When one of the world’s worst ever energy crises began in the Strait of Hormuz in February, few believed that their internet access – rather than their gas bill – would be the worst-affected aspect of daily life.

But lurking many thousands of metres beneath the oil ships being attacked by the Iranian navy lie a series of undersea cables that play a vital role in the global economy, helping to power our internet and keep the world connected.

Earlier this month, Tehran floated plans to impose tariffs on Strait of Hormuz submarine cables, warning that they were a vulnerable chokepoint for the region’s digital economy.

The Middle East is not the only region facing these concerns. In April, three Russian submarines conducted a covert operation over cables in waters north of the UK, although none were damaged. On Friday, the UK announced it is introducing stringent new laws to punish any saboteurs who deliberately damage undersea internet cables with a possible prison sentence.

China has also been accused by Taiwan of several attacks on undersea cables in the region. For the island, which relies on just 24 cables, this can pose a significant national security risk.

Undersea cables carry more than 99 per cent of all international digital data traffic, acting as an invisible backbone of the internet and facilitating emails, banking transactions, messaging and more.

But the so-called global network of undersea cables is more an assortment of “narrow corridors” through which the internet flows – including through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

The roughly 600 submarine cables are primarily owned and operated by some of the world’s largest private telecommunications companies, including Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon, and other consortia. Modern ones use fibre-optic technology, with the cable delivering the information no wider than a human hair, sheathed in several layers of insulation and protection.

Data analysis company TeleGeography believes there are more than 1.5 million kilometres of submarine cables globally, reaching up to 20,000km in length.

They are installed by huge, specialised cable-laying ships, which unspool the cables, burying them under the seabed in shallow waters and laying them on the floor in deep waters. This is only done after the topography of the ocean floor on the route in question has been carefully mapped.

“Everyone knows where they are,” explains Tony O’Sullivan, CEO of global network provider RETN, which operates between Europe and Asia.

“The Red Sea, the Gulf of Oman, parts of the East China Sea, and the Strait of Dover are good examples. Given the volume of traffic that runs along these routes, if they do get affected, it would affect not [just] the edge of the internet backbone but a major conduit.”

Serious damage to the cables can cause significant problems for consumers, particularly businesses. Although the belief that cables break and the internet goes down at once is not strictly true – traffic will typically find another route – the speed of the services can degrade sharply.

A heavy load on the alternative cable routes means they become unstable, leading to unprocessed payments, feeds that don’t update, and messages that take longer to send.

Vital services such as healthcare and banking may also suffer under an increasing load, potentially causing chaos for public services.

The Iran crisis has highlighted a wider problem in how the internet is run, Mr O’Sullivan says, with the routes too vulnerable to hostile actors seeking to wreak digital chaos.

“If a malicious actor should wish to try and take out maybe one fifth to one quarter of it, certainly a particular territory, and then you get an accident affecting another quarter of them, of course this is when things become really problematic.”

The greatest threat in the Middle East is not the cables running through the Strait of Hormuz; rather it is the possibility of the Iranian-aligned Houthis launching attacks on undersea cables in the Red Sea.

“If we think about the Red Sea, [this is] where all of the major data cables, which connect Europe to Asia by subsea, pass through,” Mr O’Sullivan explains. “The Iranians have been friends with the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and that’s where they could potentially inflict a lot more damage.”

In 2024, four crucial Red Sea data cables were cut, affecting 25 per cent of data traffic flowing between Asia and Europe, when a Belize-flagged commercial ship dropped its anchor following a ballistic missile attack by Houthi militants.

The Rubymar, loaded with 41,000 tons of fertiliser, was evacuated by its crew after the attack before drifting for nearly two weeks with its anchor down, through an area densely populated with the vital cables.

Although it was not a direct attack by the Houthis on the cables, it was a clear demonstration of how vulnerable cables can be – not only to direct attacks by hostile actors but to accidental damage.

“This is the thing to remember,” Mr O’Sullivan adds. “There are lots of cable cuts every single year. These happen all the time, the vast majority related to either fishing nets or anchor drag.

