NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Global stocks gained and gold traded near record highs on Thursday as investors took in their stride the potential ramifications of a U.S. government shutdown, while a weak private U.S. labor market report bolstered bets for Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Investors have been largely sanguine about the shutdown&#8217;s impact on the markets and economy, helped by data of past shutdowns that showed limited fallouts. Morgan Stanley, for example, said U.S. share prices have risen an average 4.4% while real U.S. economic growth has expanded 2.2% during shutdowns in the past.
Instead, investors are focused on how much the Federal Reserve might lower interest rates this year, and whether the roaring U.S. stock market is due for a short-term pullback in the near future.
Nicholas Colas and Jessica Rabe, co-founders of DataTrek Research, said sector sub-indices for the S&amp;P 500 index are showing a marked correlation with downside risks.
&#8220;Every other time they have done so since 2023, the S&amp;P has declined by 5-18% in the following weeks,&#8221; Colas and Rabe said. &#8220;This is not an outright &#8216;sell&#8217; signal, but history says to be selective here.&#8221;
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The S&amp;P 500, which has risen 14% so far this year, was flat after briefly touching a record high of 6,731.94 points. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3% after also hitting an all-time high of 22,900.60 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was also little changed.
A protracted U.S. government shutdown could mean that the release of key official data on employment and inflation is delayed or disrupted, clouding the picture on the health of the world&#8217;s biggest economy and the path for interest rates.
A monthly payrolls report seems unlikely now to be released on Friday, putting an ADP employment report that showed the economy unexpectedly shed jobs in September into sharper focus. Traders are now pricing in two quarter-point Fed rate cuts by the end of the year as almost a done deal.
&#8220;I hope they sort this out rapidly,&#8221; said Kevin Thozet, investment committee member at asset manager Carmignac, referring to the government shutdown, adding that inflation data was also due ahead of the Fed&#8217;s next meeting. &#8220;It&#8217;s like a blind man walking with a blind dog,&#8221; he said.
SHUTDOWN ANGST HURTS DOLLAR, BOOSTS GOLD
The MSCI&#8217;s broadest index of global stocks was up about 0.1% on Thursday, after European stocks hit another record high, up about 0.5%.
Tech shares in Asia had earlier rallied, helping drive up the region&#8217;s stock indexes, partly lifted by news that South Korean chip heavyweights Samsung and SK Hynix inked partnerships to supply OpenAI data centres.
Gold , which have been buoyed by a combination of Fed easing bets and some shutdown angst, took a breather and slipped 0.5% after reaching another all-time high of $3,895.09 overnight.
The two-year Treasury yield sank to a two-week low of 3.531% overnight, and was last at 3.5449%.
&#8220;As is often the case, fresh highs are likely to beget yet more fresh highs here, with momentum still firmly with the bulls, and the fundamental case for further upside in PMs (precious metals) a solid one too,&#8221; said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the currency against six major peers, languished near a one-week low of 97.459 reached overnight. It last stood at 97.864, up 0.1% from Wednesday&#8217;s closing level.
The dollar was little changed against the yen at 147.165 yen, after Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida signalled confidence that conditions for another interest rate hike were falling into place in remarks at an industry event.
The euro dipped 0.1% to $1.1717, while sterling fell 0.3% at $1.3441.
Oil prices edged lower on Thursday, extending a run of declines into a fourth day due to concerns about oversupply in the market. [O/R]
Brent crude futures fell 1.8% to $64.18 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude also dipped 1.9% to $60.6 a barrel.
(Reporting by Iain Withers in London and Kevin Buckland in TokyoEditing by Deepa Babington and Nick Zieminski)

