CNN10 2025-02-24
CNN 10
How Does The Internet Work? Agents Deploy for Brazil's Anti- Deforestation Campaign; Flying Taxis May Be Here Sooner Than You Think. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired February 24, 2025 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: What's up, Sunshine? Welcome to CNN 10, the best 10 minutes in news, thanks to you. I'm Coy Wire, great to be back here with you, kicking off another week of learning and some fun.
Let's get started. We start today in Europe, where Swedish police are investigating a suspected case of sabotage of an undersea telecoms cable that took place last week. It's the third time the Finnish telecom cable was damaged, this time in Sweden's economic zone after being completely severed in November and December of last year.
Undersea cables are the invisible force behind almost all of our communications around the world. Everything from bank transfers to streaming, and even this episode you're watching right now, are all possible because of a vast network of internet cables that lie under the sea.
We've come to rely on this vital infrastructure in our everyday lives, unaware they exist at times. That's because companies spread data across multiple cables, so that if one goes down, customers won't be cut off. It's an important practice given how vulnerable the cables can be to a host of factors like hurricanes, earthquakes, and accidental or intentional damage from fishing nets or ship anchors.
Within the last few months, multiple undersea cables in the Baltic Sea in Europe have been disrupted. NATO officials have launched an operation sending warships tasked with preventing these suspected intentional attacks in the Baltic Sea, while improving coordination with border guards from the affected nations. CNN's Nic Robertson shows us how these cables work and just how vulnerable they can be.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You might think that the internet comes from up there in the sky in the cloud. The reality is it lies deep below the ocean, and it's all possible because of a global network of internet cables under the sea. This map shows the hundreds that crisscross the ocean, connecting countries with each other.
According to NATO, 1.3 million kilometers of cables carry 10 trillion dollars' worth of financial transactions daily. So how do they actually work? Well, modern undersea data cables like this one, use fiber optic technology.
The fibers are wrapped in layers and layers of protection before they're laid on the seabed by ships. They lay directly on the seafloor, however closer to the shore they are typically buried under the seabed. The process can take years as it involves a lot of planning to determine the best path for each line.
And because they're so vital, there's a real concern about their vulnerability in a new era of hybrid warfare.
According to telegeography, there are around 200 data cable faults in a year, most of which are accidental, often caused by fishing and anchoring.
However, in recent years several cables have been disrupted in the Baltic Sea as well as the Asia-Pacific region, raising concerns over potential sabotage.
Beyond the physical vulnerability, these cables are also susceptible to surveillance. During the Cold War, the U.S. tapped Soviet undersea cables to intercept communication.
So what happens if a cable is cut? Repairing a cable is costly and time- consuming. According to the International Cable Protection Committee, it costs between one and three million dollars to repair a cable. It can take several months to fix a broken line.
While most companies operate several cables, so if one of them breaks they've got a backup, a serious failure could take down the internet for a whole country and a coordinated attack that could affect services across the whole world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Pop quiz hot shot. What percentage of Earth's oxygen is produced by the Amazon rainforest? 5%, 10%, 20% or 50%?
If you said 20, you're so money. The largest rainforest in the world contributes an estimated one-fifth of the oxygen produced on land via photosynthesis. Deforestation has been a major threat to the Amazon rainforest for decades, driven by factors like growing infrastructure development, ranching and mining.
In Brazil, the Environmental Protection Agency recently led a raid to combat deforestation there, stopping illegal loggers, closing their sawmills and fining those involved millions of dollars.
Our Stefano Pozzebon shows us how the operation carried out its goal to curb illegal logging in the protected and indigenous lands that see some of the country's highest deforestation rates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: This is Operation Maravalha, which takes its name for a kind of sawdust. Environmental agents in Brazil have kicked off a major campaign to tackle deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. The government told "Reuters" that the operation should be the largest of its kind in five years, as they granted the agency rare access to this timber raid you are seeing now.
Officials say more than 5,000 truckloads of illegal timber were seized in the last few weeks, and most of it comes from some of the most heavily logged regions in the Amazon rainforest. Since taking back the presidency in 2023, the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has promised to tackle deforestation, which was surging under his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro. And Lula has made progress.
Deforestation in the Amazon fell to its lowest level in six years, plunging 66% year on year in July of 2023. On the other hand, critics point out Lula's investment in fossil fuels, which include his recent push for offshore oil drilling near the Amazon River, which is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. Brazil has also announced its intention to join OPEC+, a group of oil exporting nations, which signals the country's evolution into a key oil producer.