“It’s very, very easy to damage a subsea cable accidentally – the Iranian concern is mainly in how they’ve actively threatened the cables rather than it just being an assumed thing.”

A new path for the internet?

Efforts to prevent damage to undersea cables are unlikely to ever build comprehensive resilience. Instead, experts say, there is a need for a combination of sea, land and space routes.

In 2024, months after the Red Sea incident, Nato funded a new project to make the internet less vulnerable to disruption due to undersea cables, by rerouting information into space through satellites.

The project aimed to “address the urgent need for a more resilient internet infrastructure worldwide”, Dr Eyup Turmus, who was overseeing the programme, said at the time.

“The situation in the Persian Gulf also makes clear that adding more and more cables along the same corridors doesn’t help to build resilience,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

“The industry needs a real mix of submarine and terrestrial routes, diversified across geopolitical regions. We need to choose different routes, not a different cable in the same corridor.”

But experts agree that satellite systems are not a feasible long-term replacement, as they cannot handle the same volume of traffic ⁠and are more ​expensive.

“It’s not as though you could just switch to satellite. That’s not an alternative,” said Alan Mauldin, research ​director at telecom research firm TeleGeography, noting that ​satellites rely on connections to land-based networks and are better suited for things in motion, like airplanes and ships.

Low-Earth-orbit networks such as Starlink are “a boutique solution, which is not scalable to millions of users, at this time”, Kotkin added.

In The Mixer’s World Cup special

Previews of every single World Cup team in your inbox, featuring the players to look out for, games you shouldn’t miss and Metro’s big England predictions.

There is a lamppost in the city that resembles the long-standing rivalry

Cambridge is a city universally known for its university. Some of the world’s smartest people throughout history have attended the University of Cambridge, ranging from scientists Stephen Hawking and Charles Darwin, to beloved actors such as Sacha Baron Cohen and Emma Thompson.

Those who have attended the university are considered to be of another class, due to how smart they must have been to attend the prestigious educational institution. However, in the past, there has been a strong conflict between those attending the university and people who live in Cambridge.

This long-standing tension between the townspeople and people from the University of Cambridge is known as the “towns vs gowns”, and is a conflict which began in the medieval period. When the first students arrived in 1209, the town was a well-established market town and thrived on buying and selling goods that were carried on the River Cam and River Ouse.

Following the grant of a Royal Charter, the university gained jurisdiction over the town. A part of this was about policing over the town. The university and town had been granted shared peace-keeping under the charter, however this is when tensions grew. The townspeople resented the power that the university had been given.

The royal charter of 1561 would have caused more tension, as it gave the university the right to search “by day and by night, in the town and suburb, and in Barnwell and Sturbridge”. The university was also granted the right to imprison people at their own discretion.

This same charter reinforced the control of essentials by the university and victuals sold at markets and fairs within a five mile radius. The control of essentials was difficult for people in the town to deal with.

With the town being a successful market town, traders and merchants were angry that they didn’t have control over the exchange of goods. Today in Parker’s Piece stands a lamppost that symbolises the conflict.

It’s called Reality Checkpoint, and it is a large cast iron lamppost in the middle of the green space that lays at the intersection of the park’s diagonal path. It marks the boundary between the university’s “bubble” and the “real world”.

EastEnders star Lacey Turner, best known for playing Stacey Slater, is reportedly set to appear on Strictly Come Dancing

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EastEnders icon Lacey Turner is rumoured to be joining Strictly Come Dancing, having previously declined the BBC programme.

The soap actress has entertained audiences as Stacey Slater for many years, but is presently taking an “extended break” from television to concentrate on her young family.

She has been associated with the competition before, but is believed to have agreed to take to the dance floor while away from the enduring soap opera.

The 38-year-old, who had her third child with husband Matt Kay last year, wouldn’t be the first Albert Square resident to participate in the programme, with Kellie Bright, Jake Wood, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Balvinder Sopal and Maisie Smith amongst those who have featured.

“Strictly bosses are delighted to snap Lacey up for the series, especially as she has such a huge fan base from her time on the soap,” an insider said, reports the Mirror.

“She’s down to earth and viewers will be excited to get to know her personality away from Albert Square.

