Recent Poor Internet Service Leaves Syrians Disgruntled

Many Syrians complained in recent days of a drop in internet speed. (Getty Images)
Many Syrians complained in recent days of a drop in internet speed. (Getty Images)
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Recent Poor Internet Service Leaves Syrians Disgruntled

Many Syrians complained in recent days of a drop in internet speed. (Getty Images)
Many Syrians complained in recent days of a drop in internet speed. (Getty Images)

A sharp decline in internet speed in Syria has caused much resentment in regime-held areas, especially since the majority of Syrians rely on the internet to communicate with their children and families in asylum countries.

The internet speed had fallen by more than 90 percent.

A resident from the capital said he noticed the deterioration of the internet four days ago, during his call with his refugee son in Europe, after the call was interrupted more than 10 times.

He first thought that the problem was in the router, but a technician told him that the country is affected by slow speeds.

"We are used to slow internet, but this time it is slower than ever. The problem is that all the router signals are high and do not indicate any interruption or slowness."

Hawa Al Sham Weather Station cited sources in the Regime’s Ministry of Communication saying: "The low quality of the internet is due to the disruption of one of the international submarine cables between Cyprus and Marseille."

Other media sources said however the submarine cable coming from Egypt had been damaged and led to poor internet in Syria, adding that efforts to fix the malfunction were hampered by a storm.

Other sources suggested that the internet speed was weakened due to repairs of cables in different parts of the country, which coincided with a storm.

The decline in the internet quality took place simultaneously with a low-pressure area, accompanied by heavy rain and strong winds that began on Thursday night, and lasted for two days. The weather improved on Saturday.



Octopus Riding a Shark Caught on Camera

Researchers with the University of Auckland captured the rare sighting in the Hauraki Gulf near Kawau Island in New Zealand. (Credit: University of Auckland)
Researchers with the University of Auckland captured the rare sighting in the Hauraki Gulf near Kawau Island in New Zealand. (Credit: University of Auckland)
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Octopus Riding a Shark Caught on Camera

Researchers with the University of Auckland captured the rare sighting in the Hauraki Gulf near Kawau Island in New Zealand. (Credit: University of Auckland)
Researchers with the University of Auckland captured the rare sighting in the Hauraki Gulf near Kawau Island in New Zealand. (Credit: University of Auckland)

A rare sighting, captured on video off the coast of New Zealand and shared by scientists affiliated with the University of Auckland, shows a Maori octopus riding on top of a mako shark, Fox News reported.

The university said the December 2023 encounter "was one of the strangest things University of Auckland marine scientists had ever seen. It was a mysterious sight indeed... octopus are mostly on the seabed while short-fin mako sharks don’t [favor] the deep."

The university researchers had been looking for shark feeding frenzies in the Hauraki Gulf near Kawau Island when a mako shark with an "orange patch" on its head was discovered, the report said.

The researchers launched a drone and put a GoPro camera in the water and "saw something unforgettable: an octopus perched atop the shark’s head, clinging on with its tentacles," University of Auckland Professor Rochelle Constantine wrote in a piece for the university last week.

Constantine added that the researchers moved on after 10 minutes, so they weren’t sure what happened to the "sharktopus" next, but the "octopus may have been in for quite the experience, since the world’s fastest shark species can reach [30 mph]."