America’s small companies are usually not prepared for a cyber assault

Some of the most notorious cyberattacks against the US in recent years are said to have originated in Russia, including the 2021 attack on the Colonial Pipeline – the largest fuel pipeline in the US – the SolarWinds attack in 2020 and the hacking of the Democratic Pipeline in 2016 National Committee.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in January this year, the US government has warned of an increased risk of a cyber attack that Russia could use to try to draw the US into direct conflict. Despite the increased threat, small business owners are no more concerned about a potential cyberattack — and no more prepared to deal with one than they were a year ago.

The CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey surveys more than 2,000 small business owners each quarter to understand their outlook for the overall business environment and the health of their own business. In the latest survey, only 5% of small business owners said cybersecurity is the top risk facing their business right now.

Quarter after quarter, the number saying cybersecurity is their top risk has remained stable and is the lowest priority out of the five respondents. Over the same period, the number of small business owners who say inflation is the biggest risk to their business has risen from 31% to 38%, ranking the highest for risk. Numbers reporting supply chain disruptions and Covid-19 as the top risk have both declined.

This latest round of the Small Business Survey is the first since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, although international events have not had a noticeable impact on US small business sentiment

Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwards

Cyber ​​security has always been seen as an afterthought by most small business owners when assessing risk.

CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey Q2 2022

While not their top concern, nearly four in ten small business owners say they are very or somewhat concerned that their business could be the victim of a cyberattack within the next 12 months. This trend has also continued for four consecutive quarters and has not changed at all since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The smallest small businesses are the least concerned about cyberattacks: Only 33% of owners with 0-4 employees fear experiencing a cyberattack within a year, compared to 61% of small businesses with 50 or more employees.

Few small business owners rank cyber threats as their top business risk and less than half view this as a concern, yet a majority express confidence in their ability to respond to a cyber attack. As in previous quarters, about six in 10 small business owners are very or reasonably confident that they could quickly repel a cyberattack on their business if necessary.

Cyber ​​disconnection between business owner and customer

This general lack of concern among small business owners is at odds with the mood of the general public. In SurveyMonkey’s own poll, three-fourths of Americans said they expect US businesses to experience a major cyberattack within the next 12 months.

Consumer expectations for cyber preparedness vary from industry to industry. A majority of the population say they trust their banks (71%), healthcare providers (64%) and email providers (55%) to be able to protect them from cybersecurity threats; On the other hand, only 32% expect the social media platforms they use to be prepared.

We see similar results in the small business space. Small business owners in the finance and insurance industries are among those most confident in their ability to respond quickly to a cyber attack; More than seven out of ten say they are able to repel an attack. Among those in the arts, entertainment and recreation industries, that number drops to 50%.

This is important, because any cyber attack – even one that is quickly resolved – can have a lasting negative impact on a company. Consumers would rather not be the victim of a cybersecurity attack themselves, and they are wary of trusting companies that have been compromised in the past. In a survey by SurveyMonkey, 55% of people in the US say they would be less likely to do business with brands that have been the victim of a cyberattack.

For small businesses to be truly prepared, they need to take more concrete steps. Less than half say they have installed antivirus or malware software, strengthened their passwords, or backed up files to an external hard drive to protect their business from potential cyberattacks. Only a third of each have automatic software updates enabled or enabled multi-factor authentication. Only a quarter have installed a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

These are basic measures that most companies in America’s corporate world would consider table stakes, but they are admittedly much more costly to implement in a small business environment. Small businesses that don’t take the cyber threat seriously risk losing customers or even more if a real threat emerges.

Social media reacted to photographs of circumstances on Vile Rikers Island

A series of inhumane viral photos from Rikers Island has swept the internet and sparked discussion about prison reform, as images of inmates living in appalling conditions shocked people on social media.

The images show inmates locked in makeshift shower stalls, an unresponsive inmate clearly in need of medical attention, and inmates covered in feces after being left for hours in a damning look at the country’s prison system.

Viral prison photos show inmates covered in feces, locked in shower stalls and in need of medical attention

Public Defender at Legal Aid NYC Olayemi Olurin tweeted the photos with the following captions:

“THIS IS INSIDE RIKERS. You can see people covered in feces they’ve been left in for more than 9 hours, you can see men locked in shower stalls that have been converted into cells, you can see men holding an unresponsive man on the Carry search for medical help.