“She has loved having some quality time off screen to focus on parenting, but feels like now is the perfect time to learn to dance and try something different before she reprises her role in EastEnders,” they added to the Sun.

Lacey first appeared in EastEnders as Stacey in 2004 and quickly became a beloved character. She stepped away from the programme last year, with fans eager for her comeback. While the television star hasn’t publicly commented on the rumours, she has previously been approached about Strictly – but declined the offer.

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“I have been asked to go on Strictly but I’m rubbish at dancing and I don’t really have the guts,” she told OK! Magazine in 2017. “I’d do it if it wasn’t on telly – I just don’t like being on TV! I do think it’s a great show to do, though, as you learn a new skill.”

“Maybe one day I’ll grow a pair and put the shoes on,” she joked at the time, though her stance shifted within two years when she told the publication: “I don’t know if I could do any but I guess if I was going to do any I would do either Strictly, although I can’t dance, or the jungle.”

The forthcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing is scheduled to begin in September, marking the debut season for new presenting team Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe.

The three were confirmed as the programme’s new hosts earlier this month following Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman’s announcement that they would be standing down.

WalesOnline has approached representatives for the BBC for comment.

No services would be expected on two lines if the industrial action goes ahead, with sections of two others also affected – and while other lines will be operating, severe disruption should be anticipated across the entire TfL network.

TfL have advised commuters to complete their journeys across the capital before 9pm on both strike days, warning that in the early morning – before 6.30am – there will be a limited service “because services will start late and finish early”. They have also cautioned that the number of trains in operation will vary across the network.

The affects, in full, would be:

• No service on Circle Line
• No service on Piccadilly line
• No service between Baker Street and Aldgate on Metropolitan Line
• No service between White City and Liverpool Street on the Central Line
• Reduced services on Bakerloo Line, Jubilee Line, Northern Line, District Line, Hammersmith & City Line, Victoria Line, Waterloo & City

Gemma Aitchinson has spoke about the her sister’s killer, David Minto, being attacked while serving his sentence in HMP Wakefield

Fighting back tears, Gemma Aitchison endured the harrowing account of her sister’s murder in court. Then one devastating detail left her utterly shaken.

It wasn’t the horrific reality that her younger sister, Sasha Marsden, 16, had been raped and murdered just five months earlier in January 2013.

The teenager had been enticed to her death by hotel worker David Minto under the false pretence of a job interview at the Grafton House Hotel in Blackpool, Lancashire. Minto’s sick lie ended in Sasha being stabbed 58 times in the head, neck and face before her body was dumped in an alleyway.

But as the disturbing details of the case emerged at Preston Crown Court that July, a chilling revelation surfaced which brought Gemma to a standstill. For the very first time, she learned that in the hours after Sasha was killed, her own parents had unknowingly come face-to-face with her murderer – all while their daughter’s body lay just yards away.

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Speaking on episode two of the vodcast Key Witness: Aftermath, released today (May 28), Gemma, 40, a feminist activist from Bolton, Greater Manchester, said: “I didn’t find out about the confrontation until the trial.

“My mum went round to the hotel and knocked on – and spoke to David Minto – while he was in the midst of killing my sister.

“She didn’t know that at the time, of course. But what through my mind was how horrible for my mum. That must be awful for her to know.

“She was stood at the door with him and Sasha was in the house – who I imagine was desperate for her mum. But I can only imagine how she was feeling because she didn’t talk about stuff.”

Sasha met Minto through a mutual friend on a night out in Blackpool in 2012. A year later, he contacted the teen who was studying childcare at the time, asking if she was interested in a part time job as a cleaner at the hotel he was staying at, run by his girlfriend’s mother.

When she failed to return home on January 31, her frantic parents, Jayne and Gary Marsden, went straight to the hotel on Kirby Road – Sasha had said she was heading there – in search of answers.

Instead, they were met by Minto himself – who at first glance, seemed like a “good Samaritan.”

But they had no idea that man standing before them had coldly lied about Sasha’s whereabouts and in fact had already murdered their daughter – whose mutilated body was lying just yards away.

