Tonga’s internet connection restored after five weeks of outages

The country’s main fiber-optic undersea cable was severed by a massive volcanic eruption and tsunami. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following Tonga’s internet connection restored after five weeks of outages [Debris from damaged building and trees are strewn around on Atata Island in Tonga, following the eruption of an underwater volcano and subsequent tsunami, Jan. 28, 2022.] Credit: POIS Christopher Szumlanski/Australian Defence Force via AP/File photo Tonga Tonga’s internet connection has been restored, five weeks after being disrupted by a massive volcanic eruption and tsunami, which severed the nation’s main fiber-optic undersea cable. Officials in neighboring Fiji say Elon Musk's SpaceX had [established a station]( there to help restore the connections in Tonga. [Three people were killed]( by the tsunami and dozens of homes were destroyed. The country has also been dealing with its first COVID-19 outbreak, which is believed to have been brought in by foreign military crews delivering aid. There haven’t been any reported deaths, however, and health officials say 90% of the population is vaccinated. Ukraine Ukrainian government websites, along with banks and other targets, were [hit by a cyberattack]( on Wednesday. Parliament and the Defense Ministry were able to restore their sites, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security Service were not immediately able to do so. The source of the [DDoS attack]( — when a hacker floods a victim’s network or server with traffic so others are unable to access it — has not yet been confirmed. It comes as Russia started evacuating its embassy in Kyiv and Ukraine called on its citizens to leave Russia, following Western nations placing new sanctions on Moscow, after President Vladimir Putin authorized sending more Russian troops into Ukraine’s Donbas region. The Netherlands Police have ended a siege that lasted for several hours when a man with a firearm held several people hostage at an Apple store in central Amsterdam, in what began as an armed robbery. Authorities hit the gunman with a police car and sent in a robot to search him for explosives, which they’ve [confirmed he had](. Police say the 27-year-old man, who was treated by medics and is under arrest, has a criminal record and [demanded $230 million]( in cryptocurrency during the incident. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Could a court case in Lebanon shift attitudes toward migrant domestic workers?]( [A migrant domestic worker holds a placard during a march demanding basic labor rights as Lebanese workers in Beirut, May 3, 2015.] Credit: Bilal Hussein/AP/File photo In a rare case, an Ethiopian domestic worker in Lebanon is taking her former employer and the agency that hired her to court over accusations of slavery and slave trading. The woman, identified as M.H., alleges that she was underpaid, locked up and assaulted over several years. Activists are hoping it will help change the [worker sponsorship program]( in Lebanon. --------------------------------------------------------------- Bright spot A team of Jordanian and French archaeologists working together have found a roughly 9,000-year-old shrine at a remote Neolithic site in Jordan’s eastern desert. “The site is unique. ... It's 9,000 years old and everything was almost intact," said Jordanian archaeologist Wael Abu-Azziza, who is a co-director of the project. [Two carved standing stones at a remote Neolithic site in Jordan’s eastern desert, Feb. 22, 2022.] [Credit: Jordan Tourism Ministry via AP]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [In case you missed it from The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.