Undersea Power Cable Linking Finland and Estonia Damaged

2024-12-26

An undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia, Estlink 2, suffered an outage on December 25th. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo confirmed the incident and stated that the possibility of sabotage cannot be ruled out. Fingrid, Finland's national electricity transmission grid operator, assured the public that Finland has sufficient power reserves. Estonian authorities also reported adequate capacity to meet their energy needs. This incident is the latest in a series of damaging events targeting undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, raising concerns about the security of critical infrastructure in the region.

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Azerbaijan Airlines Crash: Missile Accident Emerges as Probable Cause

2024-12-25

An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board. Initial reports from the investigation suggest the plane may have been accidentally hit by an air-defense missile while approaching Grozny. Surviving passengers reported hearing an explosion and seeing shrapnel hit the plane. The incident bears resemblance to the 2014 downing of MH17, also suspected to involve a surface-to-air missile. While the Azerbaijani president attributed the crash to a weather-related course change, the possibility of a missile accident is under investigation.

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EU Orders Apple to Enhance iPhone Interoperability

2024-12-22

The European Commission, based on preliminary findings under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), has ordered Apple to take steps to ensure interoperability between its iPhones and devices from other brands. This aims to foster competition and prevent Apple from leveraging its dominant position with iOS to restrict compatibility with third-party products like smartwatches, headphones, and VR headsets. Apple counters that this could compromise user privacy and innovation. The Commission is expected to issue a final decision around March 2025.

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German Regulator Orders Sam Altman's Worldcoin to Delete Biometric Data

2024-12-22

Germany's Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision (BayLDA) has ordered World, a biometric identification project co-founded by Sam Altman, to delete user data. The BayLDA found World's data collection practices violated the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), citing significant data protection risks. World uses a device called an 'Orb' to scan irises and faces for identification. The company has appealed the decision, seeking clarification on whether its privacy-enhancing technologies meet the EU's definition of anonymization.

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