THIS IS INSIDE RIKERS. You can see people covered in feces they have been left in for more than 9 hours, you can see men locked in shower stalls that have been converted into cells. You can see the men carrying an unresponsive man seeking medical help pic.twitter.com/kCJriR0MZm

— Olayemi Olurin (@msolurin) September 29, 2022

Her tweet has garnered over 26,000 likes and nearly 12,000 retweets as of Thursday.

Olurin wrote that the conditions at Rikers were “inhumane, evil, willful, and done to black and brown New Yorkers since 1932.”

She added that 31 inmates have died in prison since last year alone.

“This is in the units that house people. It’s inhuman, it’s evil, it’s intentional, and it’s been done to black and brown New Yorkers since 1932. 31 people have died since last year, WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH?!”

Olurin went on to say that Rikers Island “was only built for 3,000 people, so why are there over 5,000 people who haven’t been convicted of a crime?!”

Most recently, three inmates died in three days, with NYC Mayor Eric Adams accused of covering it up to delay a Justice Department investigation.

(Courtesy of Olayemi Olurin’s Twitter)

NYC Mayor is accused of covering up the deaths of inmates during Justice Department investigations and blames staff shortages for the crisis

Mayor Adams has continued to blame the crisis on a prison staff shortage, when in reality there are 5,600 inmates and 7,575 correctional officers.

That’s 1.3 guards for every inmate, meaning each incarcerated person could have their own prison guard with almost 2,000 freelance officers.

Reuven Blau of City NY reported that a Rikers inmate, Dashawn Carter, who took his own life on May 7, had called reporter Rosa Goldensohn in April 2020 to tell her of the dire conditions.

Carter told her that during his tenure at Rikers, which dates back to 2018, he missed more than a hundred doctor’s appointments, records show.

Social media reacts to despicable viral photos of prison conditions on Rikers Island

The social media response to Olurin’s exposure has largely supported prison reform.

GettyImages 1373658697 scaledQUEENS, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 28: Criminal justice activists are calling for the Rikers Island Jail and system that discriminates against the poor by breaking the law before the end of the trial on February 28, 2022 at the Rikers Island gate in Queens, New York Deposit required. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

“No human should be subjected to such conditions,” one person tweeted in response to the photos. “Sir, kennels have been closed for less money,” wrote another.

“This is horrific!” a third tweeted. “Shameful. Smdh,” wrote another.

“Amen; unfortunately Adams, Albany and the majority of elected officials just don’t care,” one user replied. “There are so many cities with prisons like this. It’s disgusting how people are treated,” said a second person.

One person took aim at Mayor Adams and tweeted: “Eric Adams makes me sick. He’s just another cop. It is, and he’s got that us-versus-them warrior mentality that they train cops — which isn’t good for governing *anything*.

“So slave labor,” one person tweeted. “Thank you for exposing and illuminating this corruption,” wrote a second.

GettyImages 1373658700 scaledCriminal justice activists are calling on the Rikers Island prison and system that discriminates against the poor by demanding bail before the end of the trial February 28, 2022 at the Rikers Island gate in Queens, New York. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Campaign to close Rikers, rallies at City Hall and measures to reduce prison population

In 2019, the Campaign to Close Rikers emerged, with proponents unveiling a plan to close it down by reducing the prison’s population to 3,300 and closing more city jails that commit the same abuses behind prison walls.

A third measure would divert $1.8 billion saved annually by reducing the population to 3,300 in housing, health care, education, economic development and youth services in poor communities, according to Olurin NewsOne op ed.

Meanwhile, in June, a rally was held outside City Hall where activists and family members of inmates called on Mayor Adams’ administration to do more to address living conditions in the prison.

Some held signs that read “Rikers Is A Death Sentence,” while another read “Rikers Is A Slave Ship #Neglect #NYCJailCrisis #CloseRikers.”

The Particular Grasp backfires in Trump’s private catastrophe

Trump refuses to comply with the special master’s order to review the list of items taken from Mar-a-Lago.

Reuters reported:

According to a letter publicly filed Wednesday by Trump’s attorneys, the former president’s legal team told senior U.S. judge Raymond Dearie, who is reviewing materials extracted during the federal search of the Florida property, that they do not believe Dearie has authority to do so is required to make such a registration.

….

