – and was minutes away from a major electricity cable and the Balticconnector, which supplies the two countries with gas. Finland scrambled the border guard, which pulled up alongside the tanker and demanded the crew take up its anchor. But the Eagle S was not in Finnish territorial waters: the authorities could not force the captain to comply, and they did not know who or what might come to his aid. Continue reading...

Cook Islands Estonia Finlanda

Oct 1, 2026 · byThe Guardian

Fiji: PACIFIC | UPDATE 1- REGIONAL EL NINO MONITORING

Countries: Fiji, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Niue (New Zealand), Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Naoero, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Please refer to the attached Infographic. A total of 15 Pacific Island Countries including PNG Meteorological offices have declared El Niño status with widespread El Niño conditions continuing to drive significant climate variations, severe dry spells, and heightened drought risks across monitored island nations. National authorities are actively monitoring climate indicators with majority of the countries in the early “Response Monitoring” phase, issuing public advisories and key messages, while mobilizing emergency coordination mechanisms as risk thresholds are met.

Cook Islands El Niño Fiji

Oct 1, 2026 · byReliefWeb

Fiji: Pacific Region Update 1: El Niño Monitoring - Regional Summary (As of 22 September 2026)

Countries: Fiji, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Niue (New Zealand), Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Naoero, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Please refer to the attached Infographic. A total of 15 Pacific Island Countries including PNG Meteorological offices have declared El Niño status with widespread El Niño conditions continuing to drive significant climate variations, severe dry spells, and heightened drought risks across monitored island nations. National authorities are actively monitoring climate indicators with majority of the countries in the early “Response Monitoring” phase, issuing public advisories and key messages, while mobilizing emergency coordination mechanisms as risk thresholds are met.

Cook Islands El Niño Fiji

Oct 1, 2026 · byReliefWeb

World: Pacific Syndromic Surveillance System Weekly Bulletin / Système de Surveillance Syndromic dans le Pacifique - Bulletin Hebdomadaire: W38 2026 (Sep 14-Sep 20) [EN/FR]

Countries: World, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia (France), Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), New Caledonia (France), New Zealand, Niue (New Zealand), Northern Mariana Islands (The United States of America), Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Republic of Naoero, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna (France) Source: World Health Organization Please refer to the attached file.

Cook Islands Fiji Guam

Sep 29, 2026 · byReliefWeb

World: Pacific Syndromic Surveillance System Weekly Bulletin / Système de Surveillance Syndromic dans le Pacifique - Bulletin Hebdomadaire: W37 2026 (Sep 07-Sep 13) [EN/FR]

Countries: World, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia (France), Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), New Caledonia (France), New Zealand, Niue (New Zealand), Northern Mariana Islands (The United States of America), Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Republic of Naoero, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna (France) Source: World Health Organization Please refer to the attached file.

Cook Islands Fiji Guam

Sep 22, 2026 · byReliefWeb

Fiji: Dengue in the Pacific: Multicountry Situation (As of 18 September 2026)

Countries: Fiji, American Samoa, Cook Islands, French Polynesia (France), Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), New Caledonia (France), Niue (New Zealand), Palau, Republic of Naoero, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna (France) Sources: Pacific Community, World Health Organization Please refer to the attached file. HIGHLIGHTS • Since 1 January 2025, twelve dengue outbreaks have been reported across Pacific Island Countries and Areas (PICs). • During 2025, dengue outbreaks were reported in American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Naoero, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu. A total of 21,258 confirmed cases and 21 deaths were recorded across the Pacific. Fatalities were reported in Fiji (n=8), Samoa (n=7), Tonga (n=3), Naoero (n=2), and Kiribati (n=1). • Between 1 January 2026 and 2 July 2026, a total of 4 721 dengue confirmed cases, 173 hospitalisations and 3 deaths have been reported across the Pacific. • The Pacific Syndromic Surveillance System (PSSS) has reported a total of 9 754 Dengue-like Illness (DLI) cases to date, a lower trend compared to the same period last year. • In 2026 dengue outbreaks were officially declared in New Caledonia, Tonga and Shefa province Vanuatu. • The most affected countries and areas in 2026 include: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, and New Caledonia. These account for 94% of confirmed cases. • Dengue serotype-1 (DENV-1) and serotype-2 (DENV-2) are currently in circulation. • The Cook Islands officially declared the end of its dengue outbreak on 25 May 2026. • Tonga has officially declared the end of its dengue outbreak on 31 July 2026. • As of 7 August 2026: o The dengue outbreak remains ongoing in Shefa Province, Vanuatu, with dengue virus serotype 1 (DENV-1) continuing to circulate. o Low levels of transmission are observed in American Samoa, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Samoa, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna.

Cook Islands Fiji Guam

Sep 18, 2026 · byReliefWeb

World: Pacific Syndromic Surveillance System Weekly Bulletin / Système de Surveillance Syndromic dans le Pacifique - Bulletin Hebdomadaire: W36 2026 (Aug 31-Sep 06) [EN/FR]

Countries: World, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia (France), Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), New Caledonia (France), New Zealand, Niue (New Zealand), Northern Mariana Islands (The United States of America), Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Republic of Naoero, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna (France) Source: World Health Organization Please refer to the attached file.

Cook Islands Fiji Guam

Sep 15, 2026 · byReliefWeb

RAAF C-27J Spartan deploys to Cook Islands for Pacific surveillance mission

A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) C-27J Spartan conducted aerial surveillance missions over waters near the Cook Islands… The post RAAF C-27J Spartan deploys to Cook Islands for Pacific surveillance mission appeared first on AeroTime .

AeroTime Cook Islands Oceanul Pacific

Jun 9, 2026 · byAeroTime

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