Article 4 and Article 5 are the two clauses of the North Atlantic Treaty that get quoted every time a Russian drone crosses a border or a missile lands near allied territory. They do very different things. Article 4 is a right to call a meeting. Article 5 is the mutual defence pledge, the promise that an armed attack on one ally counts as an attack on all. Article 4 has been used nine times since 2003.

Sanctions are legal restrictions that stop people and companies from dealing with a named target: a government, a company, a ship, an individual. Four systems matter most for anyone doing business across borders. The United States runs the most powerful one, because so much of the world’s money moves in dollars. The EU and the UK run their own regimes, which overlap with Washington’s but are written and enforced differently. The UN Security Council sits above all three in law but has no enforcement arm of its own.

Subsea cables carry almost all international internet traffic, and they break often. The industry records roughly 150 to 200 faults a year, most caused by fishing gear and ship anchors in shallow water. Since 2023 a cluster of breaks near geopolitical flashpoints has drawn much closer attention. This log records the significant incidents in date order, with the suspected vessel, what investigators found and where each case stands. Last updated: 15 September 2026.