German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt

Markets Hit Record Highs, Ignoring D.C.’s Shutdown Drama

Economy

Government Shutdown

Politics

(Reuters) -Elon Musk on Wednesday became the first person to surpass $500 billion in net worth, powered by a rebound in Tesla&#8217;s share price this year and swelling valuations of his other tech ventures.
The milestone comes just under a year after Musk&#8217;s net worth crossed $400 billion and underscores his lead as the world&#8217;s richest person.
Musk&#8217;s fortune briefly hit $500 billion on Wednesday, before settling at $499.1 billion at 5 p.m. ET, according to Forbes&#8217; billionaires index.
His wealth is tied closely to his about 12% stake in Tesla, the world&#8217;s most valuable automaker. The electric-vehicle maker&#8217;s stock has climbed about 14% so far this year after a choppy start.
Musk last month disclosed his purchase of about $1 billion worth of Tesla shares, in what was seen as a vote of confidence as the company races to transition from an automaker to an AI and robotics powerhouse.
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The carmaker&#8217;s board last month proposed a $1 trillion compensation plan for Musk, setting out lofty financial and operational targets for the CEO while also addressing his demands for a bigger stake in the company.
The package is the largest ever offered to a corporate executive and investors expect the pay plan to deepen Musk&#8217;s focus on Tesla at a time when he has juggled commitments across multiple ventures.
The stock has risen 35.7% since the package was disclosed on September 5.
FROM AUTOS TO AEROSPACE TO AI
His ventures, over the years, have given Musk an outsized sway over technology industries, from electric cars and clean energy to satellite communications and artificial intelligence.
Musk&#8217;s AI startup xAI and rocket company SpaceX have also scaled their valuations this year and are reportedly raising funds at $200 billion and $400 billion valuations, respectively.
The AI startup, valued at $75 billion in July, is expanding a supercomputer, dubbed &#8220;Colossus&#8221;, to train large-scale models as its Grok chatbot seeks to rival established players such as OpenAI&#8217;s ChatGPT and Google&#8217;s Gemini.
SpaceX has cemented its dominance in the commercial space sector, operating the world&#8217;s largest satellite network through Starlink while capturing the bulk of U.S. launch contracts.
The company also consistently launches the most rockets in the world, regularly serving the International Space Station and carrying satellites for rival networks.
Oracle founder Larry Ellison follows Musk as the second-richest person on Forbes&#8217; list, with a net worth of about $350.7 billion as of Wednesday.
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Sriraj Kalluvila)

Elon Musk

Elon Musk Hits $500 Billion Net Worth, First In History

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Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine early on Sunday, killing at least four people and injuring dozens, in one of the most sustained attacks on the capital since the full-scale war began.
Neighbouring Poland closed its airspace near two southeastern cities and its air force scrambled jets in response until the danger had passed.
Ukraine&#8217;s military said that Russia launched 595 drones and 48 missiles overnight and its air defences shot down 568 drones and 43 missiles. It noted that the main target of the strike was the capital Kyiv.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack, which lasted more than 12 hours, damaged a cardiology clinic, factories and residential buildings.
Russia&#8217;s defense ministry said on Sunday it had carried out a &#8220;massive&#8221; attack on Ukraine using long-range air and sea-based weapons and drones to target military infrastructure, including airfields.
Moscow has denied targeting civilians in its war against Ukraine, although thousands have been killed and residential areas extensively damaged by its attacks.
Zelensky again urged the international community to act decisively to cut off Russia&#8217;s energy revenues that fund its invasion. Ukraine has so far failed to convince U.S. President Donald Trump to impose punitive sanctions on Moscow.
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&#8220;The time for decisive action is long overdue, and we count on a strong response from the United States, Europe, the G7, and the G20,&#8221; he said on the Telegram messaging app.
Kyiv awoke to loud explosions, drones flying overhead and air defences booming. Smoke from one of the strike sites drifted across the morning sky as the air raid alert ended at 09:13 a.m. (0613 GMT), nearly seven hours after it began.
Reuters journalists visited an area in the suburbs of Kyiv, where rows of newly built homes were almost totally destroyed, and parked cars flattened by falling debris.
Residents sifted through the wreckage of an apartment block after their windows were blown in by the force of a blast.
Some people hurried to metro stations underground, from where they followed events on their mobile phones.
Attacks on such a scale have stretched Ukraine&#8217;s limited air defences throughout 2025. Zelensky said on Saturday an additional Patriot missile system from Israel had been deployed and he expected two more to arrive this autumn.
He and other officials have asked international partners for more to protect Ukraine&#8217;s skies, but air defense systems are limited in availability and other nations are keen to bolster their defenses amid perceived threats from Russia.
Zelensky said Sunday&#8217;s attack targeted several regions, including the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, where authorities said at least 16 people were injured.
Emergency services said at least four people were killed, while 67 people were reported wounded across the country by local authorities.
Among the fatalities was a 12-year-old girl, although that has not been officially confirmed, Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv&#8217;s military administration, said on Telegram.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by William Mallard and Bernadette Baum)

