Two undersea internet cables in the Baltic Sea have been suddenly disrupted, according to local telecommunications companies, amid fresh warnings of possible Russian interference with global undersea infrastructure.

A communications cable between Lithuania and Sweden was cut on Sunday morning around 10:00 a.m. local time, a spokesperson from telecommunications company Telia Lithuania confirmed to CNN.

The company’s monitoring systems could tell there was a cut due to the traffic disruption, and that the cause was likely physical damage to the cable itself, Telia Lithuania spokesperson Audrius Stasiulaitis told CNN. “We can confirm that the internet traffic disruption was not caused by equipment failure but by physical damage to the fiber optic cable.”

Another cable linking Finland and Germany was also disrupted, according to Cinia, the state-controlled Finnish company that runs the link. The C-Lion cable – the only direct connection of its kind between Finland and Central Europe – spans nearly 1,200 kilometers (730 miles), alongside other key pieces of infrastructure, including gas pipelines and power cables.

The incidents came as two of the affected countries, Sweden and Finland, updated their guidance to citizens on how to survive war. Millions of households in the Nordic nations will be given booklets with instructions on how to prepare for the effects of military conflicts, communications outages and power cuts.

Both countries joined NATO in the past two years, after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The area that was disrupted along the Finnish-German cable is roughly 60 to 65 miles away from the Lithuanian-Swedish cable that was cut, a CNN analysis of the undersea routes shows.

It is unclear what exactly caused the fault in the C-Lion cable – Cinia said in a statement that it is still investigating the issue. A physical inspection has not yet been conducted, Reuters reported citing the company’s chief executive Ari-Jussi Knaapila, who told a press conference on Monday that the sudden outage implied that the cable was cut by an outside force.

The foreign ministers of Finland and Germany said in a joint statement on Monday evening that they were “deeply concerned” about the severed C-Lion cable, and raised the possibility of “hybrid warfare.”

“The fact that such an incident immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage speaks volumes about the volatility of our times. A thorough investigation is underway,” the statement said. “Our European security is not only under threat from Russia‘s war of aggression against Ukraine, but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors.”

Fears of undersea sabotage

The United States recently warned that it had detected increased Russian military activity around key undersea cables. Two US officials told CNN in September that the US believed Russia was now more likely to carry out potential sabotage operations on these critical pieces of infrastructure.

The warning followed a joint investigation by the public broadcasters of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, which reported in April 2023 that Russia had a fleet of suspected spy ships operating in Nordic waters as part of a program of potential sabotage of underwater cables and wind farms in the region.

However, two US officials familiar with an initial assessment into the damage to the two cables told CNN Tuesday that as yet there were “no indications of nefarious activity, nor intentional damage to seafloor infrastructure” and suggested the disruption was likely caused by an anchor dragged from a passing vessel.

Ship tracking data analyzed by CNN shows at least one ship crossing the Lithuania-Sweden cable.

The extent of the disruption caused by Cinia’s C-Lion fault revealed Monday is unclear. The most important data flows are usually routed through several different cables, to avoid overreliance on a single link.

A repair vessel is ready to go to the site of the fault, Cinia said in a statement Monday evening. It said it did not know how long repairs would take, but added it typically takes between five and 15 days for submarine cables.

Lithuanian state media was first to report the cut between Lithuania and Sweden, and quoted Telia Lithuania’s chief technology officer Andrius Šemeškevičius saying that the cable handled roughly a third of Lithuania’s internet capacity. Capacity has been restored since the disruption.

The cable is operated by Arelion, a Swedish telecommunications company. Martin Sjögren, a spokesperson for the company, confirmed the damage to the BCS East-West link and said that the company is in contact with Sweden’s military and civil authorities about the incident. The cable had connected Gotland, Sweden and Šventoji, Lithuania, he said.

The issue was detected on Sunday during routine 24/7 monitoring of the company’s network, and the cable is expected to be repaired over the next few weeks, depending on weather conditions, he added.

Cinia did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for further details. CNN has reached out to the Swedish and Lithuanian foreign ministries for comment.

Sitting at your desk all day may put you at greater risk for heart disease –– even if you work out in your spare time, according to new research.

“Our findings really emphasize the importance of avoiding excess sitting… whether or not you’re physically active,” said first study author Dr. Ezim Ajufo, a cardiology fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

While there is a general understanding that sitting too much is likely bad for your health, there’s a need for more research to understand the exact risks and the guidelines for what qualifies as too much sitting, said Dr. Keith Diaz, associate professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. He was not involved in the research.

This study was particularly helpful in investigating sitting because of its large sample size and the methodology it employed, Diaz said.

