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Houthi rebels are disrupting the internet

While Yemen’s Houthi rebels have continued to attack trade shipments in the Red Sea, a new issue has come forward. The militant group responsible for boarding (and now destroying) cargo ships is being accused of disrupting the internet.

What’s the deal?

A Hong Kong telecoms company, HGC Global Communications, said last week that four underwater internet cables in the Red Sea were cut recently, prompting speculation the Houthis are behind it .

• Just as the Red Sea serves as a global corridor for shipping, it is also a major passageway for the internet, with more than 15 undersea cables connecting Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

• The cuts impeded internet connection in India, Pakistan, and East Africa, internet network analyst Doug Madory told the WSJ.

• Though internet providers have rerouted traffic, repairs won’t begin until at least next month, and HGC said about 25% of online data passes through the cables that were cut.

While the Houthis have claimed innocence, experts are speculating that a cargo ship sunk by the Houthis probably caused the outage. Additionally, Yemen’s internationally recognized government in exile warned last month that the insurgents could target the cables.

It’s a pretty big issue

While a few cables being cut may not sound like a big deal, especially as satellite internet services like Starlink are increasingly popular, physical subsea wires continue to be the fastest (and cheapest) way to send data.

• Over 99% of internet traffic between continents is transmitted through hundreds of undersea cables, according to CNET.

• According to the NYT, tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft have been building new ones, which can cost up to $350 million a cable.

The Red Sea serves as the heart of a global sea-floor cable network, as it provides a passageway for about 17% of global internet traffic, per Data Center Dynamics. Even a small cable problem would disrupt internet for millions.

This comes after escalating tensions in the Red Sea: Just last week, Houthi rebels targeted and destroyed a cargo ship passing through the area, which was carrying hazardous fertiliser.

The cargo ship (named The Rubymar) is the first vessel sunk since the Houthis began targeting commercial ships in November. Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak said in a post on X, “It is a new tragedy for our country and our people. Every day we pay the price for the adventures of the Houthi militia…”

The search for flight MH370 will continue

One of aviations greatest mysteries has some newfound hope of being solved. Ten years ago last month, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in modern aviation’s greatest mystery. But now, a proposed search might bring hope to those who lost loved ones and that the plane could eventually be located.

The mystery of the decade

Since it was over a decade ago, some may need a refresher on the situation:

On March 8, 2014, less than 40 minutes after takeoff, the Boeing 777 aircraft from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing stopped transmitting location data. Upon exiting Malaysian airspace, it deviated off its flight path toward the Indian Ocean, with satellite data indicating the aircraft continued flying for hours.

The disappearance of the 239 people onboard led to multiple international search efforts, sparking the largest search operation in history. Theories about the plane have ranged from hijacking and murder-suicide to plane failure. Several parts have washed ashore in Mozambique and Madagascar, though the plane and its black box (with all of the plane’s recorded flight data) remain lost.

So, what’s the new search plan?

As passengers’ families fight for a renewed search effort, Malaysia’s government said this weekend it might honor their wishes and proceed with another search for MH370 with help from a Texas-based tech company, Ocean Infinity.

Ocean Infinity conducted a previous search for the plane in 2018 which came up empty (and would’ve made the company $70 million if the plane was found), but it’s proposing another contract with the Malaysian government for a second expedition to the Indian Ocean.

• In its next attempt to find MH370, Ocean Infinity would deploy swarms of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) operated remotely from England.

• However, the company’s CEO told The Daily Beast that he couldn’t “definitively” say when the search would happen, and it’s unclear whether Ocean Infinity is in the correct location.

Families of the passengers say finding the plane would not only bring closure, but it’s imperative to prevent the tragedy from being repeated. In the past 10 years, efforts by regulators to avoid another MH370 have been “painfully slow,” Bloomberg noted.

This former Disney star is now a space tech CEO

You may know her as “Teddy” from Good Luck Charlie, but now, you might invest in her interstellar startup. The Disney star and certified-platinum singer Bridgit Mendler announced last month that her satellite data startup raised $6.3 million in seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz and other backers.

