Global Events Unfold as Winter Olympics Face Setback, Cyberattack Hits Italian University, and SpaceX Pursues Orbital Data Centers
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy faced a setback as a women's ice hockey match between Finland and Canada was postponed due to a norovirus outbreak within the Team Finland camp, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday, February 5th. Meanwhile, in Rome, La Sapienza, one of Europe's largest universities, remained offline for three days following a ransomware attack. In other news, Elon Musk's SpaceX moved forward with plans for a massive orbital data center network, solidifying its merger with xAI.
The IOC stated that the ice hockey match postponement was "taken following consultations with medical professionals." The rearranged match was scheduled to be played on February 12th at the Rho Arena, a temporary venue built specifically for ice hockey, according to Sky News. The official opening of the Winter Olympics was still slated for Friday.
In Italy, La Sapienza University, with approximately 120,000 students, experienced a significant disruption after a cyberattack. TechCrunch reported that the university took its systems offline as a precaution on Tuesday and was investigating the incident. "Some communication channels such as email and workstations are partially limited," the university said in an Instagram post. The university was working to restore systems from backups that were unaffected by the hack. As of Thursday, the university's website remained down. Italian news outlet Il Corriere della Sera attributed the disruption to a ransomware attack.
On the technological front, Elon Musk's vision for orbital data centers gained momentum. TechCrunch reported that SpaceX filed plans with the FCC for a million-satellite data center network. The formal merger between SpaceX and xAI, Musk's space and AI ventures, occurred on Monday. On Wednesday, the FCC accepted the filing and set a schedule seeking public comment. FCC chairman Brendan Carr took the step, which is normally pro forma, according to TechCrunch.
In other global news, the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2026 was set to begin on Saturday, March 8, and run for 30 days. Al Jazeera reported that the tournament would feature 55 matches across eight venues, five in India and three in Sri Lanka.
Euronews provided a video news bulletin on February 5th, covering top stories from Europe and beyond, including world news, business, entertainment, politics, culture, and travel.
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