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Russia Slams Ukraine With Nearly 600 Drones And 50 Missiles

Drones

Global Politics

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Denmark ordered a ban on Sunday on civil drone flights, after drones were observed at several military facilities overnight, following a week in which drone sorties caused the temporary closures of several Danish airports.
The Danish military said in a statement it had deployed &#8220;several capacities&#8221; in response to the overnight sightings at bases, declining further comment on the nature of its response.
Drone sorties earlier this week forced Denmark to shut airports, including a nearly four-hour closure of Copenhagen Airport on Monday.
Denmark has called the drones part of a &#8220;hybrid attack.&#8221; It has stopped short of saying definitively who it believes is responsible, but Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has suggested it could be Moscow, calling Russia the primary &#8220;country that poses a threat to European security.&#8221; The Kremlin denies blame.
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Under the ban, civilian drones will be barred from Danish airspace from Monday through Friday of the coming week, when Denmark, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU for the second half of this year, will be hosting European leaders.
&#8220;We are currently in a difficult security situation, and we must ensure the best possible working conditions for the armed forces and the police when they are responsible for security during the EU summit,&#8221; Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said in a statement on Sunday.
Denmark will host EU leaders on Wednesday, followed by a summit on Thursday of the wider, 47-member European Political Community, set up to unite the EU with other friendly European countries after Russia&#8217;s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
A German air defense frigate arrived in Copenhagen on Sunday to assist with airspace surveillance during the high-profile events.
(Reporting by Stine JacobsenEditing by Peter Graff)

FPV kamikaze drone at sky. Drones at war

Denmark Bans Drone Flights After Fresh Sightings At Military Bases

Denmark

President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to review the legality of his bid to limit birthright citizenship in the United States, teeing up a major test of one of his most contentious policies that could alter how the U.S. Constitution has long been understood on the subject.
The Justice Department filed two appeals of lower court rulings that blocked Trump&#8217;s executive order, which the Republican president signed on his first day back in office in January as a key part of his hardline approach toward immigration.
&#8220;The lower court&#8217;s decisions invalidated a policy of prime importance to the President and his Administration in a manner that undermines our border security. Those decisions confer, without lawful justification, the privilege of American citizenship on hundreds of thousands of unqualified people,&#8221; the Justice Department wrote in the appeals.
The department asked the Supreme Court to take up and resolve the case in its new term, which begins on October 6.
Trump&#8217;s executive order directed federal agencies to refuse to recognize the citizenship of children born in the United States who do not have at least one parent who is an American citizen or lawful permanent resident, also called a &#8220;green card&#8221; holder.
His action drew a series of lawsuits arguing among other things that the order violates a right enshrined in the Constitution&#8217;s 14th Amendment that provides that anyone born in the United States is a citizen.
After multiple lower courts halted the order as unconstitutional, the administration took the disputes to the Supreme Court in an effort to challenge the power of federal judges to issue so-called &#8220;universal&#8221; injunctions preventing presidential policies from applying against anyone, anywhere.
That action led the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, to issue a landmark ruling in June blunting the power of judges. But that ruling left open the possibility for courts to grant broad relief to states or to individual plaintiffs through class action lawsuits.
Two challenges to Trump&#8217;s order are at issue in Friday&#8217;s appeals. One was filed by the state of Washington and three other states, and the other by a group of individuals who sued in federal court in New Hampshire.
In July, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the states, while U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante in Concord, New Hampshire, let the plaintiffs in that case proceed as a class, allowing Trump&#8217;s order to be blocked nationally.
&#8220;This executive order is illegal &#8211; full stop &#8211; and no amount of maneuvering from the administration is going to change that. We will continue to ensure that no baby&#8217;s citizenship is ever stripped away by this cruel and senseless order,&#8221; Cody Wofsy, an attorney for the New Hampshire plaintiffs, told Reuters on Friday.
The administration is asking the justices to hear the New Hampshire dispute even before a Boston-based federal appeals court has ruled in the case.
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The 14th Amendment&#8217;s citizenship clause states that all &#8220;persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.&#8221; The 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868 in the aftermath of the Civil War of 1861-1865 that ended slavery in the United States.
The administration contends that the 14th Amendment, long understood to confer citizenship to virtually anyone born in the United States, does not extend to immigrants who are in the country illegally or even to immigrants whose presence is lawful but temporary, such as university students or those on work visas.
In Friday&#8217;s filings, the Justice Department said that a policy of universal birthright citizenship &#8220;operates as a powerful incentive for illegal migration&#8221; and has &#8220;spawned an industry of modern &#8216;birth tourism,&#8217; by which foreigners travel to the United States solely for the purpose of giving birth here.&#8221;
Since Trump returned to office, his administration has repeatedly asked the Supreme Court to intervene on an emergency basis to implement his policies even as their legality is tested in court, after judges blocked them.
The Supreme Court has sided with the administration in nearly every case it has been asked to review &#8211; including several related to Trump&#8217;s efforts to restrict migration and accelerate deportations.
The latest decision favoring Trump came on Friday, when the court allowed him to withhold about $4 billion in foreign aid authorized by Congress for the current fiscal year.
(Reporting by Andrew Chung in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham)

