Beijing has proposed banning exports of the technology used to make next-generation solar cells, a move that could complicate United States technology guru Elon Musk’s plan to expand into space solar power. The ban, which covers production technology for perovskite and tandem solar cell modules, is part of a proposal by China’s Ministry of Commerce […]
Elon Musk prometeu dar uma ação — “a primeira de muitas” da SpaceX a cada criança dos Estados Unidos: são mais de 10 mil mihões de dólares. O bilionário Elon Musk anunciou esta segunda-feira que vai oferecer uma ação da SpaceX a todas as crianças dos Estados Unidos no próximo ano. A promessa poderá representar uma distribuição de ações avaliada em mais de 10 mil milhões de dólares, mas o empresário não explicou como pretende concretizá-la. “No próximo ano, darei uma das minhas ações da SpaceX a cada criança dos Estados Unidos. Esta será a primeira de muitas”, escreveu o
The offer arrived a day after artificial intelligence company Anthropic announced in a social media post that it will commit 5% of its shares to a new "public benefit" fund.
The $48bn giveaway comes amid concerns about the tech and as the company prepares for a stock market listing
Anthropic has said it will commit 5% of its shares to a fund for the “public good”, as the AI developer behind the Claude chatbot seeks to bolster its appeal before its stock market listing.
The company announced it would commit the shares, worth around $48bn (£36bn) at its latest valuation in May, subject to shareholder approval. It will add a further 2% of its stock to the fund for every 50% increase in its value above an undisclosed baseline.
"I think the President wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyze what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy and even to the U.S. economy," said Rubio.
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy expects Trump to lift more sanctions against Russia. What we know on day 1,698
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has said that US President DonaldTrump’s waiver of sweeping sanctions and tariffs on Russia would be a 60-day pause to “analyse” their impact on the global economy. Rubio said also no one at the White House ordered the slow down of the speed of Ukraine’s access to Starlink to prevent it from being used on drones flying faster than 100mph, referring to Starshield, the military version of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet network.
“The president wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyse what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy and even to the US economy,” Rubio said, noting that the economic restrictions involved a number of countries, not just Russia. Pointing to high energy prices and the Iran war, “we need that period of time to sort of study all this and figure out what the right combination is,” he said.
Trump’s abrupt decision to waive sanctions on Russia days before they were to take effect drew outrage Saturday from members of Congress, which had overwhelmingly passed the legislation. Republican Senator Rick Scott said it was clear Russia was the aggressor, and said the US had “to do everything we can to put economic pressure on Russia”. On social media, fellow Republican Thom Tillis described the move as “beyond irresponsible” and a capitulation “to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine”.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyyexpects the Trump administration to lift more sanctions against Russia in the futureand has called for Europe to establish its own negotiations with Moscow as the US has sought better ties and business deals with the Kremlin. “Unfortunately, the lifting of sanctions will continue, and I believe that the ‘diesel deal’ is the first step,” said Zelenskyy on Saturday. “Unfortunately, it seems to me that this cannot stop Putin; on the contrary, he feels joy and happiness that he has such support.”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, had met Friday with US presidential envoy Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law. Zelenskyy said the US was working to arrange a three-way meeting involving him, Trump and Putin, potentially in the Middle East, Europe or the US.
Russian air defence units intercepted and destroyed nearly 200 Ukrainian drones headed for Moscow on Saturday, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram. Sobyanin, in a long series of online posts, noted that 195 drones had been destroyed since midnight, with emergency crews examining debris on the ground. Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said two Moscow airports – Domodedovo and Vnukovo – had suspended flight operations.
Romania said Saturday it shot down two Russian drones over the Black Sea, the latest in a spate of incidents believed to be spillover from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ships have been attacked in recent days by drones in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania and Bulgaria.
