What the throttling disabled

Ukraine's military said Starlink, which is produced by SpaceX and managed by the US government, stopped working on terminals moving at speeds greater than 100mph. According to the report, that change effectively rendered most of the drones Ukraine uses to strike behind the frontlines inoperable, and affected the country's best air defence system against Russian jet-powered attack drones bombing Kyiv.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he feels "betrayed" by Donald Trump over the throttling, accusing the US president of picking the other side after more than four years of war and risking a breakdown in US-Ukraine relations.

Warnings and what still works

Activist Oleksandra Matviichuk warned: "Without that protection, Russian drones will strike residential buildings, hospitals and schools like targets in a shooting gallery."

One exception remains: Starlink is not required for long-range Ukrainian missions that target Russian oil refineries, which Trump has been concerned about because of their impact on world energy prices.

ICC sanctions blocked in court

A US federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from placing sanctions on two US-based human rights groups, Dawn and Taag, over their aid to ICC investigations of war crimes in Gaza. A lawyer for the groups called the ruling "a victory for the first amendment and an important step in unraveling the ICC sanctions regime". The block is temporary while the litigation continues.

A US state department spokesperson said the administration does not comment on pending litigation, adding: "The Trump administration has been clear: the ICC poses an intolerable threat to US sovereignty."

The same report also covered the Trump administration's troubled relations with Israel. In early August, the US Board of Peace issued its first construction contract, for a military outpost to host 150 international troops who would serve as the vanguard of a stabilization force. Two months later, Israel has not allowed the project to proceed.

Other briefs

• •Katie Zacharia, Trump's new press secretary, is under scrutiny over her claim to be a lawyer. Asked to name a state where she passed the bar, she replied "when I moved to China". A Guardian review found she was not registered in 38 states, as well as DC and the Virgin Islands, where attorney lists were publicly available.
• •Cornell president Michael Kotlikoff acknowledged that he knew a student had reported being sexually assaulted in November 2024 but did not follow up with the Jane Doe, and only learned she had dropped out when she sued last month.
• •A 21-year-old woman reported being sexually assaulted last weekend at a fraternity house near the University of Chicago. A non-student person of interest was identified and banned from campus.
• •Eight states including Kansas, Arizona, Montana and Iowa sued OpenAI, alleging that its products carried out "willful, dangerous, reckless and unlawful conduct" by coaxing children into harming themselves. Iowa attorney general Brenna Bird said "OpenAI is hurting kids and they are lying to Iowans", and accused the company of claiming ChatGPT is safe "while it's giving dangerous medical advice, encouraging people to hurt others, and coaching people to commit suicide".
• •A school roof collapse in Peshawar, Pakistan has left at least 27 students dead, with dozens still unaccounted for.
• •Pope Leo, the US-born pontiff, is recovering from lung cancer surgery as planned, according to doctors who say he has begun walking in his hospital room and is eating normally.
• •The ex-fiance of Republican representative Nancy Mace and two others have been charged with sex crimes that Mace detailed in a nearly hour-long House speech last year.
• •The University of Maryland club tennis team was suspended after an image of the state flag incorporating KKK hoods was sent to schools participating in a regional tournament.
• •Oscar Belgal, the man shot by ICE in New York City, says the agent did not identify himself, contradicting DHS's account. Agents fired into his vehicle while a young boy was in the back seat.
• •More than 320 individuals have been arrested and detained in Senegal since February on allegations of "acts against nature", according to the HIV Justice Network, after parliament doubled the maximum prison term for consensual same-sex relations to 10 years.
• •Indonesia's coordinating security minister said dry ice would now be dropped on the province of South Sumatra to fight the country's worst fire season in more than a decade, after trying cloud seeding, water bombing and army personnel. Millions of people have faced toxic haze.
• •Luna, a 10-year-old Jack Russell terrier who eluded capture for over a month after going missing in Yellowstone, was caught on Wednesday and reunited with her grateful owners.