Donald Trump Signs Memorandum In The Oval Office

Trump Asks Supreme Court To Hear Birthright Citizenship Case

birthright citizenship

Donald Trump

Illegal Immigration

Mexico

Supreme Court

NATO said on Saturday it is upgrading its mission in the Baltic Sea with an air-defense frigate and other assets in response to drone incursions in Denmark.
Unidentified drones were observed near military installations in Denmark overnight, the Armed Forces said on Saturday, following several drone incursions near airports and critical infrastructure this week.
Copenhagen Airport, the Nordic region&#8217;s busiest, closed for several hours late on Monday as several large drones were seen in its airspace. Five smaller Danish airports, both civilian and military, were also shut temporarily in the following days.
In response, NATO will &#8220;conduct even more enhanced vigilance with new multi-domain assets in the Baltic Sea region,&#8221; it said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
The alliance said the new assets included &#8220;intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms and at least one air-defense frigate.&#8221;
A NATO spokesperson said they would not provide details on which countries were contributing the extra assets.
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The new assets will enhance NATO&#8217;s &#8220;Baltic Sentry&#8221; mission, launched in January in response to a string of incidents in which power cables, telecom links, and gas pipelines on the Baltic Sea bottom have been damaged.
NATO countries have deployed frigates, patrol aircraft, and naval drones as part of the mission, to help protect critical infrastructure.
The alliance also launched the &#8220;Eastern Sentry&#8221; mission this month, to bolster the defense of Europe&#8217;s eastern flank in response to Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace.
It warned Russia on Tuesday that it would use &#8220;all necessary military and non-military tools&#8221; to defend itself after Estonia said on Friday that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated its airspace for 12 minutes before NATO Italian fighter jets escorted them out.
Russia has disputed that Russian jets violated Estonia&#8217;s airspace and said that its drones had not planned to hit targets in Poland.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Saturday that the threat from drones was &#8220;high&#8221; and that the country would take measures to defend itself.
Russia&#8217;s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned NATO and the European Union on Saturday that &#8220;any aggression against my country will be met with a decisive response.&#8221;
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas and Andrew Gray; Editing by Alison Williams)