Recalling the investigation, Gemma said: “He [Minto] told so many lies.

“I didn’t really take on board all the different stories at the time.

“But I remember him claiming a three-foot by three-foot pool of blood that had soaked through three layers of carpet underlay was just a nosebleed.

“And he said he’d walked Sasha to meet her dad – even though CCTV proved that wasn’t true.”

Police quickly closed in, and on February 3, 2013, Minto was arrested and charged with Sasha’s murder.

Her blood was found on his clothes, throughout the hotel and on the kitchen knife used in the attack – which was bent at the tip.

He had inflicted devastating injuries before attempting to burn her body in an alleyway, where she was later found wrapped in carpet underlay and bin bags.

The wounds were so severe, Sasha had to be identified using DNA from her toothbrush.

Gemma said: “I learned during the trial that Minto was almost excited to show people what he’d done.

“He told neighbours there was a mannequin burning in the alley and invited them to come and look.

“He kept changing his story – by the time we got to court, we were probably on version four.

“I tried to see if there was any humanity in him – but there was nothing there.”

‘I’m glad he didn’t die’

On July 26, 2013, Minto was jailed for life with a minimum term of 35 years. It meant he could be eligible for parole in 2048. But for Gemma, the sentence never felt like enough.

“I wasn’t particularly happy,” she said.

“I thought – he can come out, have children, live a life.

“Sasha was 16. She didn’t get that chance.

“It just felt really inappropriate.”

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While Gemma tries not to think about her sister’s killer, she recently learned he was himself attacked by another inmate at HMP Wakefield in October 2025.

His attacker admitted attempted murder in April this year.

Commenting on the news, Gemma said: “I read it on an article and I’m glad he’s experiencing as much fear as he put my sister through.

“He knows he’s not safe and I feel like he’s now living how teenage girls live – always looking over their shoulders.”

She added: “I’m glad he didn’t die, because I see it’s more of a punishment he’s living in fear.

“But most of the time, it’s mixed emotions.”

Since Sasha’s death, Gemma has channelled her grief into campaigning against sexual violence.

She founded the support group Yes Matters UK, while also pushing for compulsory PSHE lessons to better educate young people and support victims.

Her family has continued to campaign for tougher sentencing laws, and Gemma says she is “incredibly proud” of her sister Katie, whose efforts helped secure the introduction of Sasha’s Law, giving victims more time to challenge lenient prison sentences.

Her family has also battled for tougher sentencing laws, and Gemma is “incredibly proud” of her other sister, Katie’s, achievement of Sasha’s Law to give victims more time to challenge lenient prison terms.

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“Women are still seen as objects while men are seen as the subjects, so crime against them don’t matter as much,” Gemma said.

“That’s why my sister didn’t matter, Sarah Everard didn’t matter – you don’t ask a chair before you sit on it ‘can I have consent to sit on you? What are your hopes and dreams?’ – we don’t care about that.

“I’m doing work around pornography and its affects on young people that push these thoughts,” she added.

“I’ve promised to myself that if I ever see a girl or a woman who’s in danger, I’ll always step in.

“Sasha was an annoying teenage girl – like they all are and I’m saying that as an ex-teenage girl myself – who was starting her life.

“But it’s how society views teenage girls – and what we allow to happen to them – that’s why she died.”

Key Witness: Aftermath is a collaboration between social producers Creatorville and content agency SWNS. The weekly vodcast is released on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Each week, presenter and journalist Daisy sits down with the people closest to notorious crimes – across the UK and the world – to uncover details never revealed before.

Watch every episode of the vodcast here – www.youtube.com/@Key_Witness

Family and friends gathered on Friday afternoon to remember beloved Archie York at the Parish Ponds in Woolsington, a beauty spot that has now become a lasting tribute to him and a place to celebrate his legacy.

Archie was just seven years old when he lost his life in the horrific explosion in Violet Close, Benwell, in October 2024.

Archie York, who was killed in the Violet Close explosion in Newcastle in October 2024, pictured at the Parish Ponds in Woolsington. Photo: Katherine Errington. Free to reuse for all LDR partners.