Production on new Roadster, which can thrust itself into the air in short spurts, won't begin until 2028 as Musk admits it's not 'a safety-optimized car'
Il 23 settembre scorso, in Polonia, villaggio di Wola Kabroska, viene incendiata una stazione Starlink, in grado di fornire servizi internet in Ucraina. Il governo di Varsavia ritiene che sia stato l’ennesimo atto di “guerra ibrida” ispirata dalla Russia. A 24 ore di distanza, dopo aver vagliato i risultati degli accertamenti, il ministro per gli affari digitali, Krzysztof Gakowski, dichiara senza mezzi termini: “Il modus operandi è chiaramente russo”. Il 10 ottobre, in Germania, i reparti speciali tedeschi arrestano due cittadini turchi: Umit E. 38 anni, e Müslüm T., 34 anni, alla stazione di Neurtingen (Baden-Württemberg); una terza persona, che avrebbe fatto da autista secondo la ricostruzione del quotidiano tedesco Bild, è stata fermata a Berlino.
I cronisti di Der Spiegel si concentrano sulle personalità dei due arrestati, giungendo ad una conclusione: Umit e Müslüm farebbero parte della gang criminale turca Dalton. I giornalisti scrivono: “La notizia è stata confermata da fonti indipendenti di diversi paesi”. Il capo dell’organizzazione criminale, Berat Can Gokdemir, poco meno di 30 anni, in patria è ricercato per scontare una condanna a due ergastoli per omicidio plurimo, istigazione all’omicidio, rapine, aggressioni a mano armata. Nel 2024, Can Gokdemir è stato arrestato in Russia. Ankara ha chiesto a Mosca di estradarlo, ma non ha ottenuto soddisfazione. Come spesso accade, il dramma della guerra Ucraina si intreccia con avvenimenti collaterali. Dopo l’arresto dei due turchi, il ministro Siemoniak ha detto al quotidiano di Varsavia Gazeta Wyborcza: “Non abbiamo dubbi che i servizi segreti russi siano dietro questo atto di sabotaggio: e vale la pena aggiungere che i servizi segreti russi si avvalgono sempre più spesso di persone legate alla criminalità organizzata. Non si servono mai dei propri cittadini”.
A provare in modo inappellabile la connessione tra i due arrestati, l’attentato alla stazione Starlink, e la loro appartenenza alla gang turca, dovranno essere investigatori e magistrati. Certamente l’approfondimento di Der Spiegel apre uno scenario fino a questo momento inedito e riporta l’attenzione sui nuovi clan cresciuti sul Bosforo, che diversi media hanno ribattezzato: “I gangster della generazione Z”. Di questa corrente una figura apicale è quella di Berat Can Gokdemir, la cui locazione non è certa. Dopo la richiesta di estradizione da parte della Turchia, non è chiaro se Gokdemir sia rimasto in Russia. Alcuni giornalisti tedeschi che sono entrati in contatto con un “portavoce” della banda, avrebbero avuto conferma che Gokdemir si trova in Russia e da una località non specificata continua a coordinare le attività del suo gruppo che non sono concentrate solo in Turchia, ma hanno avuto una forte espansione anche in Germania – oltre Polonia e Grecia – dove si sono specializzati in estorsioni ed altri reati.
La possibile connessione tra la criminalità turca e le attività dei servizi segreti russi ha attirato l’attenzione non solo dei giornalisti tedeschi. I Verdi hanno approfondito il tema con il documento “Risultati dell’indagine del governo federale sulla cooperazione della Russia con la criminalità organizzata in Germania e in Europa” presentato il 26 marzo 2026, e Konstantin von Notz, deputato dello stesso partito e responsabile della supervisione dei servizi segreti, ha lanciato un monito riguardante i governi autoritari che utilizzano gruppi criminali per portare a termine sabotaggi.
Trump-boosting billionaire was sued over promise to give away $1m per day to random signatories of petition
Elon Musk and his America Pac political action committee said recently that they agreed to settle two proposed class actions alleging the billionaire entrepreneur defrauded residents in closely contested states before the 2024 US election by promising voters a lottery-style daily $1m giveaway.
The plaintiffs, Musk and America Pac told the judge overseeing the two related lawsuits in federal court in Austin, Texas, on Thursday that they have reached settlements subject to court approval.