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen

NATO Increases Baltic Presence As Mystery Drones Swarm Denmark

Europe

Elon Musk&#8217;s xAI has struck a deal with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to provide the artificial intelligence startup&#8217;s Grok chatbot to federal agencies, the government&#8217;s procurement arm said on Thursday.
The contract underscores Washington&#8217;s push to expand the use of AI in government operations, while intensifying competition among leading developers of the booming technology for federal business.
The agreement, effective through March 2027, allows agencies to buy Grok models for 42 cents per organization, compared with the $1 per year OpenAI charges for access to its ChatGPT service, GSA said.
The contract covers Grok 4 and Grok 4 Fast, which xAI describes as its most advanced reasoning models. The agency said xAI engineers would also assist agencies with implementation.
Agencies will also have the option to upgrade to Grok enterprise subscriptions aligned with federal security standards, offering expanded features and higher usage limits.
However, critics have said Grok has generated factually wrong answers and politically skewed commentary, reflecting broader doubts over the reliability of generative AI.
Advocacy groups have flagged episodes where the system produced offensive language or conspiracy-tinged claims, prompting questions about the safeguards built into its algorithms.
The deal is the latest under GSA&#8217;s &#8220;OneGov Strategy,&#8221; launched in April to standardize technology procurement and expand government use of AI. Other suppliers under the program include OpenAI, Meta Platforms, Alphabet&#8217;s Google, and Anthropic.
GSA has also approved Meta&#8217;s Llama model for agency use earlier this week, making it available to federal customers at no cost.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D&#8217;Silva)

FILE PHOTO: Illustration shows xAI and Grok logos

Elon Musk Signs Deal To Give The Government Grok To ‘Innovate Faster’

Artificial Intelligence

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WASHINGTON — A group representing nearly all major automakers asked the Trump administration Tuesday to roll back aggressive vehicle emissions limits that seek to force the industry to build a rising number of electric vehicles.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and other major automakers, said in a filing with the Environmental Protection Agency that legislation signed by President Donald Trump in June will increase the effective price of EVs and could lead to a near-term decline in EV market share.
They argue that rules finalized last year under President Joe Biden are no longer feasible.
&#8220;The 2027 and later standards are simply not achievable in light of significant market, charging infrastructure, supply chain, affordability, and other challenges as well as recent policy changes enacted,&#8221; the group said.
The 2024 Biden rules aim to cut passenger vehicle fleetwide tailpipe emissions by nearly 50% by 2032 compared with 2027 projected levels. The EPA forecast between 35% and 56% of new vehicles sold between 2030 and 2032 would need to be electric.
On Sept. 30, the $7,500 EV tax credit expires, and automakers warn that &#8220;a significant portion&#8221; of automakers may lose a battery production tax credit for EVs typically worth $3,000 per year next year under the law.
&#8220;This harms not only the automotive manufacturers that have spent hundreds of millions of dollars investing in electric vehicle technology, but also the entire supply chain that has supported these initiatives,&#8221; the group said.
In July, the EPA proposed rescinding the long-standing finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, removing the legal foundation for all U.S. greenhouse gas regulations, a move that would end current limits on greenhouse gas pollution from vehicle tailpipes.
Democrats in Congress and environmental groups have called on the EPA to drop its plan and retain the rules.
Automakers argue the EPA should still rewrite the Biden rules, saying they &#8220;still need to be revised to feasible levels to provide certainty for the industry.&#8221; The group said &#8220;such a contingency plan will be critical if motor vehicle GHG standards are retained or reinstated in some way.&#8221;
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Franklin Paul and Nick Zieminski)

