Putin SHUTS DOOR On Russia Land Swap, Russia Draws New RED LINE Before Trump Summit; Zelensky Sweats
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Hindustan Times
18 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
WhatsApp says Russia is trying to block it: ‘We will keep doing all we can…'
Social media messaging app WhatsApp has alleged that Russia was trying to block its services, saying that the Meta-owned platform protects people's right to secure communication, and it has vowed to continue making encrypted services available in the country. WhatsApp says Russia is trying to block its services, vows to keep encryption.(REUTERS File) Russia has begun limiting some Telegram and WhatsApp calls, accusing the foreign-owned apps of not sharing information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases, news agency Reuters reported. 'WhatsApp is private, end-to-end encrypted, and defies government attempts to violate people's right to secure communication, which is why Russia is trying to block it from over 100 million Russian people,' WhatsApp said in a statement. 'We will keep doing all we can to make end-to-end encrypted communication available to people everywhere, including in Russia,' it added. Meanwhile, Telegram said its moderators use AI tools to monitor public sections of the platform and remove millions of harmful messages daily. In a statement, it said, 'Telegram actively combats harmful use of its platform, including calls for sabotage or violence and fraud.' Russia has been in conflict with foreign tech platforms for years over content and data storage, a dispute that escalated after Moscow sent its army into Ukraine in February 2022, with critics alleging that Russia is seeking greater control over the country's internet space, the report added. Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved the development of a state-backed messaging app integrated with government services, as Moscow pushes for what it calls digital sovereignty by promoting domestic platforms and reducing reliance on foreign-owned services. 'In order to counteract criminals … measures are being taken to partially restrict calls on these foreign messengers,' the communications regulator Roskomnadzor told Interfax. Reuters also reported that since August 11, voice calls on Telegram have been largely disrupted, while WhatsApp calls have become nearly impossible due to intermittent audio and a metallic buzzing.
Time of India
18 minutes ago
- Time of India
Trump's 50% tariff threatens India's manufacturing ambitions
Bloomberg Live Events India's largest shoemaker Farida Group had already staked out the land — a 150-acre plot in southern Tamil Nadu — for a sprawling new export plant. Then came a blow from Washington: President Donald Trump announced he was doubling tariffs on Indian exports to 50%.For Farida, which supplies brands like Cole Haan and Clarks and depends on the US for about 60% of its business, the impact was immediate. New orders stopped. The 10 billion rupee ($114 million) project froze.'With 25% tariffs, you can still work, you can give some discount, negotiate with the buyer and make some adjustments in your profits,' Rafeeque Ahmed, the company's chairman, said in an interview. 'At 50%, you don't have anything.'Farida is hardly alone. Trump's move would give India the highest tariff rate in Asia, threatening a manufacturing sector that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spent a decade trying to build to take on the likes of China. The 'Make in India' campaign was supposed to lift manufacturing to 25% of the economy. Last year, it stood at just 13% — lower than the 16% in 2015, according to World Bank last few years did offer glimmers of the future Modi had envisioned. Apple Inc. scaled up iPhone assembly in India, making the country the second-largest smartphone producer after China. Pharmaceuticals and green tech have also gained ground. The US — whose policies and actions accelerated companies' adoption of a 'China Plus One' strategy to diversify supply chains — is now India's biggest export market and one of its top sources of foreign progress is suddenly vulnerable. While the tariff hike spares smartphones and pharmaceuticals for now, it puts the rest of India's $87 billion in US-bound exports on the line.'Forget China Plus One right now. Companies are thinking India Plus One,' Ahmed said. 'They are making plans to move out of India.'India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry didn't immediately respond to a request for says the tariff hike is punishment for India's purchase of discounted oil from Russia, which he argues helps fund President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine. But India was the only major economy to be hit with such 'secondary tariffs,' even though China is the largest overall buyer of Moscow's the 50% rate holds, Bloomberg Economics estimates US-bound exports from India could fall by 60% and put nearly 1% of gross domestic product at risk. Without exemptions for pharmaceuticals and electronics, the decline could reach 80%. Even the earlier 25% rate — already higher than in Vietnam, Malaysia or Bangladesh, was enough to threaten a 30% drop in exports. For comparison, Chinese goods face about a 30% US tariff.'In addition to the economic challenge, politically it's difficult for Prime Minister Modi that India now pays a higher blanket rate than China,' said Alexander Slater, head of the India practice at consulting firm is pressing on other fronts as well. Beijing wants to limit tech transfers and equipment exports to India and Southeast Asia, aiming to deter companies from relocating production, Bloomberg previously reported. China's rare earth curbs also hit Indian automakers earlier this the same time, Trump's tariffs have opened the door for closer India-China ties. Direct flights may resume as soon as next month, and Beijing has eased restrictions on urea exports to the factory floor, anxiety over the US tariff is palpable. Ajay Sahai, chief executive officer of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, said exporters could see demand fall 20% in the short term. The timing couldn't be worse: summer 2026 orders are being placed right now, but with tariffs sitting at 50%, buyers are balking.'I've been getting 80 to 90 calls every day concerning these issues from exporters seeking solutions and ways out,' he said. 'It's difficult to do business in such a tariff environment.'Some factories are slashing prices to hold on to customers. The only way to retain buyers is by giving huge discounts, said Sudhir Sekhri, managing director at apparel maker Trend Setters Group. Spring and summer orders account for roughly 65% of his firm's Mumbai, Sharad Kumar Saraf, managing director of Technocraft Group, which produces scaffolding, textiles and other goods, is running the numbers to reduce costs for buyers. About a third of its sales are headed for the US. 'Additional tariffs is unwarranted and uncalled for and will impact our trade severely,' he said.
Indian Express
18 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Zelenskyy to meet UK PM in London ahead of Trump-Putin summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due in London to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, to take stock ahead of US President Donald Trump's key talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Zelenskyy, who was in Germany on Wednesday, has been working with European leaders to press Trump not to allow Putin to carve up Ukraine's territory at the Alaska summit. He is due to meet Starmer at 9.30 am local time (0830 GMT) at the British premier's official residence, 10 Downing Street. On Wednesday, Trump joined a Germany-hosted virtual meeting with European leaders, including Zelenskyy, who sought to set red lines ahead of the summit on ending the war in Ukraine. Zelenskyy said he warned Trump that the Russian leader was 'bluffing' about his desire to end the war. Trump later threatened 'severe consequences' if Putin does not agree to peace in Ukraine and while he did not specify what the consequences could be, he has warned of economic sanctions if his meeting on Friday proves fruitless. The comments and the outcome of the virtual conference on Wednesday could provide encouragement for Kyiv ahead of the summit. Trump described the aim of his talks with Putin in Alaska as 'setting the table' for a quick follow-up that would include Zelenskyy. 'If the first one goes okay, we'll have a quick second one,' Trump said. 'I would like to do it almost immediately, and we'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskyy and myself, if they'd like to have me there.' Britain, France and Germany, the co-chairs of the so-called 'Coalition of the Willing', set out their position on the pathway to a ceasefire in Ukraine in a statement released after Wednesday's virtual meeting.
