Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Wednesday, September 22, and this is your FT news briefing.

Uber delighted investors with a forecast that it will actually, for the first time ever,

be profitable. And the European Commission may withhold critical funds from Poland and Hungary

amid its dispute over human rights issues. Plus, we'll talk to our Middle East editor Andrew

England about how Gulf states are navigating relations with two superpowers.

Some years ago, both the UA and Saudi Arabia wanted to buy armed drones from the US.

They couldn't do that. So where do they go? They turned to China.

I'm Mark Filipino, and here's the news you need to start your day.

The European Union is considering withholding funds from Poland and Hungary amid a dispute

over human rights issues in those two member states. These funds are aimed at

evening out economic disparities across the EU. The Warsaw and Budapest are currently at odds with

Brussels over rule of law issues, including allegations of discrimination. The European

Commission recently wrote to several regional authorities in Poland. It said it was suspending

certain funds after their decision to create areas that ban LGBTQ people. The EU's charter

of fundamental rights is now part of budget legislation, and officials have to check for

compliance before releasing funds. One EU diplomat said if Brussels were to withhold regional aid,

it would be crossing a Rubicon.

It took more than a decade, and billions of dollars, but Uber could post its first

profitable quarter. The ride-hailing group on Tuesday projected that adjusted gross bookings in

the current quarter would come in at around $23 billion. Investors were thrilled. Uber's stock price

shot up 11.5% yesterday. The FT's Dave Lee says many people doubted Uber would ever turn a profit.

I mean, it was a company that was in its early stages, heavily subsidizing rides in order to

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