Cars ride in traffic along the I5 freeway is shown in Los Angeles, California

Major Automakers Call For EPA To Ease Tailpipe Emissions Rules

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A new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas in the United States that goes into effect on Sunday will be levied per petition and will not be applied to existing holders of valid visas re-entering the country, the White House said on Saturday.
&#8220;This is NOT an annual fee. It’s a one-time fee that applies only to the petition,&#8221; White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X on Saturday.
Leavitt also said that current H-1B visa holders who are currently outside of the country right now will not be charged $100,000 to re-enter the United States.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Friday said the fee would be paid annually, but added that details were &#8220;still being considered.&#8221;
Some companies including Microsoft, JPMorgan, and Amazon, had responded to the Friday announcement by advising employees holding H-1B visas to remain in the United States, according to internal emails reviewed by Reuters. A Goldman Sachs internal memo seen by Reuters on Saturday urged employees with such visas to exercise caution on international travel.
Leavitt said on X that H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country to the same extent as they normally would and that the new fee would only apply in the next H-1B lottery round and not to current visa holders or renewals.
The White House said the fee was being imposed to level the playing field for American workers which it said are being &#8220;replaced with lower-paid foreign labor.&#8221;
The executive order imposing the new fee on H-1B visa applications, which was signed by President Donald Trump on Friday night, could disrupt the global operations of Indian technology services companies that deploy skilled professionals to the United States, Indian IT industry body Nasscom said early on Saturday.
In a fact sheet distributed on Saturday, the White House said it would allow an H-1B visa application without the $100,000 fee on a case-by-case basis &#8220;if in the national interest.&#8221;
The fact sheet said that the share of IT workers with H-1B visas has risen from 32% in FY 2003 to over 65% in recent years.
It also requires the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security to issue joint guidance for verification, enforcement, audits, and penalties and directs the Labor Secretary to start a rulemaking to &#8220;revise the prevailing wage levels for the H-1B program&#8221; and &#8220;to prioritize high-skilled, high-paid H-1B workers.&#8221;
Friday&#8217;s announcement sparked concerns among employees across swaths of corporate America.
On the popular Chinese social media app Rednote, many H-1B holders shared stories of rushing back to the U.S. — some just hours after landing abroad — fearing they would be subject to the new $100,000 fee.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington; Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici in Washington and Rajveer Singh Pardesi in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler, Marguerita Choy and Andrea Ricci)

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New U.S. H-1B Visa Fee Will Not Apply To Existing Holders, White House Says

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Taiwan&#8217;s message to the international community is that it is determined to defend itself and that people should not believe any claim it has surrendered in the event of invasion, President Lai Ching-te said on Saturday, capping a week of defense events.
Democratically-governed Taiwan has faced stepped up military pressure from China, which views the island as its own territory. Taiwan&#8217;s government rejects those claims, saying only the island&#8217;s people can decide their future.
Addressing a forum on Taiwan&#8217;s efforts to boost its preparations for natural disaster or war, Lai referenced the government&#8217;s new civil defence handbook, which was launched on Tuesday as part of efforts to get people ready for a possible Chinese attack.
The handbook gives vital information on how to stay safe, he said to an audience that included Western envoys to Taipei.
&#8220;More importantly, we tell everyone, &#8216;In the event of a military invasion of Taiwan, any claim that the government has surrendered or that the nation has been defeated is false,'&#8221; Lai said, quoting one of the key messages in the handbook.
&#8220;As commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Republic of China, I want to tell my fellow citizens and the international community that this is Taiwan&#8217;s position,&#8221; he said, using Taiwan&#8217;s formal name.
&#8220;We are determined to defend freedom and democracy and a sustainable Taiwan.&#8221;
China&#8217;s Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.
Taiwan this week hosted its largest ever arms show, drawing a host of international companies looking to win a share of the island&#8217;s rapidly increasing defense spending.
Taiwan is also actively courting global defense companies for closer collaboration, such as joint production of weapons.
Speaking separately on Saturday at the opening of a branch office in Taipei, Brandon Tseng, president of U.S. company Shield AI, said his company could have hundreds of employees in Taiwan over the next three to five years.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a region that Shield AI is deeply investing in and deeply committed to,&#8221; said Tseng, who chatted with Lai on Friday as he visited the arms show, where the company was showcasing its V-BAT drones that have been combat-tested in Ukraine.
Shield AI this month signed a &#8220;teaming agreement&#8221; with Taiwan government defense contractor Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation, although Tseng declined to give details on possible sales to the island.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Tom Hogue)

