Latest news with #Muscovites'
Time of India
28-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Moscow counters Ukrainian drones by turning off Russians' mobile internet
Katya's phone suddenly refused to provide the basics she needed to drive home to Moscow from St. Petersburg. She, her partner and countless others were unable to go online, cut off from their apps for things such as maps, banking, paying road tolls and buying fuel. There was no warning, no hint how widespread the outage was, no clue how long it would last - but it wasn't a surprise, either. Russia's mobile internet networks now have frequent blackouts because of the war with Ukraine. Since last month, authorities have shut those networks down every day in various parts of the country, in unpredictable patterns, for hours at a time. The goal is to try to thwart attacks by Ukrainian drones that use mobile connections for navigation. It is a big disruption in a country where smartphones provide the only online access for millions of people. The govt regularly touts an array of online services, including filing tax returns and applying for jobs, and President Putin claimed this year that Russia was "a step ahead of many other nations. " Even so, "they can turn off the internet," said Katya. She described how the govt had encouraged reliance on apps and web services - and then exercised control over internet access - as a "digital gulag". Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villa Prices in Dubai Might Be Lower Than You Think! Villa for sale in Dubai | Search Ads Learn More Undo by Taboola by Taboola The Russian govt has a record of restricting online freedoms. But the mobile internet shutdowns are the collateral damage of war, a response to Ukraine's spectacular drone attacks on long-range bombers at Russian bases June 1. Day-to-day orders to shut down the mobile internet come from regional officials responding to reported drone intrusions, rather than from Moscow. "The Kremlin has been asking regional authorities to put up a defence against the drones - there's nothing else they can do but turn the internet off," said Mikhail Klimarev, head of the Internet Protection Society, an exiled Russian digital rights group. This year, authorities switched off mobile internet in Moscow for a few days before the annual Victory Day parade in May, a major event for Putin, who was hosting several world leaders. That outage exposed Muscovites' reliance on apps for contactless payments, taxis, food delivery and shopping, but discontent was fairly muted. The lack of protests gave regional authorities the signal that "you can just turn the internet off" without causing a backlash, a lawyer said. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, "Everything that's linked to ensuring public safety is justified." nyt
Forbes
04-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Urgent Economic Response Needed After Trump's Tariff Bombshell
getty President Trump's sweeping tariff announcement on April 2nd represents the most disruptive blow to the global trading system since the Smoot-Hawley tariffs that triggered the Great Depression nearly a century ago. Intricate supply chains and trillions of dollars in investments—made over years based on assumptions of a world where trade barriers were being reduced or would remain constant—are now being upended. Even the administration admits there will be short-term pain. For starters, steps must be taken quickly to ameliorate the damage by securing sizable reductions in the new tariffs as fast as possible. Unfortunately, even if this comes to pass, that 10% across-the-board tariff rate appears to be permanent. That's harmful enough. But it doesn't stop there. In addition to getting tariff rates reduced, there are three immediate actions Washington must take to avoid deeper economic fallout. 1. Go Big on Tax Cuts—Now The U.S. needs a far bigger and more extensive tax cut than Republicans are currently contemplating. Revenue estimates from these new tariffs—and others recently imposed—go as high as $840 billion. That should be the starting gun for bold fiscal relief, not an excuse for budget games. Here's what that looks like: Republicans should also get over their strange allergy to cutting the capital gains tax. The economy will need that investment jolt more than ever—with the added benefit that such cuts tend to raise government revenue immediately. 2. Lift the Regulatory Burdens—Fast The innovation economy needs room to breathe. Entrepreneurs like Elon Musk—and the broader ecosystem of 'Muscovites' transforming the federal government—face excessive regulatory barriers and wasteful government spending that weigh down growth. It's time to unleash that productivity by fast-tracking smart deregulation and trimming the fat from federal budgets. 3. Get the Fed to Stop Fighting the Wrong War The Federal Reserve continues to misread inflation—and that misdiagnosis could add unnecessary pain to an already challenged economy. Consider the warning signs: The Fed mistakenly believes the way to fight inflation is by slowing the economy, when what's really needed is a stable dollar. This fundamental misunderstanding turns the central bank into an albatross around the neck of an economy that desperately needs room to rebound.
