Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Thursday, including Yemeni army claiming Houthis casualties in clashes in Taiz, US President Donald Trump saying Iran war will end ‘very soon,’ and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi saying Baghdad would not allow its territory to be used to launch attacks threatening Saudi Arabia or other countries.
The Yemeni army said that more than 200 Houthi fighters were killed or injured in clashes in the southwestern province of Taiz.
The Taiz Military Axis said in a statement on the US social media platform X that fierce fighting continued throughout Wednesday on the Dhubab front west of Taiz and the Al-Aqrud and Al-Shaqab fronts to the south.
It said clashes, which began in the morning, intensified during the afternoon.
The statement said warplanes targeted a convoy of tanks and military vehicles belonging to the Houthis in the Ras al-Najd area of Al-Misrakh district. Warplanes also carried out two airstrikes early Wednesday on Houthi positions near Sofitel Hill east of Taiz city.
US President Donald Trump said late Wednesday that the war with Iran would end “very soon,” predicting that oil prices would fall sharply once the conflict concludes.
"The Iran war will end very soon … Soon, as they want it to end,” Trump told reporters in Montana.
"They'll never have a nuclear weapon, and oil prices will drop like a rock.”
Earlier, addressing a rally in Montana, Trump expressed uncertainty over which Iranian officials the US was negotiating with as Washington sought to end the conflict.
"They don’t have a navy. They don’t have an air force. Their army is decimated. Their leaders are gone. "I should have probably left their leaders because I don’t know who the hell we’re negotiating with," he said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said Wednesday that Baghdad would not allow its territory to be used to launch attacks threatening Saudi Arabia or other countries in the region, as he met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh.
Al-Zaidi reaffirmed Iraq's commitment to regional security and good-neighborly relations during the talks, according to statements from the Iraqi prime minister's office and the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The Iraqi premier arrived in Riyadh for his first visit to Saudi Arabia since taking office in May, with discussions focusing on regional developments, bilateral relations and security coordination. The crown prince received al-Zaidi at the Royal Court at Al-Yamamah Palace, SPA reported
FIFA is expected to propose distributing more than $6 billion back into football between 2027 and 2030, more than double the amount previously earmarked for the period, The Athletic reported.
Under the proposal, each of FIFA's 211 member associations would receive $25 million over the four-year cycle, up from a planned $10 million, while each of the six continental confederations would receive $99 million.
To finance the increase, FIFA would distribute more than $3.5 billion from its financial reserves, citing the commercial success of the expanded 48-team World Cup, according to the report.
Istanbul club Fenerbahce suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat away to England's Aston Villa on Wednesday in the second matchday of the UEFA Champions League.
Aston Villa opened the scoring in the 12th minute when a deflected shot from Manzambi found the net after a corner.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 31st minute. Kamara won possession following a mistake by Fenerbahce in midfield and set up Jackson, who finished one-on-one with goalkeeper Ederson.
Jackson struck again in the 39th minute, firing a low shot into the far corner after another Fenerbahce turnover to make it 3-0.
Fenerbahce came close to reducing the deficit in the 34th minute when Oguz Aydin's effort from inside the box hit the crossbar. Aston Villa continued to dominate after the break and won a penalty in the 67th minute when Manzambi was brought down by Ismail Yuksek inside the box. Barkley converted from the spot a minute later to make it 4-0.
The hosts added a fifth in the 72nd minute when Barkley's first-time effort from the edge of the box took a deflection off Bartug and wrong-footed goalkeeper Ederson. Aston Villa completed the rout in the 90th minute.
The Louvre could be forced to close to the public unless major renovations are undertaken, its president Christophe Leribault warned, calling for support for a €1 billion ($1.1 billion) overhaul.
In an interview with Le Figaro, Leribault appealed to the government that takes office after France’s presidential election, “whoever it may be,” to support the museum’s transformation.
Without renovation, the Louvre risks losing its standing before ultimately having to “close its doors to the public,” which he described as “a disaster.” The world’s most visited museum is “in very poor condition” and “completely overcrowded,” said Leribault, who was appointed in February.
Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis warned that hacking incidents involving artificial intelligence are “early warning shots,” urging companies and governments to strengthen security as autonomous systems become more powerful.
Speaking at the International AI Summit 2026, Hassabis said AI agents capable of acting on users’ behalf increase both the technology’s usefulness and its risks.
“But also that means that increases also the risks involved with what those systems might do, and we've seen that recently earlier this year with some of these hacking incidents. I think these are early warning shots for us,” he said.
“The systems aren't that powerful yet, so the incidents aren't that major,” he added, warning that incidents could become more serious over the next few years without additional security efforts.
US annual consumer inflation accelerated to 3.7% in September, exceeding market expectations of 3.6%, as surging gasoline prices drove a sharper monthly increase, official data showed.
The annual inflation rate rose from 3.4% in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
On a monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.6% in September from 0.4% in August.
Gasoline prices jumped 9.1% over the month, accounting for more than half of the overall monthly increase. Energy prices rose 5.2%, accelerating from a 2.1% gain in August.
US President Donald Trump said Taiwan has made an offtake commitment of between $70 billion and $80 billion for the Alaska LNG Project and agreed to invest $4.4 billion in equity.
“I am also announcing today that my Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, has secured an offtake commitment from Taiwan of between 70 to 80 billion dollars for Alaska LNG,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
He said the commitment covers 30% of the pipeline for the next 20 years, calling it “the largest offtake agreement in history.”
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