In Dearie’s order, Trump was asked to list all items seized but not listed in the inventory, all non-seized items that were incorrectly listed, and any inventory errors about the location of seized items.

Trump now refuses to follow orders from the special master he wanted

Trump called for the special master. The former president is the one who nominated Judge Dearie for the position, and the DOJ looks really smart that they immediately approved of Dearie.

Donald Trump and his legal team are now fighting with their own special master, as it is clear that they only wanted the special master as a stalling tactic to get the classified documents case through the midterm elections.

Judge Dearie did not play along, instead acting quickly to resolve the issue and treating the process as if it were a judicial proceeding.

The special master is a disaster Trump created for himself, and now he’s trying to work his way out of a process that only lent credibility and legitimacy to the Justice Department’s investigation and makes the former president look even worse.

Donald Trump has a problem of his own creation, and by the time Judge Dearie is done, all of Trump’s defenses and apologies for stealing and misusing government documents may be shattered.

Mr. Easley is the managing editor. He is also a White House press pool and congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His thesis focused on public policy with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and professional memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association

Erdogan says Turkey will reduce rates of interest additional, taunts sterling

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the parliament in Ankara, Turkey, May 18, 2022. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALE. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT

Murat Cetinmuhurdar Reuters

Turkey will continue to cut interest rates, its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, despite rising inflation of over 80%.

Turkey’s central bank will not raise interest rates, he told CNN Turk on Wednesday night, adding that he expects the country’s benchmark interest rate, currently 12%, to reach single digits by the end of this year.

Amid deepening economic woes, Erdogan also took the time to throw a few barbs at Britain, saying the British pound had “exploded”.

The British currency recently hit an all-time low against the US dollar at nearly $1.03 as the new Conservative government led by Prime Minister Liz Truss unveiled an economic plan – which relied heavily on borrowing and tax cuts despite rising inflation – that spurred markets brought to falter.

It has prompted alarmed reactions from US economists, policymakers and the International Monetary Fund, with some saying the UK is behaving like an emerging economy.

The Turkish lira hit a record low of 18.549 against the dollar on Thursday. The currency has lost about 28% of its value against the dollar this year and 80% in the last 5 years as markets avoided Erdogan’s unorthodox monetary policy of cutting interest rates despite high inflation.

“Oh, the irony, Erdogan is giving Truss advice on the economy,” said Timothy Ash, an emerging markets strategist at BlueBay Asset Management, in an emailed note.

“Turkey has 80% inflation and I reckon the worst performing currency in the last decade. lol How low Britain has sunk.”

People browse gold jewelry in the window of a gold shop at Istanbul Grand Bazaar on May 05, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey. Gold prices rose on Monday as the dollar fluctuated near recent lows, with investors focused on a key US inflation rate as it could influence the size of the Federal Reserve’s next rate hike.

Burak Kara | News from Getty Images | Getty Images

Erdogan doubled down on his controversial monetary plan on Thursday, saying he had told central bank policymakers to cut interest rates further at their next meeting in October.

“My biggest fight is against interest rates. My biggest enemy is interest rates. We have lowered the interest rate to 12%. Is that enough? It’s not enough. That needs to be lowered further,” Erdogan said, according to Reuters during an event translation.

“We have discussed this with our central bank, are discussing this. I have suggested that this needs to be addressed further in upcoming Monetary Policy Committee meetings,” he added. Turkey’s central bank shocked markets with two consecutive 100 basis point cuts over the past two months as many other major economies seek to tighten monetary policy.

The lira, meanwhile, is likely to fall further as Turkey prioritizes growth over fighting inflation, which has hit its highest level in 24 years. Adding to the skyrocketing cost of living this has entailed for Turkey’s 84 million people, the country is burning up its foreign exchange reserves and running a growing current account deficit.

If the Federal Reserve raises interest rates and the dollar strengthens, paying off Turkey’s many dollar-denominated debts and the energy it imports in dollars will become even more painful.

“As external financing conditions tighten, risks remain highly distorted, leading to a sharp and disorderly decline in the lira,” Liam Peach, a senior emerging market economist, wrote in a note following Turkey’s latest rate cut on Sept. 22.

“The macroeconomic backdrop in Turkey remains poor. Real interest rates are deeply negative, the current account deficit is widening and short-term external debt remains high,” he wrote. “It may not take a significant tightening in global financial conditions for investor risk sentiment towards Turkey to fade, putting further pressure on the lira.”