Researchers looked at data from nearly 90,000 people who wore an accelerometer for a week and compared their sedentary and active time with later diagnoses of conditions like stroke, heart attack and heart failure in later years, according to the study published Friday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Not only was more sedentary time associated with greater risk for cardiovascular disease, but the data was able to show a general guideline for what might count as too much sitting, according to the study.

“We would really recommend that as many people as possible avoid sitting more than 10.6 hours a day,” Ajufo said. “That’s not a hard and fast threshold, but we think it’s a reasonable first step for guidelines and public health intervention.”

Why sitting is so bad?

There are some limitations when it comes to the data.

The data was part of the UK Biobank, a large biomedical database and research resource that follows people long-term. The sample was largely White and of European ancestry, which means that it doesn’t totally represent the US population, Ajufo said.

The study is also observational, which means that while it can make associations, it can’t prove that the sitting was the cause of the heart disease, she added.

It makes sense that sitting too much of the day would take a toll, however, Diaz said.

Muscles are very important for regulating blood sugar and fat levels in the blood, he added. To do their job well, muscles need movement.

“Taking movement breaks is a way to give your muscles the stimulation they need to do their jobs, and it doesn’t take much,” Diaz said.

How to get moving

If you sit in an office all day and commute to and from work, those 10 and a half hours of sitting can add up quickly.

The answer may not be to get a standing desk, Diaz said.

While standing is certainly not sitting, being still in one place like that doesn’t give your muscles the movement they need to efficiently break down sugars and lipids, he said.

A bike or treadmill desk may help, he said. You can also try to see if small meetings can be had over a walk.

The important thing is to add movement into your day in a way that makes sense for you and your schedule, Diaz added. He recommended getting up and walking for just a few minutes every half hour to hour or when you finish one task before moving to the next.

Unfortunately, the data suggested a good workout at the end of the day won’t necessarily undo the problems caused by long bouts of sitting, Ajufo said.

“Sometimes we think we can completely make up for some of the unhealthy behaviors we have … by going out and going for a run,” she said. “What we can say from the findings is that moderate to vigorous physical activity –– so that’s running, a brisk walk –– is not sufficient to neutralize the harmful effects of sitting.”

But don’t be disheartened about activity. Exercise is still always a good idea and benefits people in so many ways, Diaz said.

“You’re still better off than the person who sat all day then didn’t exercise,” he said.

A group of Indigenous elders, archaeologists and scholars have come together to explore historically significant sites pertaining to Indigenous ancestry.

The elders from the Touchwood Agency Tribal Council have been in talks with academics over a number of years, exchanging information of sites they would like to visit.

Robert Losey, an archaeologist from the University of Alberta, said it is honour to accompany the elders to the sites.

“They share their knowledge of these places and we share a little bit that we know with them and we both learn in the process,” he said.

In September, the group met for the first time to explore a ravine near the town of Craven.

Before European contact, the ravine was once used as a winter camping ground for Indigenous groups passing through.

Since then, information about the site and its importance have been passed down through oral history in Indigenous communities in the area.

Bill Strongarm, an elder from Kawacatoose First Nation recalled visiting the site in the 1970’s with an uncle.

“We stopped and walked a little way to the ravine. He was telling me where our ancestors resided. I felt elated and happy to be on a site that offered some connection,” he said.

In October, the group gathered on a piece of land untouched by researchers near the town of Davidson.

The landowners had heard many stories about the area and wanted the group to take a look.

With the arrival of winter, the group has no plans to visit any other locations until next year.

Andrew Miller, a professor from the First Nations University of Canada, said they will carry on in celebration of Indigenous history.

“We don’t often think of Indigenous history, but we really ought to. We ought to think of where people were 200 years, 400 years ago. This is one way to understand that past,” he said. 

Those in Saskatchewan may get an alert on their cell phones, TV, and radio Wednesday afternoon as part of a provincial emergency alert test.

According to a release from the province, a test of SaskAlert is scheduled for 1:55 p.m. and will also appear on compatible wireless devices and through the SaskAlert app.

The alert will be issued by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA).

The SPSA said testing is a standard part of the emergency management process to make sure urgent safety warnings can be distributed to the public when emergencies occur.

Saskatchewan RCMP are reporting a rise in collisions and traffic incidents as the province receives its first full taste of the winter season.

In a news release issued Tuesday around 3:30 p.m., RCMP said that between 7 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., there were 44 reports of motor vehicle collisions across the province.

The most common reports were vehicles in the ditch and jackknifed semis, RCMP said.

