Radio communications were severely disturbed last week, and the local newspaper says that solar activity is to blame. which types of solar activity could the newspaper be talking about?

Solar winds and solar flares

Explanation:

The magnetic field of the Earth - magnetosphere shields the Earth from the incoming solar particles - solar wind. Some times when the solar winds are strong, the satellites are effected and radio communication is disturbed.

Solar particles are charged particles which released from the surface of the Sun into the space. In the event of solar flare, the brightness of the sun increases suddenly near a sunspot group. These flares are usually accompanied by ejection of Sun's mass into the corona. The charged mass interacts with the ionosphere where communication satellites are placed. This causes disruption in the communication mechanism.

it is called kinetic energy