Taiwan President

Taiwan Determined To Defend Itself, President Says After Defense Events

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Russia unleashed a major drone and missile attack on Ukraine overnight, killing three people, injuring dozens more, and damaging infrastructure and residential buildings, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.
Despite diplomatic efforts to find ways to end the war that began when Russia invaded in February 2022, the fighting has intensified in recent months.
In a statement on the Telegram app, Zelensky said Russia had launched around 580 drones and 40 missiles targeting infrastructure, civilian manufacturing companies and residential areas in different parts of the country.
Air defences shot down 552 of the drones and 31 missiles, Ukraine&#8217;s air force said.
RUSSIA IS &#8216;TERRORISING&#8217; CIVILIANS, SAYS ZELENSKY
&#8220;All night, Ukraine was under a massive attack by Russia,&#8221; Zelensky said. &#8220;Every such strike is not a military necessity but a deliberate strategy by Russia to terrorise civilians and destroy our infrastructure.&#8221;
Russia denies targeting Ukrainian civilians.
In the central city of Dnipro, a missile with a cluster munition hit a residential apartment building, Zelensky said.
One person was killed, and at least 26 people were injured in Dnipro, regional officials said.
Two people were also killed in the Chernihiv region in the north and the Khmelnytskyi region in the west of the country, regional officials said.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.
&#8220;I could hear the &#8216;Shahed&#8217; (drone) getting closer and closer. I understood it was flying towards us. My child and I were very frightened,&#8221; Yulia Chystokletova, a resident of Kyiv, told Reuters.
&#8220;It should not be happening in the 21st century. We are all people. Agree&#8230; sit down at the negotiating table.&#8221;
Kyiv faces increasing pressure in eastern Ukraine, where Russian troops are keeping up their grinding advance, devastating villages and towns and claiming new territory.
BOTH SIDES STEPPING UP DRONE ATTACKS
To hit Ukrainian cities far from the frontline, Russia appears to have changed its tactics and now launches swarms of hundreds of drones in one strike, compared with dozens early in the war.
Ukraine typically responds with drone strikes of its own, aiming to reach deeper into the Russian territory, hitting refineries, fuel depots, and logistics hubs.
Ukraine hit two Russian oil refineries in the Saratov and Samara regions in attacks overnight, causing explosions and fires, the Ukrainian General Staff said.
&#8220;Regarding refineries: we have drones, we know how to produce them. It all depends on the number of drones we use per day,&#8221; Zelensky told reporters.
&#8220;As soon as the number of drones is comparable to that of the Russians, they will feel it in terms of fuel shortages and the number of queues at petrol stations.&#8221;
Russia&#8217;s Defence Ministry said its forces had successfully carried out strikes with high-precision weapons on Ukrainian military-industrial facilities overnight.
Polish and allied aircraft were also deployed early on Saturday to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after some of Russia&#8217;s airstrikes targeted western Ukraine near the border with NATO member Poland, the Polish military command said.
(Additional reporting by Yuri Kovalenko; Editing by Kirsten Donovan, Hugh Lawson and Gareth Jones)

