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Oct 16, 2026 - World

Elon Musk’s attempt to wash his hands of a decision Ukraine says proved deadly blew up in his face after a new report tied him to it, and critics wasted no time pouncing.The Telegraph reported Friday that Musk brought President Donald Trump the idea of slowing Ukraine’s access to Starshield, the military-grade version of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network, citing four sources familiar with the discussion. One source said Trump “agreed,” after which the Pentagon capped the system’s speed, crippling Ukraine’s drone defenses.The report came two days after Musk publicly pinned the blame on Trump. Replying on X Wednesday, the SpaceX chief insisted, “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.”However, a senior source told The Telegraph, “The reality is that they were both in it,” and critics didn’t hold back when The Telegraph’s diplomatic editor Joe Barnes shared the scoop on X.“They both lied. Ukrainians died,” the progressive MeidasTouch Network reacted on X.Vatnik Soup, an anti-disinformation account, argued the story played out “exactly as people imagined,” adding that “fear of losing business in Europe” drove Musk’s quick reversal.“The decisions of these two small, greedy men may have cost many Ukrainian soldiers and civilians their lives,” Vatnik Soup wrote. “An absolute disgrace.”British-Lebanese journalist Oz Katerji charged that Musk and Trump “decided to punish Zelenskyy by throttling Starshield because of domestic US fuel prices.”“That didn’t bother Musk though, the only thing he cared about was his profit margin,” Katerji added.Writer Richard Hanania asked if Musk and Trump “were working together to help Putin because they thought it’d be good for Republicans in the midterms.”“These people are more evil than you thought,” he concluded.Electrek editor-in-chief Fred Lambert quipped, “At this point, there’s simply no difference between Trump and Musk. Might as well be the same person.”Veteran political reporter Jamie Dupree observed that “the Sgt. Schultz response (‘I know nothing’) seems to be wearing off,” referring to the “Hogan’s Heroes” character. Dupree added that if the report holds up, it “would not be a surprise to anyone.”Trump, for his part, told reporters at the White House Friday evening that he didn’t think either he or Musk was responsible for Ukraine losing Starlink access, and a senior U.S. official told Reuters that “no such request was ever made by the president.” The Telegraph said it had approached SpaceX for comment, and the Pentagon has yet to publicly explain the restrictions.

Oct 16, 2026 - World

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk pitched President Donald Trump on slowing Ukraine’s military Starlink service before publicly blaming him for it, The Telegraph reported.Four people familiar with the talks told the British newspaper that the idea of throttling the system, which crippled Ukraine’s drone defenses, came from Musk.One said Trump “agreed,” after which the Pentagon slowed Starshield, the military-grade version of Musk’s satellite network. The Telegraph said it had approached SpaceX for comment, and the Pentagon has not offered a public explanation.The limit, about 160 kilometers per hour (about 100 mph), left Ukraine’s interceptor drones unable to catch Russian jet-powered drones and missiles moving at twice that speed, The Telegraph reported.“So people were killed because not enough destroying, not enough interceptors, including interceptors with Starlink, which didn’t work, of course,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told British broadcaster Piers Morgan on Wednesday.“Starlink connectivity at speeds of up to 160 km/h is being restored. Removing Starshield’s speed limit entirely is now critical for Ukraine’s defense. Thank you, @elonmusk. We hope for your continued support,” former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote on X the same day.“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. Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX,” Musk replied, distinguishing the government-controlled Starshield from SpaceX’s commercial Starlink.“He tweeted out that he was innocent and that it was the US administration that did it. The reality is that they were both in it,” a senior source told The Telegraph.The same source said Musk grew worried about a consumer backlash in Europe after what was described as a “night of carnage” in Kyiv, the newspaper reported.“As your European customers, we are watching you,” Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski wrote to Musk on social media, according to the newspaper.Poland has purchased Starlink services from SpaceX for Ukraine.The order to slow the service came from inside the White House, two U.S. officials and a Western official told Reuters on Thursday. The move came as Trump pressed Kyiv to stop striking Russian oil refineries, the news agency reported.The officials said Defense Department leaders received a message that the service “needed to be slowed.”Ukrainian officials who called the White House, State Department and Pentagon were told it was a White House decision, a senior Ukrainian official told Reuters.“No such request was ever made by the president,” a senior U.S. official told Reuters, though the White House did not answer whether other administration officials might have made it.“Well, I don’t know if it was anybody, because it wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday.“And I think it’s probably functioning, from what I understand,” Trump added.Zelenskyy, who called the slowdown a “very dangerous and unpleasant surprise,” said Friday on the sidelines of a European Union summit in Brussels that service was coming back.“Our defence ministry is in touch and my partners, they told me that there were signals from the White House that they would return these capabilities. Have they returned to the previous speed limits? No. But is it coming back now? Yes,” he said, according to The Telegraph.

Oct 16, 2026 - World

Forest clearance at smallest total since records began in 1988 in success for Lula ahead of presidential run-offDeforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen to its lowest level since records began, new government data shows.But whether this globally important success is maintained or reversed is on a knife edge ahead of a presidential election run-off on 25 October between two candidates with sharply different visions for the future of the rainforest and how that affects relations with the US under Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Oct 16, 2026 - World

Lawyers tell high court that client could harm himself if serious allegations against him are made publicA “well-known individual” is trying to secure a permanent injunction against the Guardian and ITN to prevent them from publishing details of serious allegations made against him.At a high court hearing on Friday, the claimant’s legal team said there was a serious risk that he could harm himself should the allegations be made public.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Oct 16, 2026 - World

Beijing warns against ‘discriminatory’ step after France drops opposition to British role in Made in Europe packageNo 10 has left the door open to imposing tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles as part of the Made in Europe package, prompting a warning from Beijing that such a move would be “discriminatory”.Downing Street said on Friday that it would “welcome the objective to have the UK included in the Industrial Accelerator Act” after France dropped its opposition to Britain joining the scheme. Continue reading...