Microsoft reroutes Azure traffic after undersea fiber damage

Anabelle Colaco
10 Sep 2025, 15:16 GMT+10

Internet access across Asia and the Middle East faced widespread disruption after damage to subsea cables in the Red Sea, according to monitoring groups and companies that rely on the links
Internet watchdog Netblocks said the outages affected multiple countries, including India and Pakistan. Users in the United Arab Emirates also experienced disruptions on Etisalat and Du networks
Netblocks said the problems were traced to cable failures near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

LONDON, U.K.: Internet access across Asia and the Middle East faced widespread disruption after damage to subsea cables in the Red Sea, according to monitoring groups and companies that rely on the links.

Internet watchdog Netblocks said the outages affected multiple countries, including India and Pakistan. Users in the United Arab Emirates also experienced disruptions on Etisalat and Du networks.

Netblocks said the problems were traced to cable failures near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was not immediately clear who or what caused the damage.

Microsoft confirmed the incident, saying the cuts had affected its Azure cloud platform — the world's second-largest after Amazon Web Services.

"Azure users may experience service disruptions on traffic routes through the Middle East," the company said, noting it had rerouted traffic through alternative network paths.

While the rerouting has kept services online, Microsoft acknowledged that "higher latency" could affect users whose data previously traveled through the Middle East. Traffic not passing through the region remains unaffected, the company added.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Cape Town Express.

More Information

null in null

International

Section

Microsoft reroutes Azure traffic after undersea fiber damage

LONDON, U.K.: Internet access across Asia and the Middle East faced widespread disruption after damage to subsea cables in the Red...

Israel shatters hostages hopes with assassination attempts on negotiators

DOHA, Qatar - In a significant and dramatic escalation that has sent shockwaves through the Middle East, the Israeli military has confirmed...

Nepal PM resigns as protesters storm parliament

KATHMANDU, Nepal: Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli has resigned amid the violence that continued for a second day Tuesday, which saw...

Israel to intensify operations in Gaza, West Bank and wider region

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue his country's war in Gaza, and in Jerusalem, following...

Severe floods and landslides ravage Himalayan states in India

NEW DELHI, India: At least 90 people have lost their lives and hundreds more have been displaced as unrelenting monsoon rains continue...

Bullfighting and cockfighting to be banned in Colombia by 2028

BOGOTA, Colombia: Colombia's Constitutional Court on September 4 upheld a 2024 law banning bullfights across the country, while going...

South Africa

Section