Zelensky called the restrictions a "planned operation" targeting Ukraine, noting that Starlink speed limits remain in effect in Ukraine but not in EU countries.
Pensavate che le auto volanti fossero solo fantascienza? E invece eccoci qua. Dopo nove anni di rinvii e promesse disattese, ElonMusk ha deciso di forzare il confine ingegneristico che separa il settore automobilistico da quello aerospaziale. Durante un evento organizzato nella notte italiana presso il centro di collaudo di SpaceX a McGregor, in Texas, il magnate ha svelato la seconda generazione della sportiva TeslaRoadster. “In sostanza, può volare come un razzo”, ha dichiarato il miliardario presentando la vettura come il frutto della collaborazione tra “la miglior Casa automobilistica e la miglior compagnia di razzi spaziali”.
Per supportare le affermazioni, Musk ha allestito un’esibizione dal vivo, eseguita dalla vettura in modalità autonoma per rigorose ragioni di sicurezza. Equipaggiata con dieci micro-razzi a gas freddo sviluppati con SpaceX, la Roadster è salita su una rampa curva, ha spiccato il volo, ha saltato cinque veicoli parcheggiati eseguendo una piroetta a mezz’aria, per poi atterrare in modo controllato.
There is still over an hour before the protagonist appears, but the line already wraps around the block. Dozens of people wait patiently for their turn to see the man who has become the great hope of the Democratic left wing. When he begins to speak, pandemonium breaks out: “My name is Abdul El‑Sayed and I am going to be your next senator in Washington.” Over the next hour, the hundreds gathered in this venue will applaud, laugh, and cheer every word from the mouth of the new star of American politics, who has already made a fitted black T‑shirt and jeans his trademark look. We are in Lansing, Michigan’s capital, where one of the most gripping battles of the midterm elections — just over two weeks away — is being fought.
Abdul El‑Sayed, Democratic candidate for U.S. senator from Michigan, last Thursday after debating Republican Mike Rogers in Grand Rapids, United States.
Most of the planet with incomes equivalent to €5,000 a month (nearly $5,600) by 2100. Average temperatures only 1.8 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Less meat, industry and mining. More health care and education. And who would lose out? The world’s Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellisons and Elon Musks. A tiny group of billionaires representing 0.001% of the population would see their share of global wealth fall from the current 6.4% to 0.05%, while the poorest 50% of the planet would rise from holding just 2% to 30%.
Velocidade cortada de 400 para 70 km/h impediu Kiev de abater drones Shahed. Trump diz que "não foi ele" nem Musk. Zelensky admite que sistema ainda não foi totalmente reposto.
Elon Musk approached US President Donald Trump with a proposal to limit the speed of Starlink satellite communications in Ukraine, disrupting Kyiv’s ability to counter Russian drone attacks, The Telegraph reported on 16 October, citing four sources familiar with the discussions.
The restrictions had immediate consequences for Ukraine’s defenses, forcing some drone missions against Russian positions to be called off and threatening the ability to intercept Russian jet-powered drones as they targeted Ukrainian cities at the time.
According to The Telegraph, Trump agreed with Musk’s suggestion, paving the way for the Pentagon to impose restrictions on Starshield, the military-grade version of SpaceX’s satellite network used by Ukrainian forces.
The report contradicts Musk’s public claim that the US military and ultimately Trump were responsible for deciding any limits on the system. However, Trump denied that either he or Musk was responsible for Ukraine losing access, while an anonymous US official told AFP that the president had not requested the reduction in service.
The reported restrictions come amid tensions between Washington and Kyiv over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. The episode has raised concerns about Ukraine’s dependence on privately controlled communications infrastructure and the risk that changes to US support could weaken its battlefield capabilities.
Starshield is the military-grade version of Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet network. It allows Ukrainian drone operators to maintain communications with aircraft moving at high speeds, supporting both defensive interception missions and strikes against Russian targets.
The speed limit imposed on Ukrainian drones using Starshield was around 160 kph, making it difficult for them to intercept Russian jet-powered drones and missiles traveling at roughly twice that speed.