In keeping with the CDC, a single dose of monkeypox vaccine gives some safety towards an infection

Los Angeles, CA – August 10: Luis Garcia, a registered nurse, prepares a monkeypox virus vaccine at St.John’s Well Child & Family Center on Wednesday, August 10, 2022 in Los Angeles, CA.

Irfan Khan | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

People at risk for monkeypox who have not received a single dose of the vaccine are 14 times more likely to become infected than those who have received a vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The preliminary data, collected from late July to early September across 32 states, is the first concrete evidence that the Jynneos vaccine provides at least some protection against infection with the monkeypox virus circulating in the current outbreak.

“These new data give us cautious optimism that the vaccine is working as intended,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky to reporters during an update on Wednesday.

The data suggest that even a single dose of the vaccine provides protection against infection as early as two weeks after vaccination, Walensky said. Produced by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic, the vaccine Jynneos is given in two doses 28 days apart.

Walensky said while data on a single dose is promising, laboratory studies have shown that immune protection is highest two weeks after the second dose.

“For this reason, despite this promising data, we continue to strongly recommend that people receive two doses of the Jynneos vaccine 28 days apart to ensure durable and long-lasting immune protection against monkeypox,” Walensky said.

Monkeypox is spread primarily through close skin-to-skin contact during sex among gay and bisexual men. The virus is rarely fatal, but it causes a blister-like rash that can be very painful and, in some cases, lead to hospitalization.

The CDC director said vaccinated individuals should continue to protect themselves from infection by avoiding close contact with individuals with monkeypox and reducing behaviors that put a higher risk of exposure to monkeypox.

When asked when vaccinated people can resume normal sexual behavior, Walensky said the CDC is waiting for real-world data on the effectiveness of the second dose of the vaccine.

“What we have at the moment is data on how well and how our vaccine works after a single dose. What we don’t yet have is what happens after a second dose and how durable that protection is,” Walensky said.

This is the first time the US has used jynneos to control a large outbreak of monkeypox. As a result, there is little data on the actual effectiveness of the vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration first approved the Jynneos vaccine in 2019 based on human immune response data.

Extended Permission

The CDC is also justifiably expanding to make sure people get the vaccine before they’re exposed to monkeypox, and not after known or suspected exposure to the virus.

This includes gay, bisexual and transgender men who have had more than one sexual partner in the past six months, had sex in a location associated with a higher risk of monkeypox, or had a sexually transmitted infection during this period. Sexual partners of people at these risks can now also be vaccinated, including sex workers.

Demetre Daskalakis, deputy chief of the White House monkeypox task force, said the federal government is also urging vaccine providers to make it easier for people to get vaccinated and reduce fears of stigma.

“Fear of disclosure of sexuality and gender identity must not be a barrier to vaccination,” Daskalakis said.

New CDC guidelines also allow people to receive the vaccine in the shoulder or upper back, so clothing will cover the temporary mark left by the shot. Some people don’t want to get shot in their forearm because they feel the mark is stigmatizing, Daskalakis said.

The US is battling the world’s largest monkeypox outbreak, with more than 25,000 reported cases in every US state plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, according to CDC data. There has been one confirmed death from the virus in the United States since the outbreak began in May.

Monkeypox cases have been falling across the country in recent weeks after the virus swept the United States in the summer.

CNBC Health & Science

Read CNBC’s latest global health coverage:

The Kardashians: Khloe’s sisters assume she’s too ‘skinny’

Khloe KardashianHer sisters expressed concern about her weight.

During the September 29 Hulu episode “The Kardashians.” Kim Kardashian shared Khloe that her sisters kendall Jenner and KylieJenner had made remarks about the good American mogul’s slim physique, especially after the stressful events of Tristan Thompsonpaternity suit.

“You look very thin,” Kim Khloe commented. “I’ll say that Kendall and Kylie, not that I’m trying to come out with them, but they wrote to me and said they’re a little worried about you because you’re really skinny.”

Khloe downplayed the concern, quipping, “And Kendall said so, the model. Wow.”

Kim continued by noting that she defended Khloe as “a bit stressed out.”

