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Oct 16, 2026 - World

Elon Musk's attempt to pin a deadly battlefield decision on President Donald Trump just got backing from an explosive new report.The directive to throttle Starshield, the military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink satellite service on which Ukrainian troops rely, originated inside the White House, Reuters reported Thursday, citing two U.S. officials and a Western official who had been briefed on the matter.According to officials, Defense Department leaders were sent a message instructing them to slow the service for Ukraine's military. They did not say who in the White House gave the order or who carried it out.The report lands a day after Musk publicly laid the blame at the president's feet. Responding on X Wednesday to former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who had pressed him to lift the speed cap, the SpaceX chief insisted his company wasn't calling the shots."Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS," Musk wrote.The Trump administration pushed back Thursday. Asked about the order, a senior U.S. official told Reuters, "No such request was ever made by the president." The White House didn't answer questions about whether anyone else in the Trump administration was behind it.A senior Ukrainian official told Reuters that Kyiv spent Tuesday and Wednesday calling senior officials at the White House, State Department and Pentagon looking for an explanation, and was told that the restriction was a White House decision.The stakes are high. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Piers Morgan Wednesday that people were killed because interceptor drones that depend on Starlink stopped working. Ukrainian officials said the slowdown also hampered strikes on Russian forces and supply lines. A Defense Ministry source told Reuters the receptors are functioning in motion again, but only up to 100 miles per hour.The clampdown came as Trump has leaned on Kyiv to halt its attacks on Russian oil refineries, which he blames for rising energy prices heading into the midterms. At an October 9 meeting in Miami, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff took a hard line with Ukrainian officials over the strikes, according to a person familiar with the matter.Musk himself had backed Trump's pressure campaign just days ago, sharing a clip of the president's warning to Zelenskyy on October 10 with the comment, "Zelensky has gone too far."

Oct 15, 2026 - World

A GOP analyst came unglued on CNN on Thursday while discussing President Donald Trump's plan to send "blood money" to Russia in exchange for a little diesel fuel. Marc Short, the former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, told CNN's Boris Sanchez that Trump's plan to import Russian diesel fuel in an attempt to offset high costs ahead of the midterms is as "nonsensical" as it is "nefarious." Short said Russia not only doesn't have the supply to make a difference in the oil market, but Russia will also use the money it earns from the sales to continue attacking Ukraine and arming America's enemies in the war against Iran. "So, economically it's nonsensical," Short said, noting Russia's capacity shortages. "But if they did and we were buying it, it's just blood money to Russia to kill more Ukrainians. Meanwhile, Russia is providing intel to Iran, which is using it against our men and women in uniform. So this whole policy makes no sense economically. But from a national security perspective, it's even more nefarious."Short's comments came at a time when Trump is struggling to keep his so-called "energy ceasefire" between Ukraine and Russia intact. Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine since the ceasefire was announced, and the U.S. secretly turned off Ukraine's access to its Starlink internet service, which paved the way for a massive Russian drone attack on a civilian area, according to reports.

Oct 15, 2026 - World

Chip makers and tech investors such as Samsung and SoftBank plunge as potential interest rate hikes spook marketsBusiness news – live updatesLarry Elliott: the global economy is muddling through. But a storm is comingAn accelerating sell-off of AI-linked shares has hit global markets, as fears over rising inflation and future interest rate hikes spooked traders already wary of the heavily indebted sector.South Korea’s benchmark Kospi 200 index, which is heavily skewed towards the companies that make memory chips, fell more than 8% overnight to a six-month closing low, triggering circuit breakers that brought trading to a halt at various points. Continue reading...

Oct 15, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump’s decision to approve Russia selling a substantial amount of diesel on the world market caught U.S. allies flat-footed, according to the Wall Street Journal.In a deep dive on growing U.S.-Ukraine tensions, the Journal reported that the deal has created a schism that has allies, and some Republican lawmakers, furious.Senior Ukrainian and European officials flew to Miami on Oct. 9 to meet Trump negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in a bid to revive peace talks, the Journal reported. During the six-hour meeting, Kushner and Witkoff said the president was considering a diesel deal with Russia. The Ukrainian and European officials were “floored,” people familiar with the matter told the paper.That same day, Trump held a 90-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and announced the deal shortly after hanging up, the Journal said. Treasury then issued a temporary license allowing Russian diesel into the global market, according to ABC affiliate WJLA.“Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it “a weak decision, unfortunately, a weak decision by strong partners.”The Journal reported that Trump "had increasingly soured on Zelensky" over the previous month. Since a discussion between the two, it said, the U.S. "had asked Ukraine about a half dozen times to halt strikes" on Russian energy. Ukrainian officials said they would agree to any energy truce, but Russia refused, so they didn’t pull back. Trump was annoyed that Ukraine was using U.S. resources to target Russia’s energy exports in a way he thought could hurt American consumers, people familiar said.Several Republican lawmakers called the White House angry after the announcement, the Journal reported, saying the deal handed Russia a win without concessions and went against a 2022 law banning U.S. imports of Russian energy. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) said: “It makes me a little bit nervous anytime we’re talking about relieving a sanction on Russia.”On Sunday, Trump declared on Truth Social that “there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine” effective immediately. “Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” he wrote. Moscow had not confirmed it, the Journal reported while adding, Zelensky said Russia struck multiple Ukrainian power plants that day, including one in Kharkiv.

Oct 15, 2026 - World

Another three pupils from al-Khair school in Peshawar in critical condition after search for survivorsAt least 34 schoolchildren and a female teacher have died after the roof of a school collapsed during morning classes in the northern Pakistani city ⁠of Peshawar.As panicked parents ​and relatives thronged the site of the privately run al-Khair school to search for their loved ones, rescue workers spent hours pulling children from the rubble. Continue reading...