Reuters World News - Kirk memorial, Gaza, Saudi-Pakistan, Intervision and Oktoberfest

Episode Date: September 21, 2025

Thousands will gather in Arizona for a public memorial honoring conservative activist Charlie Kirk, with Donald Trump expected to deliver a speech. Israel intensifies its assault on Gaza City, killing at least 60, as ten countries prepare to recognize a Palestinian state ahead of the U.N. General Assembly. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign a mutual defense pact, raising questions about nuclear guarantees and shifting alliances away from the United States. Russia hosted the Intervision Song Contest with performers from over 20 countries and Munich’s Oktoberfest kicks off. Read today's recommended read here. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠here⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠here⁠. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, Turning Point USA holds a memorial for Charlie Kirk, how Republicans hope to keep momentum going with young voters after his killing. A Saudi-Pakistan deal shows countries moving away from the US for security guarantees. Russia hosts the Intervision Song Contest, while Eurovision countries threaten a boycott over Israel, and Octoberfest begins in Munich. Sunday, September 21st. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes,

seven days a week. I'm Tara Oaks in London. Thousands are heading to Arizona for today's public memorial for conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shut and killed at a campus event in Utah. State Farm Stadium is bracing for a massive crowd, with tight security, overflow areas and speeches expected from President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and other top Republicans. In the wake of Kirk's assassination, the Trump administration is scrambling to save the operation he built to turn out young voters. Kirk's widow, Erica, was unanimously elected the new CEO of

Turning Point USA, founded to galvanize young voters to Republican causes. Trump says the demographic was crucial to him winning in 2024. And with the 26 midterm elections around the corner, Republicans need to mobilize those voters again to retain control of Congress. His National Affairs Reporter Tim Reed in Washington. Many people believe Kirk is irreplaceable just because of the relationship he'd built up with so many young voters across the country and his charisma and his eloquence and he was a fundraising juggernaut. So they've lost that and there's no one who can really replace him in that sense. The Republican Party doesn't really have the infrastructure to turn out young voters like Turning Point USA does. And so there are some initial discussions about

possibly giving the vice president a bigger role in reaching out to younger voters and possibly even going on a college campus tour to speak to young voters on college campuses. Already we've seen several high-profile conservative thought leaders take turns in hosting Charlie Kirk's daily podcast. The Republicans currently control both chambers, but they don't want to lose control of either or both of them. And both parties see turning out young voters as an important element in who might control Congress next year. Israel is stepping up its assault on Gaza City, dismantling tunnels and booby-trapped buildings

in attacks that have killed at least 60 people, according to Gaza officials. Most of Gaza City's population is sheltering in the central and western parts of the city, where Israel is positioned to advance. Israel's military says it's targeting Hamas strongholds, Hamas has warned that Israeli hostages are at risk, and both sides are trading blame over blocked aid routes. The intensified campaign comes as 10 countries, including Australia, Britain and Canada,

are set to formally recognise an independent Palestinian state on Monday, ahead of the annual leaders' gathering at the UN General Assembly. Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan this week signed a mutual defense pact. Few details have been made public, but analysts say it could mean Riyadh will have a de facto nuclear shield under the agreement. Maha al-Daghan says the timing of the agreement is significant, coming during diplomatic upheaval in the Middle East and just months after a deadly India-Pakistan conflict.

It's a sure sign that the Gulf is going to move in a lot of different directions to guarantee their security. And Pakistan being the only Muslim majority nation with nuclear weapons is what is bringing this agreement really into focus. With a senior Saudi official I spoke to, we asked a very direct question of what the agreement means

in terms of nuclear weapons. And the response was that the agreement is a defensive one, but it includes all military means. Pakistan has always been careful to say that its nuclear weapons are only defensive and they are only there to protect it against India. We actually spoke to Pakistan's defense minister after the agreement who told us that nuclear weapons

were not on the radar of this pact. In the Middle East, much of the fear around nuclear has been A from Israel, where it's in an ambiguous situation. it doesn't declare that it does actually have nuclear weapons, but it doesn't say anything about them. And Iran, of course, the more traditional foe for the Gulf states, it really throws into question the traditional security relationship the Gulf has had with the US,

in which they, you know, put their eggs in one basket and look at the US as a security guarantee. My bet is that many Gulf countries will start looking elsewhere now to diversify their defense. arrangements. And speaking of Saudi Arabia, they've agreed to host next year's edition of the Intervision Song Contest. Never heard of Intervision? Well, it's a revived Soviet-era song contest, launched this year at the behest of President Vladimir Putin after Russia was barred from the Eurovision song contest over the war in Ukraine. Singers hailing from 23 countries Russia now considers friendly

were due to compete in last night's contest, accounting for more than half the world's population. Vietnam was crowned winner. An Australian-born singer who was due to represent the United States dropped out at the last minute, with organisers blaming unprecedented political pressure from the government of Australia. There was no immediate comment from Australia. And Eurovision, that other sung contest, has also been in the headlines. Austria is hosting next year's Eurovision, and now the country's foreign minister is scrambling to prevent a potential boycott over Israel's participation. Spain has just become the fifth

country to threaten withdrawal if Israel takes part, joining the Netherlands, Slovenia, Iceland and Ireland. Austria's foreign minister says that boycotting Eurovision won't help solve the crisis in Gaza. And the world's largest beer festival, Munich's oxygen. Octoberfest has kicked off. It's the 190th edition in the German city and began with the traditional tapping of the first keg. Munich Mayor Dieter Geiter says he wants people to have fun at the Octoberfest and maybe only need a few headache tablets the next day,

but above all for nothing bad to happen. So where exactly did humans get their taste for alcohol? A new study shows. that chimpanzees are getting a little tipsy in the wild could offer insight. Our editor, Will Dunham, explains. It turns out that the fruit that they eat often is so ripe that has begun to naturally ferment, and that leads to the presence of ethanol, the main type of alcohol, found in our alcoholic beverages. On a daily basis, the chimps are getting roughly the same as in a standard alcoholic drink.

and considering the chimps weigh about half of what people weigh, that would be like a chimp having two cocktails per day. The researchers say the findings have some implications for the understanding of human evolution, and it has something to do with what is called the Drunken Monkey Hypothesis. The idea is that the human appetite for alcohol was inherited from our evolutionary ancestors. The researchers say the findings establish the evolutionary background for likely exposure to ethanol, in the most recent common ancestor of humans and chimps. And for today's recommended read, a Reuters reporter tries his hand at fishing in the Thames.

The iconic London River is supposed to be teeming again after conservation efforts. But does he succeed in landing a big one? You'll have to read the link in the pod description to find out. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player and if you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters, seven days a week.

We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.