Adebayo reported from Abuja, Nigeria.

The Chinese Embassy dismissed the Czech accusations as “groundless.” It said China fights “all forms of cyber attacks and does not support, promote or tolerate hacker attacks.”The United States denounced the Chinese activities and called on China to stop it immediately, the U.S. Embassy in Prague said in a statement. It said

and foreign politicians, foreign policy experts and others.“APT31 has also stolen trade secrets and intellectual property, and targeted entities in some of America’s most vital critical infrastructure sectors, including the Defense Industrial Base, information technology, and energy sectors,” the embassy said.NATO and the European Union also condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the Czechs.

“We observe with increasing concern the growing pattern of malicious cyber activities stemming from the People’s Republic of China,” NATO said.“This attack is an unacceptable breach of international norms,” Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said. “The EU will not tolerate hostile cyber actions.”

, the email account of then Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek and the accounts of dozens of ministry officials were successfully hacked. Officials said the attack was sophisticated, and experts believed it was done by a foreign state, which was not named then.

Sam McNeil contributed to this report from Paris.In 1859, a severe solar storm triggered auroras as far south as Hawaii and caught telegraph lines on fire in a rare event. And a 1972 solar storm may have detonated magnetic U.S. sea mines off the coast of Vietnam.

Space weather experts aren’t able to predict a solar storm months in advance. Instead, they alert relevant parties to prepare in the days before a solar outburst hits Earth.Northern lights forecasts can be found on

or an aurora forecasting app.Consider aurora-watching in a quiet, dark area away from city lights. NASA’s Kelly Korreck recommended skygazing from a local or national park. And check the weather forecast because clouds can cover up the spectacle entirely.