“I said, ‘No, guys, she’s fine,'” Kim said. “And I said, ‘You have absolutely every right to be concerned, but I’m telling you, she’s fine.'”

But that wasn’t quite the truth, as Khloe admitted in front of the cameras that going through the Tristan drama was “incredibly hard”.

Hurricane Ian makes landfall close to Sanibel, Captiva Islands, Florida

Hurricane Ian made landfall Wednesday afternoon as a Category 4 storm over Florida’s west coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The storm knocked out power to at least 1.8 million people in Florida, according to the Associated Press.

The National Hurricane Center downgraded the storm to a Category 3 hurricane at 8 p.m. with maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour, centered about 95 miles southwest of Orlando, Orange County.

“We have asked all of our residents to begin the on-site placement process,” Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said at a news conference. “You shouldn’t be on the streets going around the community at this time.”

Orlando was under a hurricane warning and the National Weather Service said conditions would “deteriorate tonight.” The agency said: “Winds from TS to hurricane force are expected. The threat of significant to catastrophic flooding is expected to develop tonight.”

“There is no question that we are now feeling the effects of this hurricane, and we have yet to see the worst,” Demings said.

“Widespread, life-threatening catastrophic lightning and urban flooding is expected to continue with major flooding along rivers throughout central Florida,” the National Hurricane Center said in an update.

Technicians monitor Hurricane Ian at the National Response Coordination Center at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters September 28, 2022 in Washington, DC. Hurricane Ian is nearing Category 5 status with sustained winds of 155 mph as it heads towards the southwest coast of Florida.

Kevin Dietsch | News from Getty Images | Getty Images

The storm first hit near Cayo Costa, Fla., with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, the center said on Twitter. Just a few hours later, it hit Punta Gorda near Pirate Harbor.

Hurricane Ian intensified sharply as it approached land, reaching winds of 155 miles per hour and nearing the most dangerous Category 5 classification Wednesday morning. Hurricane-force winds were 35 miles from center and winds more tropical, according to the National Weather Service Storm force 150 miles from downtown.

“It’s going to be a bad, bad day, two days,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a news conference early Wednesday. Officials in Florida and nationally are closely following the storm’s movements.

A fallen tree lies across the street after being toppled by the winds and rain from Hurricane Ian on September 28, 2022 in Sarasota, Florida.

Joe Raedle | News from Getty Images | Getty Images

More than 2.5 million people in Florida were under mandatory evacuation orders, but no resident can legally be forced to leave their homes. DeSantis said the highest-risk areas in the state range from Collier County to Sarasota County and it is no longer safe for residents in those counties to evacuate.

“Do what you have to do to stay safe. If you are where this storm is approaching, you are already in dangerous conditions. It’s going to get a lot worse very quickly. So please squat down,” he said.

Rainfall near the storm’s landfall could exceed 18 inches, and storm surges could push up to 18 feet of water across nearly 100 miles of shoreline, according to the National Hurricane Center. The National Weather Service has also issued the highest possible wind warning for several regions in Florida in anticipation of extreme wind damage from the storm. But forecasters were most concerned about the flooding.

Hurricane Ian approaches the west coast of Florida on September 28, 2022.

NOAA

“Water. We need to talk about the water,” National Weather Service director Ken Graham warned. “90% of deaths in these tropical systems come from water. It’s the storm surge, it’s the rain.”

Much of Florida’s west coast is already experiencing significant storm surges, as whipping winds and high water levels have blanketed the streets of cities like Fort Myers. The city wrote on Twitter that it was experiencing wind gusts of up to 77 miles per hour and urged residents to “PLEASE stay indoors.” It warned that conditions will continue to escalate throughout the day.

For residents who are still able to evacuate, American Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern encouraged them to follow their elected officials’ evacuation orders and bring essential medication, documents and other items, such as eyeglasses.

“Check on your neighbors and please don’t wait for the storm when you’re told to evacuate – it’s dangerous,” she said in a news conference on Wednesday.

Gov. DeSantis said the state has 42,000 linemen, 7,000 National Guard troops from Florida and elsewhere, and city search and rescue teams ready to help when the storm passes.

Commercial vehicles are parked on a rural property in The Villages of Sumter County, Florida on Wednesday morning, September 28, 2022 in preparation for Hurricane Ian.

Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP

According to NBC News, the hurricane left all of Cuba without power after battering the island on Tuesday. At least two storm-related deaths were reported in Cuba on Wednesday.