And this is happening just nine months before the country hosts the United Nations Environmental Summit. Lula has said before that the oil revenues can speed up the transition to clean energy, but fossil fuels make up the bulk of planet heating pollution, while the other main source is changes in land use, which include deforestation. And this is the fine line Brazilian authorities are currently trying to balance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Today's story getting a 10 out of 10, flying taxis of the not-so- distant future. A U.K.-based company is working to launch a new mode of urban transport in cities across the world by the year 2030. It says these flying machines will be safe, low noise, zero emission, and nimble enough to fly through city airspace, and that they won't cost much more than traditional taxis, Ubers, or Lyfts.
Our Max Foster visited the Hangar in Bristol, where these flying rides are being tested out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Imagine trying to book a taxi on your app and it can fly. Well, it is a plan. And this is what the vehicle will look like that arrives. It's an electric, what did we call it? Is it a helicopter? Is it a plane? The answer is neither or rather both. This is VX4, an electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle, eVTOL for short, built by Bristol- based Vertical Aerospace.
It's not quite the flying car from the Jetsons, but eVTOLs are likely to be landing in a vertiport near you in the not-too-distant future.
When we talk about it being a flying taxi, you're comfortable with that because in the future, you do imagine people calling up one of these instead of a car. Is that right?
DAVID KING, VERTICAL AEROSPACE CHIEF ENGINEER: Yes. eVTOLs can allow us to unlock the pilgrimage to use air mobility to get them point A to point B.
FOSTER (voice-over): The VX4 will have a range of 100 miles and a top speed of 150 miles per hour. And it'll initially fly between airports and cities.
KING: So the inside, the interior, is designed to the same comfort and roominess of a London black taxi. So it takes off vertically like a helicopter and then immediately tilts the four propellers forward to a longitudinal horizontal configuration, so that it cruises like a propeller driven airplane.
FOSTER (voice-over): All being well, Vertical Aerospace planned to make and deliver 150 aircraft to clients across the world by 2030.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Talk about taking technology from sci-fi to reality. Let me ask you this. If there was a flying taxi in your town right now, would you take it or do you need some more time to see how things will go?
All right. Thanks to all of you who have subscribed and have been commenting on our CNN 10 YouTube channel for your shout out requests. Our shout out today is going to New Milford, Pennsylvania, Blue Ridge High School. We see you Raiders.
And to my new friends I met last week, the Eagles and Mr. P at Cleve Hill Middle School in Buffalo, New York, rise up.
Have an awesome day, everyone. See you right back here tomorrow on CNN 10.
END
CNN 10
How Does The Internet Work? Agents Deploy for Brazil's Anti- Deforestation Campaign; Flying Taxis May Be Here Sooner Than You Think. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired February 24, 2025 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: What's up, Sunshine? Welcome to CNN 10, the best 10 minutes in news, thanks to you. I'm Coy Wire, great to be back here with you, kicking off another week of learning and some fun.
Let's get started. We start today in Europe, where Swedish police are investigating a suspected case of sabotage of an undersea telecoms cable that took place last week. It's the third time the Finnish telecom cable was damaged, this time in Sweden's economic zone after being completely severed in November and December of last year.
Undersea cables are the invisible force behind almost all of our communications around the world. Everything from bank transfers to streaming, and even this episode you're watching right now, are all possible because of a vast network of internet cables that lie under the sea.
We've come to rely on this vital infrastructure in our everyday lives, unaware they exist at times. That's because companies spread data across multiple cables, so that if one goes down, customers won't be cut off. It's an important practice given how vulnerable the cables can be to a host of factors like hurricanes, earthquakes, and accidental or intentional damage from fishing nets or ship anchors.
Within the last few months, multiple undersea cables in the Baltic Sea in Europe have been disrupted. NATO officials have launched an operation sending warships tasked with preventing these suspected intentional attacks in the Baltic Sea, while improving coordination with border guards from the affected nations. CNN's Nic Robertson shows us how these cables work and just how vulnerable they can be.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You might think that the internet comes from up there in the sky in the cloud. The reality is it lies deep below the ocean, and it's all possible because of a global network of internet cables under the sea. This map shows the hundreds that crisscross the ocean, connecting countries with each other.
According to NATO, 1.3 million kilometers of cables carry 10 trillion dollars' worth of financial transactions daily. So how do they actually work? Well, modern undersea data cables like this one, use fiber optic technology.
The fibers are wrapped in layers and layers of protection before they're laid on the seabed by ships. They lay directly on the seafloor, however closer to the shore they are typically buried under the seabed. The process can take years as it involves a lot of planning to determine the best path for each line.
And because they're so vital, there's a real concern about their vulnerability in a new era of hybrid warfare.
According to telegeography, there are around 200 data cable faults in a year, most of which are accidental, often caused by fishing and anchoring.
