Internet and phone communications between Europe, the Middle East and Asia disrupted

PanARMENIAN.Net - Internet and phone communications between Europe, the Middle East and Asia were severely disrupted Friday after three undersea cables were damaged in the Mediterranean, France Telecom said.



"The causes of the cut, which is located in the Mediterranean between Sicily and Tunisia, on sections linking Sicily to Egypt, remain unclear," a statement said, while a spokesman said it was unlikely to have been an attack.



The company said it was sending a boat to fix the lines between Italy and Egypt but that it would not arrive until Monday and that it could take until December 31 until normal service was restored.



Most business to business traffic between Europe and Asia was being rerouted through the United States, the firm said, but regular communications between Europe and several Asian countries has been disrupted since early Friday.



Sixty-five per cent of traffic to India was down, while Singapore saw a 59 percent cut, Malaysia 44 percent, Saudi Arabia 55 percent, Egypt 52 percent, Taiwan 39 percent and Pakistan 51 percent, the AFP reports.