As the storm continues to batter the Florida coast, the National Hurricane Center issued new watches and warnings for parts of North Carolina and South Carolina.

Hurricane Ian can even be seen from the International Space Station, with onboard cameras capturing footage of the storm as it looms over Florida.

The view of Hurricane Ian from cameras on the International Space Station as the orbiting research lab flew past the storm at approximately 3:00 p.m. ET on September 28, 2022.

NASA television

Even after the storm has passed, DeSantis said it may not be entirely safe to go outside. He urged residents to watch out for downed power lines, standing water and fallen trees.

President Joe Biden told Florida residents Wednesday he will support them “every step of the way” through the storm.

“We will be there to help you clean up and rebuild to get Florida moving again,” he said.

Candy Powell, an East Orlando resident, has lived in Florida since 2016 and has watched the state’s exposure to hurricanes like Irma, Dorian and Matthew. She said she felt there was less time to prepare for Hurricane Ian, but she was trying to remain calm for her neighbors.

“I think a lot of people who just moved to Florida were really, really stressed,” she told CNBC. “I kind of try to be the calming factor. Even when I went to the store yesterday, I actually only had to buy almost normal groceries. The shelves were empty. There were hardly any canned goods left.”

Powell can tell the storm is increasing, and she said she’s already noticing rushing winds and heavy rain.

Palm trees sway in winds from Hurricane Ian on September 28, 2022 in Sarasota, Florida. Ian is likely to hit the area as a Category 4 hurricane.

Joe Raedle | News from Getty Images | Getty Images

Flannery Dziedzic, who lives in Naples, said she’s also noticed the wind picking up in her area. She said her energy went in and out and a piece of debris hit her window while on the phone with CNBC.

The storm appears to be bigger and more intense than hurricanes she’s dealt with in the past, she said, but being six miles offshore she feels “fairly safe.”

“I feel like Floridians are really resilient,” she said.

NBC News contributed to this report

This story is evolving, please check back for updates.

India’s army ties with Russia will final for many years: analyst

Russian President Vladimir Putin with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization leaders’ summit in Samarkand September 16, 2022. “Today’s era is not an era of war and I spoke to you on the phone about it spoken that,” Modi told Putin at a televised meeting.

Aleksandr Demianchuk | AFP | Getty Images

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have publicly rebuked Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine, but the long-standing friendship between the two countries is not going away, analysts said.

“Today’s era is not an era of war, and I spoke to you about it on the phone,” Modi told Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin two weeks ago at a televised meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

This marked a shift in tone from the early days of the war, when India was seen as unwilling to criticize Russia, including abstention in a UN vote censuring the country for the invasion.

For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed a month after the invasion of Ukraine that Russia and India were “friends”.

But despite India’s apparent changed attitude towards the war, India still needs Russia, analysts told CNBC.

Against China

“India is in a unique position where it needs Russia to administer China in the short term,” said Harsh V. Pant, vice president for studies and foreign policy at the Observer Research Foundation, a Delhi-based think tank.

Pant added that India needs the West in the long-term to manage its relations with China, citing the latter as “the main strategic challenger to India”.

China and India are locked in a two-year border dispute in the Himalayas, although troops from both sides have recently begun withdrawing from the western side. But both still had thousands of soldiers along the de facto border known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The future of China-India relations will be difficult, said Raymond Vickery, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

At a regular Indian Foreign Ministry press conference in August, when asked about Delhi’s approach to the “One China” policy, the spokesman confirmed that India’s policy was “consistent” and “needed no repetition”.

“On top of that, there’s a whole Belt and Road initiative aimed at ultimately giving China control of the Indo-Pacific,” Vickery said.

The BRI is China’s ambitious program to build physical and digital infrastructure to connect hundreds of countries from Asia to the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Critics say it is Chinese President Xi Jinping’s foreign policy to expand his country’s global influence.

During the recent SCO meeting, India refrained from reaffirming support for China’s BRI.

Military Supplies

According to analysts, Russia is a key military partner and main arms supplier to India.

“Most of India’s conventional arms come from Russia,” said Sameer Lalwani, a senior expert at the US Institute of Peace. “[This] means it has relied heavily on Russia for years for maintaining the armed forces, including spares, maintenance and upgrades.

