Hard Numbers: Zero-COVID censorship, Russian default, NATO’s rapid reaction, Indian political shenanigans

Listen: On this week’s episode of the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with the woman at the heart of Europe’s government: European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. They discuss Europe’s path forward, its role on the world stage, and how a fragmented EU avoids being squeezed by the US and China.

There’s a new strain of cybercrime in online retail. It targets consumers going about their everyday business, whether it’s booking flights on a major airline or purchasing concert tickets from their go-to platform. It’s called digital skimming, also known as e-skimming, online card skimming, or web skimming, and it’s the evolution of an older scam known as card skimming. That’s when criminals install equipment on point-of-sale systems or tiny cameras at ATMs or gas pumps to capture card data. With digital skimming, hackers plant malware at online stores to harvest that information. It can be harder than physical skimming to detect, and it can strike more victims at once. Read our explainer to learn more and understand how to stay safe.

“This play is a search for answers,” Erika Sheffer wrote about her new play, “Vladimir.” “It is a howl of rage. It is also an extended hand.”