The new ‘Forever 7’ trail has been designed to remember his love of the ponds, a place where the Yorks enjoyed countless family walks with their dogs, and encourage people to explore wildlife and spend precious time together.

His mum Katherine Errington, dad Robbie York, and younger brother Finley cut the ribbon on the trail in Newcastle on Friday and led dozens of community members on the first journey around it, including many of Archie’s classmates.

Katherine said the day had been an “extra special” celebration of Archie’s ninth birthday and that her son “would have loved it”.

Remembering his love of picking blackberries and feeding swans at the ponds, she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “He was all about making people happy and that is what he has done today, he has made everyone happy.

“People might think I just say this because I’m Archie’s mum, but I’m not. He was such a loving, happy boy and this walk, and his schoolfriends, have proved that. He would be over the moon with the turnout today.”

Archie York’s parents Katherine Errington and Robbie York, and younger brother Finley, opening the new ‘Forever 7’ trail at the Parish Ponds in Woolsington. Photo: LDRS. Free to reuse for all LDR partners.

Archie’s classmates from Bridgewater Primary School helped shape the trail, with local artist Steve Pardue drawing inspiration from them in designing seven posts dotted around the route.

Each of the markers includes artwork highlighting different creatures and their incredible ‘superpowers’, inspired by Archie’s love of Marvel heroes.

They also carry messages about Archie himself, describing him as the “most helpful person I know”.

Katherine added: “This is a place where we can come as a family and remember him. We have such precious memories of him running around, laughing, exploring and just being the beautiful little boy that he was.

“It means so much to be able to share this space with others who loved Archie and want to remember him. He had so many friends, and it has been difficult for them to understand how he was taken from us so suddenly. Seeing their ideas included in the trail has been incredibly touching.”

The new ‘Forever 7’ trail at the Parish Ponds in Woolsington, created in memory of Violet Close explosion victim Archie York. Photo: LDRS. Free to reuse for all LDR partners.

George Pattison, chair of Woolsington Parish Council, said he hoped that the trail would help shape “a place that offers reflection, remembrance and quiet enjoyment for generations to come”.

He also issued a plea for everyone to play their part in looking after the area of natural beauty and respecting Archie’s legacy, after recent concerns that the site was being damaged by vandals setting fires and riding around on quad bikes.

He said: “We kindly ask that everyone respects this special area, allowing people the space to remember Archie, come together as families, or simply appreciate the beauty of the natural surroundings.”

The explosion which killed Archie and changed his family’s lives forever was caused by an illegal drugs lab that was being operated in the flat beneath their home. 

Katherine and Robbie have also worked with Newcastle City Council and other authorities to help expose the dangers of such cannabis shatter labs, in the hope of preventing another tragedy.

Council chief executive Pam Smith said: “People here in Newcastle, across the region and far beyond were deeply moved by Archie’s story and the unimaginable loss his family suffered. Today’s event is incredibly special as it creates a place to remember Archie in a positive, hopeful way, surrounded by those who loved him most.

“Archie’s Nature Trail is a beautiful reminder of a little boy who brought so much joy, and a testament to a family who has shown incredible courage in the face of devastating loss.”

The hall could be a nice place to visit on a hot day in the summer

Cambridgeshire is known as a county full of history with plenty of museums and historic homes to take a day trip to. Found hidden just outside of Peterborough, Elton Hall is described as an “extraordinary, romantic, part-Gothic” house.

The hall has been in the Proby family for over 400 years and is surrounded by “unspoilt landscaped parkland”. As the hall is still lived in, you can only visit Elton Hall and its gardens on certain days throughout the summer.

During the Second World War, the house was used as a convalescent home by the Red Cross to help soldiers with their rehabilitation. A lot of work had to be done to the house to help restore it in the decades following the war.

Elton Hall features a range of rooms you can visit on a guided tour where you will find “superb treasures” such as French furniture, a collection of paintings from Renaissance artists to more famous examples by Thomas Gainsborough, and several libraries.

While walking around the hall, you will see the Upper Octagon Room and Drawing Room, which are described as “the centrepiece of the house”. The Drawing Room was used as a library in the early 18th century and there are two small paintings that show visitors what it used to look like.