RCMP said the northbound lanes of Highway 11 and the southbound lanes of Highway 16 at Beam Road, northwest of Saskatoon, are closed.

In an earlier update issued on Tuesday morning, RCMP said that between 12 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Nov. 19, there were a total of 14 reports of motor vehicle collisions.

Those incidents included two crashes involving wildlife (deer), one collision involving three vehicles around five kilometres west of Guernsey, a jack-knifed semi around four kilometres west of Belle Plaine, and one vehicle hitting the ditch near Fort Qu’Appelle as a result of poor road conditions.

No injuries were reported to police in any of these incidents.

At around 8:50 a.m., the service received a call about a semi rollover on Highway 1 – approximately 10 kilometres east of Indian Head.

Sask. RCMP are currently responding along with local firefighters and paramedics.

We have no further details to provide at this time in regards to injuries or road closures, the service said.

In an update just before 12 p.m., RCMP said it had received reports of jack-knifed semis in the areas of Pense, Disley, east of Waldeck, east of Dafoe and east of Regina near White City.

No injuries have been reported in these additional incidents. Drivers should expect traffic snarls and partial road closures in these areas as the incidents are cleared.

Saskatchewans Opposition NDP says Premier Scott Moes government needs to address high food prices in light of recent scurvy cases in the provinces north.

Northern affairs critic Jordan McPhail says the cost of fresh produce and milk is exorbitant in Stony Rapids, a community near the Northwest Territories boundary.

Photos provided by the NDP, which it says were taken Monday from a grocery store in the hamlet, show a jug of milk selling for $18, a bag of apples for $15 and a package of grapes for $20.

McPhail says some people are choosing not to buy fresh food, which could lead to vitamin deficiencies.

He says the Saskatchewan Party government should suspend the 15-cents-a-litre gas tax to provide relief and help residents afford groceries.

Doctors in the northern town of La Ronge said last week they had treated 27 cases of scurvy over the last six months. 

A winter storm watch has been upgraded to a warning for parts of northeastern Saskatchewan, thanks to a strong low pressure system moving in from the south, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) says.

Included in the warning is Melfort, Tisdale and Nipawin along with surrounding areas.

Wet snow and freezing rain are expected to begin Monday afternoon and transition into heavy snow in the evening with total snowfall amounts of 20 to 30 centimetres expected by Wednesday, ECCC said on its website Monday morning.

“Along with the snow, gusty northwest winds will develop resulting in reduced visibility in snow and blowing snow,” ECCC said.

Conditions are expected to improve Wednesday.

A winter storm watch remains in effect for regions further south, including Yorkton, Melville, Moosomin and Carlyle.

Travel is expected to be hazardous in many areas, ECCC said. 

Saskatoon and Regina were not included in any watch or warning on Monday afternoon, but both cities are expecting snow with a chance of rain or freezing rain beginning Monday night and into Tuesday.  

A large portion of western Manitoba was also under a winter storm watch Monday morning. 

Regina Urgent Care Centre (UCC) continues to operate at a reduced schedule — leading to the Saskatchewan NDP claiming an election promise has already been broken.

The new facility, which officially opened on July 2, has been operating from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., seven days a week.

It was expected that the facility would begin operating on a 24/7 schedule beginning in the fall.

Now, more than halfway through November, the NDP says the Saskatchewan Party has failed to fulfill its promise.

Like many residents of this city, I’m very disappointed but not surprised that the Sask. Party can’t get this facility fully staffed up, NDP Shadow Minister for Rural and Remote Health Meara Conway told reporters Monday.

This government isn’t listening to healthcare workers and is driving them out of the province in droves.

Prior to the Regina UCC opening, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) reported that out of a goal of 130 full-time staff, it had successfully recruited 117 .

According to job listings on saskdocs.ca , three physician positions at the centre remain unfilled.

In a statement to CTV News, the SHA said that it is currently engaged with the Ministry of Health in assessing the first few months of the UCC’s operations.

This will establish a better understanding of the impact of the UCC on overall system capacity, and support future planning for necessary physician coverage and staffing levels to meet patient volumes, the statement from the authority read.

This will also assist us in determining when expansion to 24 hour per day operations will occur.

According to the SHA, since its opening, the Regina UCC has treated more than 15,500 patients — averaging 114 patients a day.

Notice of Broadcast Disruption – July 3, 2024

On July 3, 2024, at 10:49 PM, Broadcast Center 01 experienced a power outage due to a passing thunderstorm. To safeguard our equipment from potential power surges, we decided to temporarily suspend our broadcasts. This interruption affected Z103.5, 979 The Cowboy, and 101 The Rockhound.

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