The Breakfast Table, 18 Oct

Top Story Saudi Arabia and Yemen

Missiles Hit Aden While Riyadh’s Airport Stays Shut

Saudi Arabia says 12 people died in the October 10 airport attack.

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📍 Riyadh · Saudi Arabia, Yemen

Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, a group that controls Sanaa in Yemen, are still fighting. Yemen is the country just south of Saudi Arabia. On October 10 a strike hit the main airport in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. Saudi Arabia says 12 people were killed and 300 were hurt.

Riyadh’s airport is still suspended. On Thursday, Houthi missiles hit a palace in Aden, Yemen’s temporary capital. Yemen’s health minister said five people were killed and 16 were wounded. The United Nations Security Council also condemned the Houthi attacks.

The United States has not joined the fight. On Friday, President Trump said Saudi Arabia should accept help from Israel. Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of encouraging the Houthis. Iran denies it and offers to help the sides talk.

For grown-ups: sources

World Europe and Ukraine

European Leaders Back Ukraine, Ask How to Pay

Ukraine’s president asked for 70 billion euros more for next year.

UKRAINE’S MONEY NEEDS In billions of euros

90Loan

70Extra ask

155Total need

Figures are from Zelenskyy and EU reports.

Leaders of European Union countries met in Brussels, Belgium, on October 15 and 16. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, came to ask for help in the war with Russia.

He said the war will cost Ukraine 155 billion euros next year, and asked for 70 billion euros more. The EU has already agreed a loan of 90 billion euros for 2026 and 2027. Leaders asked the EU’s Commission to suggest how to fill the gap.

Leaders also kept sanctions on Russia. Sanctions are penalties meant to put pressure on a country. The summit took place as Zelenskyy argues with Trump over a US deal to let Russian diesel reach world markets.

The leaders did not agree on the EU’s next long-term budget, which covers 2028 to 2034. The European Commission proposed nearly 2 trillion euros. Countries disagree about how big it should be and what it should pay for.

🗺️ Where in the world?

📍 Brussels · Belgium, Ukraine, Russia

For grown-ups: sources

United States Congress

Lawmakers Try to Block a Russian Diesel Deal

Six Republican and six Democratic senators asked Trump to cancel it.

Diesel is a fuel used by trucks, trains and farm machines. On October 9, President Trump announced a deal to let Russian diesel reach world markets by easing sanctions. Senators say the US would import about 2.2 million tons over two months.

Twelve senators, six from each party, wrote to Trump asking him to cancel it. They called it a gift to an adversary and a betrayal of allies. On Friday, a group of House Democrats and one Republican filed a bill to block it.

That bill faces a hard road. Passing it would likely mean overcoming a presidential veto, which is when a president rejects a law. Republican leaders have not joined the effort, and Congress is away until after the midterm elections.

🗺️ Where in the world?

📍 Washington, D.C. · United States, Russia

For grown-ups: sources

Talk About It

Questions for the table

Why might a fight far away change fuel prices where you live?

Who should pay for a long war, and why?

Why is it important for courts to look at voter lists?

India New Delhi

Supreme Court Asks Election Commission to Respond

Thirteen opposition leaders challenge the revision of voter lists.

A voter list names the people allowed to vote. India’s Election Commission has been revising these lists in a project called the Special Intensive Revision. The opposition says many voters were removed without notice. The Commission denies breaking rules and says people removed in error can register again.

On October 15, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Election Commission and its chief, Gyanesh Kumar. A notice is an order to answer a petition. Thirteen opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, filed it on October 12.

They say the chief decided on his own matters the Commission should decide together. The court joined the petition with cases already pending. In May it upheld the revision’s validity, and the petitioners say they are not asking to reopen that ruling.

The court also agreed to hear separate petitions about police conduct and detentions during protests in Delhi.

A petition is a formal request to a court. Here, the opposition asks the court to examine how the revision was decided.

🗺️ Where in the world?

📍 New Delhi · India

For grown-ups: sources

Sport

RUGBY

In the European Champions Cup on Saturday, Leinster beat Clermont 48-23 in Pool 1.

In brief

More news

Oil: Brent crude closed Friday at $109.86 a barrel, its highest since May, as ships near Hormuz kept being hit.
Markets: Tech stocks lost more than $1 trillion in value on Friday as oil prices rose.

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