China's Xi and India's Modi were the last two Putin wanted to see given the cold shoulder

According to data company Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India was the largest importer of Russian arms from 2017 to 2021, and Russian equipment accounted for 46% of India’s arms imports.

While it’s a far cry from the 80 percent figure seen during the Cold War, it still reflects India’s “heavy dependence” on Russia, Pant said, especially given that tensions between India and China over the LAC linger are “very active”.

“Russia remains India’s most important country [military] partners,” he added.

India also increased its purchases of Russian oil after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, benefiting from discounted prices.

Connections will “last for decades”

India’s longstanding friendship with Russia is not going away – and that’s thanks to its military dependency, according to Lalwani.

“Even as India seeks greater indigenization of its defense capabilities, without a stunning and financially exorbitant overhaul of its force structure, it will remain dependent on Russian arms, ammunition and sub-components for decades to come,” Lalwani said.

He added that India’s cruise missile exports to Southeast Asian countries could not function without Russian propulsion systems.

“Even if the military relationship between India and Russia is on the wane, it will last for decades.”

Amazon is growing pay for warehouse and supply employees

A worker sorts packages at the outbound dock of the Amazon fulfillment center in Eastvale, California on Tuesday, August 31, 2021.

Watchara Phomicinda | MediaNews Group | The Riverside Press-Enterprise via Getty Images

Amazon is increasing hourly wages for its warehouse and delivery workers, the company announced on Wednesday.

Beginning in October, Amazon’s average starting salary for frontline workers in the U.S. will increase from $18 an hour to more than $19 an hour, the company said.

Warehouse and delivery workers make between $16 and $26 an hour, depending on the position, Amazon added. Amazon’s minimum wage for US employees remains $15 an hour.

Amazon is spending about $1 billion on next year’s wage increases to attract and retain employees in a historically tight job market. It’s also preparing for the entry into the so-called “high season,” the particularly busy shopping season associated with the bank holidays.

Tensions between Amazon and its frontline workers have increased, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Workers have demanded wage increases, more paid time off and adjustments in productivity expectations.

Workers at several Amazon operations have taken steps to organize, and earlier this year workers at Amazon’s warehouse in Staten Island, New York, successfully voted to form the company’s first US union. Amazon faces another union election next month at a site near Albany, New York.

The company announced earlier this month that it plans to increase salaries and benefits for drivers employed by members of its contracted delivery network, which handles a growing proportion of its last-mile deliveries to customers’ doorsteps.

In addition to the pay rise, Amazon says it is also expanding a payday advance program for its employees, allowing them to access up to 70% of their eligible earned salary at any time and without fees, not just on a schedule such as a weekday. B. every two weeks.

CLOCK: Amazon Union Wins – President Cancels Future Decisions

The Supreme Courtroom is permitting public hearings for the primary time since Covid

A crosswalk signal is seen in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., June 27, 2022.

Elisabeth Franz | Reuters

The Supreme Court will, starting Monday, allow members of the public to attend oral hearings for the first time since the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020, the court’s press office confirmed in a statement on Wednesday.

The resumption of public access coincides with the start of the High Court’s term in October, when the court’s judges are due to hear arguments in three cases.

And the reopening comes a year after the court resumed in-person hearings after more than a year of conducting those sessions remotely.

For the past year, access to the courtrooms for these hearings has been restricted to the court’s nine judges, key court personnel, lawyers for the parties in disputes, and journalists with full-time court press cards.

Earlier this month, Chief Justice John Roberts said during an address at the 10th Circuit Bench and Bar Conference in Colorado that public access would resume soon.

In its Wednesday announcement, the court’s press office said, “Masking in the courtroom at hearings is optional.”

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Barring hearings, the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC, “will otherwise be closed to the public until further notice,” the bureau said.

However, the court will continue to offer a live audio feed for oral hearings, a practice introduced after the court closed public access to the hearings due to Covid.

The Supreme Court said on March 16, 2020 that it would postpone hearings scheduled for the following two weeks this month due to “public health precautions recommended in response to Covid-19”.

The court subsequently adjourned the April 2020 hearing for the same reason. In May 2020, the court conducted hearings via teleconference for a number of cases previously scheduled for hearing.

When the court began hearings for its term in October 2020, it did so via conference call.

In-person hearings without public access resumed in October 2021.