Ukraine-Russia

Russia Hits Ukraine With Drone And Missile Barrage, Multiple Reportedly Killed

Three Russian military jets violated NATO member Estonia&#8217;s airspace for 12 minutes on Friday in an &#8220;unprecedentedly brazen&#8221; incursion, its government said, the latest in a series of recent military actions by Russia that have rattled the alliance.
With tensions already high because of the war in Ukraine, the incursion came just over a week after more than 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace on the night of Sept. 9-10. That prompted NATO jets to down some of them and Western officials to say Russia was testing the alliance&#8217;s readiness and resolve.
It also occurred three days after Russia and Belarus ended their &#8220;Zapad-2025&#8221; joint military exercises, which included the rehearsal of the launch of Russian nuclear weapons.
Tallinn said the three MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace without permission and stayed for a total of 12 minutes before they were forced to withdraw, a period during which the high-speed aircraft could have traversed broad swaths of the country.
&#8220;Russia has violated Estonian airspace four times already this year, which is unacceptable in itself, but today&#8217;s violation, during which three fighter jets entered our airspace, is unprecedentedly brazen,&#8221; said Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
The Russian Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Its jets routinely fly over the Baltic Sea between mainland Russia and its exclave of Kaliningrad.
Separately, Poland said on Friday two Russian fighter jets violated the safety zone of the Petrobaltic drilling platform in the Baltic Sea.
The U.S. State Department referred queries to the White House, which did not respond to requests for comment.
President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration was being closely watched for a response.
Washington had had little to say about the drone incursion into Poland and did not participate directly in fending it off, triggering deep anxiety among NATO members.
NATO said Russia was reckless.
&#8220;Earlier today, Russian jets violated Estonian airspace. NATO responded immediately and intercepted the Russian aircraft. This is yet another example of reckless Russian behaviour and NATO’s ability to respond,&#8221; a NATO spokesperson said on X.
Europeans quickly responded to the Russian jet incident on Friday. &#8220;This was no accident,&#8221; EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas &#8211; a former Estonian prime minister &#8211; said in comments relayed by a spokesperson.
Estonia said it had summoned the top Russian diplomat in the country to lodge a protest and deliver a note.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said his country had decided to ask NATO to open consultations under Article 4 of the alliance&#8217;s treaty, and that the Russian jets flew around 5 nautical miles (9 km) into NATO airspace before Italian F-35s, currently stationed at a base in Estonia, pushed them out.
NATO polices the airspace of Estonia and other Baltic nations in its &#8220;Baltic Sentry&#8221; mission.
&#8220;We consider it essential to consult with our Allies to ensure shared situational awareness and to agree on our next joint steps. The entire Alliance is treating this incident seriously,&#8221; Michal said.
Tsahkna suggested that Estonia would be asking allies for more air defenses. &#8220;It was a very clear provocation. It was definitely meant like this. And that&#8217;s why we are calling the Article 4 political consultations,&#8221; he told Reuters.
Article 4 states that members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territory, political independence or security of any of them is threatened.
Ukraine called the incursion an unacceptable new destabilization measure by Russia and said it stands with Estonia. &#8220;Strong action is needed, both jointly and from individual countries,&#8221; President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app.
Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene said NATO should urgently move air defence capabilities to frontline states.
&#8220;We are being tested, our citizens are being threatened almost every day now. This means that we need to have capabilities collected from our allies (to be placed) by our borders, because that&#8217;s the border of NATO,&#8221; she told Reuters.
In New York, Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, told Reuters he wasn’t aware of the incident, but added: &#8220;I do not trust what Estonia is saying about Russia.&#8221; When told about the accusation by Estonia that Russia had flown jets into its airspace, Nebenzia said: &#8220;How tragic.&#8221;
Estonia said the airspace violation occurred on Friday morning in the area of Vaindloo Island, around 100 kilometres (124 miles) from the capital Tallinn.
The aircraft did not have flight plans, their transponders were not switched on and they were not in contact with air traffic control, Estonia said.
While incursions over Vaindloo Island by Russian aircraft are fairly common, they do not usually last as long as Friday&#8217;s incident. &#8220;It&#8217;s tough to see how this wasn&#8217;t intentional,&#8221; a U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said.
The official noted that it was difficult to see a situation where that many Russian aircraft did not know they were in Estonian airspace for that long, but added that a deeper assessment was ongoing.
Jakub M. Godzimirski, a research professor in Russian security policy at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, said the incident could be a test, but could also be purely coincidental.
&#8220;Still, this happens in a given context, having in mind what happened with the drone incursion in Poland a few days ago,&#8221; Godzimirski said.
A staunch supporter of Ukraine, Tallinn said in May that Moscow had briefly sent a fighter jet into NATO airspace over the Baltic Sea during an attempt to stop a Russian-bound oil tanker thought to be part of a &#8220;shadow fleet&#8221; defying Western sanctions on Moscow.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas, Gram Slattery, Sabine Siebold, Gwladys Fouche, Angelo Amante, Idrees Ali, Anne Kauranen, Louise Rasmussen, Terje Solsvik, Nerijus Adomaitis, Lili Bayer, Andrew Gray, Michelle Nichols, David Latona and Yulia Dysa: Writing by Alan Charlish and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Alex Richardson, Sharon Singleton, Don Durfee and Nick Zieminski)

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Russian Jets Enter Estonia’s Airspace In Latest Test For NATO

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