According to The Telegraph, a senior source said Musk had become concerned about potential backlash from European consumers following the restrictions. A high-ranking European official and two Ukrainian sources reportedly corroborated the account that Musk and Trump were both involved in the decision.
The Pentagon has not publicly explained the restrictions. The report’s account also remains disputed: Trump said on 16 October that he did not believe either he or Musk was responsible for Ukraine losing access, while an anonymous US official cited by AFP said the president had not requested the reduction.
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“Trump and Musk must be held accountable”: US senator warns Starlink network failing over Ukraine could cripple its shield against Russian missiles and drones
Ukraine says Starshield capabilities are being restored
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on 16 October that restrictions on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite communications system had disrupted several military operations, including efforts to intercept Russian jet-powered Geran drones attacking Ukrainian cities.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine did not use Starlink to support attacks inside Russia, but relied on the system to intercept drones targeting civilians, conduct mid-range strikes against Russian military targets in occupied Ukrainian territory, and deliver food and water to frontline troops using drones.
“When the speed was reduced, we were unable to intercept a certain number of jet-powered ‘shaheds,’ [Gerans - ed.]” Zelenskyy wrote on X, adding that Ukrainian forces had lost the ability to carry out some operations while the restrictions were in place.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s Defense Ministry was in contact with partners and had received signals from the White House that the capabilities would be restored. However, he stressed that speeds had not yet returned to their previous levels, although restoration was underway.
We don’t use Starlink for our responses inside Russia. We use Starlink to intercept jet-powered “shaheds” that attack our civilians and kill families.
Starlink wasn’t turned off – its speed was reduced. And when the speed was reduced, we were unable to intercept a certain number…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 16, 2026
Europe warns against dependence on Musk’s network
The latest episode has renewed European concerns about relying on Musk and SpaceX for critical communications infrastructure. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski warned Musk on social media that European customers were watching his actions, The Telegraph reported.
The European Union is developing its own satellite communications system, IRIS², intended to provide an alternative to Starlink, according to The Telegraph. The system is planned to become operational by 2030, leaving Ukraine and European governments dependent on existing providers in the meantime.
The report adds to concerns that decisions made in Washington or by private technology providers could directly affect Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russian attacks.
Diventa un mistero la decisione di depotenziare il sistema Starlink necessario all’Ucraina per avere comunicazioni tempestive anche sulla linea del fronte e riuscire a intercettare in tempo gli attacchi lanciati dalla Russia. L’esercito e i vertici del governo, nei giorni scorsi, avevano denunciato il funzionamento parziale del sistema che si è protratto per giornate intere lasciando il Paese sotto il tiro dei missili e dei droni di Mosca. Inizialmente, si era pensato a una scelta presa da Elon Musk, che nelle stesse ore stava attaccando il presidente ucraino su X, ma poi il miliardario americano aveva smentito dicendo che la responsabilità era da attribuire completamente al Pentagono. Dopo giorni di comunicazioni a singhiozzo, il nuovo colpo di scena: Trump, scrive Axios, ha detto che gli Stati Uniti non sono coinvolti nel depotenziamento dei servizi Starlink in Ucraina.
Come detto, Musk è stato il primo ‘indiziato’ per la decisione di penalizzare le comunicazioni ucraine tramite il sistema satellitare di SpaceX, essendone il fondatore e avendo espresso, nelle stesse ore, considerazioni critiche nei confronti di Zelensky, dicendo ad esempio che “è andato troppo oltre” e, più chiaramente, che “deve dimettersi“. Ma era stato lui stesso a spiegare che il funzionamento del sistema implica che solo l’esercito Usa possa disporre un depotenziamento del genere. La versione militare di Starlink è infatti Starshield, un sistema progettato e sviluppato sempre da Starlink, ma di proprietà e gestione esclusiva del Pentagono. Ed è quindi solo il Dipartimento della Guerra Usa a decidere se e quali limiti imporre, tenendo conto che è quella la tecnologia in uso all’esercito di Kiev.
