Reuters World News - Saudi stealth jets, AfD and Russia and drugs in space (Updated)
Episode Date: September 18, 2026The U.S. State Department has approved a $24 billion dollar sale of fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, while China is pressing Iran to rein in the Houthis as they close in on one of the world's most critic...al shipping lanes. Germany's far-right AfD party talks of restarting Russian oil shipments. And as the International Space Station winds down, drugmakers want to head into orbit. Podcasts, breaking news, and video analysis from the source. Download the Reuters app here. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast 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
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Hi, I'm Kim Vinell in Wanganui, New Zealand.
And I'm Christopher Walgessper in Chicago.
It's Friday, September 18th.
Today, the U.S. State Department authorizes stealth fighter jets for Saudi Arabia.
The Bank of Japan raises rates to their highest in three decades.
And the International Space Station winds down, while the race to make drugs in space gets going.
This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines
and 10 minutes, seven days a week.
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RAF 157-3916. Please play responsibly. President Trump says he's banning three major news outlets,
CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House, effective immediately. Trump announced the ban on
truth social, calling the outlets, quote, fake news and threatening more news organizations could follow.
It's the administration's latest test of constitutional First Amendment protections of free speech
and the press.
It comes more than a year after he banned the Associated Press for refusing to recognize his
renaming of the Gulf of Mexico.
The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia,
a move that could reshape the military balance in the Middle East.
The deal, which still needs congressional approval, is worth an estimated $24 billion and would include 48 Lockheed Martin stealth aircraft.
Now, Israel has been the only country in the Middle East to operate the F-35 for the past decade.
The potential sale comes as Riyadh has called on Washington this week to intervene in its conflict with the Iran-backed Houthis,
who have launched fresh attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure.
While President Trump has been non-committal about widening U.S. military engagement in the region,
China has stepped in to use its influence in Iran to ease tensions around the Red Sea.
The fighting has moved closer to shipping routes around the Babal-Mandeb Strait,
one of the world's most important waterways for global trade and energy supplies.
And China depends heavily on oil and trade flowing through the region,
giving it its own stake in keeping those shipping lanes open.
Timor Azari is covering the situation from Riyadh.
So the Houthis control the entire western coast of Yemen.
They're all along the Red Sea.
That means that at the closest point with Africa,
they're about 20 kilometers away,
and that means that they're in control of the choke point.
And it means that most of international shipping is in their sites.
So before they needed complex drones and missiles
and other technology to hit international shipping,
they can probably do it with a mortar now or even an RPG if they're on a boat.
And these developments come at a tricky time for Saudi Arabia, which is under pressure
from multiple directions.
This Houthi advance is really a disaster for Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia is being attacked from the east, you know, from Iran, from the north, from Iraq,
and from the west from Yemen.
Our reporting shows that the US has said it will not rush to at least a military intervention here,
essentially after the Houthis did this lightning advance in Yemen, they then held an in-person meeting
with American diplomats in Muscat in Oman. So, I mean, you have to imagine in Riyadh, this will not be
received well. Not only is the U.S. not supporting you, they are meeting and thereby sort of
legitimizing your enemy at the moment where you're being hurt the most. So for the U.S., you know,
it's gotten a bloody nose in Hormuz and is still dealing with the fallout of that. And Trump,
Trump clearly does not want to get involved in another conflict, in another straight, you know,
right when he's looking at midterms.
Japan's central bank is raising its policy rate to 1.5% a 31-year high.
Governor Kazuo Yueda says the Bank of Japan is no longer trying to spur inflation up to
its 2% target, instead guarding against overheating the Japanese economy.
The BOJ still lags its peers.
The European Central Banks rate is at 2.5%
while the U.S. Federal Reserve just raised its benchmark rate this week to between 3.75 and 4%.
Now to Russia, which is counting down to the country's first parliamentary elections
since President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022.
And one candidate is risking jail with her campaign.
That's Polina Lermant, handing out flyers to passers-by, urging Russians to vote for peace,
as a billboard behind her urges them to sign up to fight in Ukraine.
Polina's is a risky enterprise.
The 24-year-old is a candidate for Russia's Liberal Yabloko Party,
the only registered political force in the country to oppose the war in Ukraine.
She says she is a repression.
afraid in a country where discrediting the army or spreading what authorities regard as fake news
are punishable with long jail terms.
But she says she believes it's important to tell people that there's a chance to vote for peace.
Western political analysts say Polina and Yabloko's chances are slim, and the outcome
in Russia's tightly controlled system is not in any real doubt, and will be used as a
fresh endorsement of Putin and his actions towards Ukraine.
And while the war in Ukraine has halted much of the flow of Russian gas into Europe,
Germany's far-right AFD party is reportedly planning talks with a top Kremlin advisor
about bringing Russian gas back to Germany.
The meeting could happen as early as next spring,
but only if a peace deal framework is agreed to between Russia and Ukraine.
The AFD says cheaper Russian energy could help Germany's struggling economy.
But critics warn reopening Russian gas flow could make Europe once again dependent on Moscow
and pose a risk to European security.
While the AFD isn't a part of Germany's ruling government, it's currently the country's
most popular party in voter Poland.
In Washington, a federal judge is ordering the Trump administration to give at least
30 days notice before taking any steps toward demolishing the Kennedy Center.
The legal fight escalated after lawyers cited an unverified social media photo that
appeared to show the president reviewing a document labeled Kennedy Center demolished.
Trump has also suggested the building could be ripped down.
At issue, a proposed two-year shutdown for a $257 million renovation.
Critics say Trump is turning the Kennedy Kennedy.
Center into a personal legacy project. But supporters say major repairs are overdue.
If you want a $3,000 a month payday for life, what would you feel free to do? Maybe take a long
weekend, every weekend, or try a bunch of new hobbies. Would you feel free to upgrade and listen ad-free?
Don't worry, we get it. Every $20 ticket could win you $3,000 a month for life and supports life-saving
cancer research at the Princess Margaret. Feel free to buy your payday for life ticket.
it today. Raffle number RA.F. 157-3916. Please play responsibly.
Warren Buffett is stepping away from his role as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway,
handing the reins to his son, Howard Buffett. The move comes after Greg Abel already
took over as CEO of the company earlier this year. Ninety-six-year-old Warren Buffett
will remain Chairman Emeritus after leading Berkshire for more than 60 years.
The International Space Station is nearing the end of its run,
but for some drug makers, the work happening in orbit is just beginning.
Companies like Merck say research aboard the ISS has helped shape products used on Earth.
And now a new group of startups are looking to take that a step further,
betting that commercial space stations could make drug research faster,
cheaper and easier to scale.
Health editor Nancy Lapid has more.
So back in July, I spoke with one such company, or Vasilium, is developing, they are using
the International Space Station to try to develop liver and kidney tissues using human cells.
And they explain that this is very difficult to do on Earth, because the cells have to be, have to
be assembled in a certain order in certain ways.
But on the International Space Station, where there's no gravity, they can get the
cells aligned in the order that they want.
As for what these newer platforms could offer, some of the companies say that they'll,
they can offer more manufacturing space.
And with the rocket industry expanding, there will be more opportunities for travel to and from these commercial platforms.
So the companies are really predicting that this is an industry that has potential to become a huge industry.
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