However, in recent years several cables have been disrupted in the Baltic Sea as well as the Asia-Pacific region, raising concerns over potential sabotage.
Beyond the physical vulnerability, these cables are also susceptible to surveillance. During the Cold War, the U.S. tapped Soviet undersea cables to intercept communication.
So what happens if a cable is cut? Repairing a cable is costly and time- consuming. According to the International Cable Protection Committee, it costs between one and three million dollars to repair a cable. It can take several months to fix a broken line.
While most companies operate several cables, so if one of them breaks they've got a backup, a serious failure could take down the internet for a whole country and a coordinated attack that could affect services across the whole world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Pop quiz hot shot. What percentage of Earth's oxygen is produced by the Amazon rainforest? 5%, 10%, 20% or 50%?
If you said 20, you're so money. The largest rainforest in the world contributes an estimated one-fifth of the oxygen produced on land via photosynthesis. Deforestation has been a major threat to the Amazon rainforest for decades, driven by factors like growing infrastructure development, ranching and mining.
In Brazil, the Environmental Protection Agency recently led a raid to combat deforestation there, stopping illegal loggers, closing their sawmills and fining those involved millions of dollars.
Our Stefano Pozzebon shows us how the operation carried out its goal to curb illegal logging in the protected and indigenous lands that see some of the country's highest deforestation rates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: This is Operation Maravalha, which takes its name for a kind of sawdust. Environmental agents in Brazil have kicked off a major campaign to tackle deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. The government told "Reuters" that the operation should be the largest of its kind in five years, as they granted the agency rare access to this timber raid you are seeing now.
Officials say more than 5,000 truckloads of illegal timber were seized in the last few weeks, and most of it comes from some of the most heavily logged regions in the Amazon rainforest. Since taking back the presidency in 2023, the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has promised to tackle deforestation, which was surging under his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro. And Lula has made progress.
Deforestation in the Amazon fell to its lowest level in six years, plunging 66% year on year in July of 2023. On the other hand, critics point out Lula's investment in fossil fuels, which include his recent push for offshore oil drilling near the Amazon River, which is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. Brazil has also announced its intention to join OPEC+, a group of oil exporting nations, which signals the country's evolution into a key oil producer.
And this is happening just nine months before the country hosts the United Nations Environmental Summit. Lula has said before that the oil revenues can speed up the transition to clean energy, but fossil fuels make up the bulk of planet heating pollution, while the other main source is changes in land use, which include deforestation. And this is the fine line Brazilian authorities are currently trying to balance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Today's story getting a 10 out of 10, flying taxis of the not-so- distant future. A U.K.-based company is working to launch a new mode of urban transport in cities across the world by the year 2030. It says these flying machines will be safe, low noise, zero emission, and nimble enough to fly through city airspace, and that they won't cost much more than traditional taxis, Ubers, or Lyfts.
Our Max Foster visited the Hangar in Bristol, where these flying rides are being tested out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Imagine trying to book a taxi on your app and it can fly. Well, it is a plan. And this is what the vehicle will look like that arrives. It's an electric, what did we call it? Is it a helicopter? Is it a plane? The answer is neither or rather both. This is VX4, an electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle, eVTOL for short, built by Bristol- based Vertical Aerospace.
It's not quite the flying car from the Jetsons, but eVTOLs are likely to be landing in a vertiport near you in the not-too-distant future.
When we talk about it being a flying taxi, you're comfortable with that because in the future, you do imagine people calling up one of these instead of a car. Is that right?
DAVID KING, VERTICAL AEROSPACE CHIEF ENGINEER: Yes. eVTOLs can allow us to unlock the pilgrimage to use air mobility to get them point A to point B.
FOSTER (voice-over): The VX4 will have a range of 100 miles and a top speed of 150 miles per hour. And it'll initially fly between airports and cities.
KING: So the inside, the interior, is designed to the same comfort and roominess of a London black taxi. So it takes off vertically like a helicopter and then immediately tilts the four propellers forward to a longitudinal horizontal configuration, so that it cruises like a propeller driven airplane.
FOSTER (voice-over): All being well, Vertical Aerospace planned to make and deliver 150 aircraft to clients across the world by 2030.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Talk about taking technology from sci-fi to reality. Let me ask you this. If there was a flying taxi in your town right now, would you take it or do you need some more time to see how things will go?
All right. Thanks to all of you who have subscribed and have been commenting on our CNN 10 YouTube channel for your shout out requests. Our shout out today is going to New Milford, Pennsylvania, Blue Ridge High School. We see you Raiders.
And to my new friends I met last week, the Eagles and Mr. P at Cleve Hill Middle School in Buffalo, New York, rise up.
Have an awesome day, everyone. See you right back here tomorrow on CNN 10.
END