She’s got quite the resume: Mendler is currently in the last year of a law degree at Harvard, where she co-led the Harvard Space Law Society… all while pursuing an interdisciplinary Ph.D. from MIT. She previously worked at the division of the Federal Communications Commission that deals with satellites.

Building a data highway

Mendler, the CEO of Northwood Space, says the startup is planning on “building a data highway between earth and space.” They also want to mass-produce ground stations (the circular antennas that communicate with satellites) to make it easier for space companies to rent them.

Mendler co-founded Northwood Space with her husband, Griffin Cleverly, and Head of Software Shaurya Luthra. The project began when the married couple began building antennas “out of random crap” from Home Depot to connect with government weather satellites during the pandemic, she told CNBC.

Although the company is still in its early stages, Mendler wrote on LinkedIn, “We’re already building a killer team,” citing members connected to tech companies like SpaceX, Northrop Grumman, and Palantir Technologies. So if you see ground stations popping up out of nowhere, you might know who to thank.

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Grab Bag

Huge reserves of helium were found in Minnesota

While this may not seem very exciting, scientists are giddy over this unprecedented discovery. A high concentration of helium was found more than 2,000 feet beneath the surface of Minnesota’s Iron Range, easing concerns that the US has either depleted its helium reserves or sold them off to private equity.

Why is this cause for celebration?

While I (and probably many others) thought helium was just used for balloons and blimps, it’s actually quite important. For example, MRI machines need thousands of gallons of liquid helium to cool the magnets that generate the images that diagnose cancer, heart conditions, and ligament tears.

How long until the planet will run out of helium has been heavily contested; David Cole-Hamilton, emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of St Andrews, told the Independent said in 2019 it would take 10 years; others estimated there were at least 100 years of helium left.

“A dream. It’s perfect.”

That quote was Pulsar Helium CEO Thomas Abraham-James’s exhilarated reaction to the helium concentration levels in the discovery. The deposit is roughly 30 times the industry standard for commercial helium, CBS noted. However, a third party will still have to conduct a feasibility study to determine if the size of the deposit and warrants the possibility of opening a plant.

The city of Miami has had enough of drunk college kids

The city of Miami has drawn a line in the sand when it comes to drunk tourists. Can’t say I blame them. Popular spring break destination Miami Beach has created an anti-tourism ad and published rules to try and dissuade college kids from overtaking its beaches this year during spring break season, which starts this week for many.

“It’s not us. It’s you.”

During two high-traffic weekends, Miami Beach said it would institute $100 parking fees for nonresidents, curfews, DUI checkpoints, beach closures, bag checks, and a much heavier police presence.

• The city even made a brazen video telling spring breakers to come back when they’ve matured a bit.

After a rise in violence over the past few years, the city has had enough of its unwelcome visitors. Last year, there was a deadly shooting that killed two people over a single weekend. Multiple violent incidents have occured during spring break, which prompted harsh curfews and excessive police force. Now, Miami is trying a different strategy.

However, not everyone is on board with the plan: Civil rights activists argue the restrictions are an overreaction and largely target Black visitors, who have been traveling to the area more frequently for the past two decades. Meanwhile, some business owners say the regulations are putting a kink in their income as spring break is one of the busiest times of the year.

But, it will be a busy break regardless: United Airlines expects this to be the busiest spring break ever, with over 21 million passengers flying from March 8 to April 21.

Fast Facts

Fartnite: GameScent will sell a device that uses AI to release scents that match the video game you’re playing. That begs the question, what does Fortnite smell like?

Fan Flooding: TikTok users flooded the offices of House members with phone calls over concerns that they could soon ban the app.

Snake Statue: Every spring, the Italian village of Cocullo hosts the festival of the snake catchers, where people carry a statue of San Domenico covered in snakes through the streets.

Fish Fry: A half-inch fish called the Danionella cerebrum can make sounds in excess of 140 decibels (about as loud as an ambulance or jackhammer). Scientists recorded the fish, which sounds like a swarm of underwater cicadas, by using a rib in its body that rapidly drums against cartilage. 

Cream Contest: Chocolate chip ice cream is slowly falling out of the top ice creams in the US. Premium flavors like salted caramel and Butter Pecan are rising through the ranks, but plain ole’ vanilla is still at the two spot.