The hall features three libraries with two that are open to the public and contain a range of books from the 17th to 20th century. There is an “outstanding collection” of English bibles and prayer books including one owned by Henry VIII that was given to him by Katherine Parr.

After walking around the house, you might want to check out the gardens that won the Historic Houses Garden of the Year Judges’ Choice award in 2021. The garden has a range of features including a lily pond that has been planted with herbaceous perennials and small shrubs.

You can also visit the Flower Garden, which features a fountain and wisteria walk, or take a moment to appreciate the Orangery that was built to celebrate the Millennium. The Orangery is surrounded by a small garden that is planted with Mediterranean spices and oranges and lemons in terracotta pots.

Elton Hall and Gardens can be found just outside of the village of Elton and is only an 18-minute drive away from Peterborough via the A605. There is a car park that is free for visitors to use.

Tickets to get into the garden cost £10 for adults with children aged 15 and under getting in for free. Access to the garden and hall costs £18 for adults with guided tours available.

Tickets for the hall’s open days can be bought from the Elton Hall website. Elton Hall and Gardens are open to the public on select days throughout May to August.

WWE fans are raving over one of the greatest matches of all time.

Clash In Italy is hours away, but anyone who tuned into AAA Noche De Los Grandes was treated to a genuine spectacle, which many are calling the best of the year.

The show is available to stream for free on YouTube, headlined by a deeply personal and rare Mask vs. Mask main event between the rival El Grande Americanos.

The alter ego originally started with Chad Gable as a comedy character, but an injury almost a year ago forced him onto the sidelines as Ludwig Kaiser took over.

Under the German’s portrayal, Americano became a genuine hero in Mexico, complete with parades in the streets and a huge mural in the build-up to this weekend.

AAA, which is led by WWE icon The Undertaker behind the scenes, turned the rivalry into the most bitter and intense in all of wrestling, and it came to a head on Saturday night with one of the Grande Americanos forced to unmask.

We won’t spoil the result here if you want to watch it back (keep scrolling for our assessment with spoilers), but safe to say fans were blown away.

Wrestling historian Dave Meltzer wrote: ‘If you haven’t watched the Chad Gable vs. Kaiser match, you really should stop whatever you are doing and watch it now. One of the great match presentations of all-time.’

And broadcaster Sam Roberts added: ‘This Grande v Grande match is everything, everything, great about wrestling.’

‘Thank you, El Grande Americano and ‘The Original’ El Grande Americano! You both just delivered the undisputed MATCH OF THE YEAR. #AAANocheDeLosGrandes Pure, unfiltered wrestling,’ wrote X user @mstottenham. ‘Easily one of the greatest matches I have EVER witnessed! 👑🔥🐐’

Others agreed, hailing the bout ‘the greatest thing WWE ever did this year,’ insisting that ‘nothing will top’ the ‘beautiful’ match.

Fan @donMario11 wrote: ‘Original El Grande vs. El Grande Americano in a Mask vs. Mask match at AAA’s Noche de Los Grandes 2026 show was amazing. Undertaker really is legit the best booker in WWE over this past year.’

And @LobCityGimmick raved: ‘We just witnessed the show of the year. Great things coming out of AAA now, more feuds to look forward to, more banger matches. The best is yet to come. I’m still at a loss for words wow what a match. It lived up to the hype. (sic)’

Who won Mask versus Mask between El Grande Americanos?

The dust has settled on one of the best WWE rivalries in recent years, and this match is deserving of all the hype.

When all was said and done, it was Ludwig Kaiser’s El Grande Americano who emerged victorious over Chad Gable’s Original El Grande Americano, to the delight of everyone in Mexico.

It can’t be overstated just how good everything was about this match, from the grandeur of the entrances, the roar of the crowd fully in the corner of the ‘real’ Americano, and their hatred for what the Original stood for.

James Chapman, 50, is wanted by Durham Police, with the force keen to speak to him.

The force said he has links to Durham City, but could be anywhere in the county.

If members of the public have seen the 50-year-old or know where he is, they are asked to contact Durham Police on 101.

Information can also be passed on anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.