Nella serata di venerdì, però, è arrivata la smentita direttamente dal presidente Trump. Una smentita che alimenta il mistero dietro allo sgambetto all’esercito di Zelensky.
Four sources familiar with the discussion said that Elon Musk approached U.S. President Donald Trump with the idea of slowing down Ukraine's Starlink service on the battlefield.
As the Trump administration's short-lived Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project implemented its plan to downsize the federal workforce, there was much wailing from the liberal institutions in Washington, D.C.
Federal employee unions filed lawsuits to block the effort. NPR ran profiles of federal workers who, for the first time, faced the prospect of potentially not having absolute job security forever. The Brookings Institution wondered how many jobs the federal government could shed before it crashes.
The answer: plenty. The Trump administration has cut more than 10 percent of the federal workforce, and the government hasn't crashed. Indeed, it hasn't even shrunk—if you're counting by dollars spent instead of people employed.
In a new article for City Journal, Manhattan Institute senior fellow Judge Glock highlights the tremendous gap between the dire predictions about DOGE's cuts and the reality that has emerged, more than a year after DOGE was shut down. Despite having only a modest impact on spending, Glock writes, DOGE "had a massive impact on the federal civil service."
This is true—to a point, more on that in a moment—and notable. Aside from a modest downsizing in the 1990s, the number of people employed by the federal government has been steadily growing for decades. Reversing that trend is one of the few genuinely libertarian accomplishments by the Trump administration.
The cuts to the federal workforce prove that "DOGE worked," argues Glock.
Well, hold on.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy (who departed the DOGE project before Trump's inauguration and is now running for governor of Ohio) set some very ambitious goals after being appointed DOGE co-chairs in late 2024. In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal in November 2024 where they promised "we won't just write reports or cut ribbons. We'll cut costs."
Yes, Musk and Ramaswamy also said they would reduce the federal workforce. But that was presented as a natural consequence of cutting spending, not as the primary goal.
Think about it like this. If I spent months promising my friends and family that I would lose 50 pounds on a new diet, and then didn't lose any weight, would it be fair to say the diet worked?
What if I reduced the number of donuts I eat every day, but still didn't lose any weight? Sure, that might be good for my health in some way—just like reducing unnecessary workers in the federal government is good for America's fiscal health—but it certainly wouldn't mean I had achieved the goal of losing weight.
Finally, even the claim that DOGE cut the federal workforce requires an asterisk. As Glock also notes in his report, the decline in federal workers has been offset by an increase in federal contractors.
It's not a one-for-one trade, of course. The new contractors are overwhelmingly concentrated in places like the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon, while the cuts mostly targeted other areas, like the Department of Health and Human Services.
"Most of that increase came from the buildup in homeland-security and defense contracting, including purchases such as surveillance aircraft and tanks, rather than substitutes for government workers," Glock writes. "DOGE achieved real contract savings, but these were more than offset by higher spending elsewhere, reflecting a shift in priorities rather than an overall reduction in contracting."
So, the government is eating fewer donuts but more pizza.
There might be libertarian reasons to prefer contractors over government employees. They are less likely to hold those jobs for life, for one. But there's nothing inherently good about a government policy that cuts jobs in some areas just to create more room in the budget for poorly trained immigration enforcement agents and defense contractors. That may even be a negative outcome for liberty.
In the end, the DOGE project looks less like a meaningful attempt at cutting government spending or employment levels and more like a way to purge parts of the federal workforce likely to get in Trump's way during his second term. "As long as [Trump's] larger commitment is to extending his power rather than rolling back power itself, you shouldn't expect the government to stop growing," as Reason's Jesse Walker wrote last year in comparing DOGE to President Richard Nixon's attempted purge of the civil service.
Did DOGE work? Only if you grade it on a pretty dramatic curve.
Yes, it proved that a president can slash bureaucratic jobs—particularly the bloated managerial and administrative types—without doing much damage to the government's core responsibilities. That's a lesson future administrations should remember.
Maybe, someday, a president will try applying the same logic to government spending too.
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