Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Thursday, including US President Donald Trump saying Washington is not negotiating with Iran and that "something one way or the other” will happen “fairly soon," Türkiye, Qatar, Indonesia and Pakistan signing a new defense cooperation pact, an attack on Saudi Arabia’s Dammam airport killing 1 and injuring 8, and Russia releasing a 73-year-old American who was imprisoned for fighting alongside Ukrainian forces.
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Washington is not negotiating with Iran, adding that “something one way or the other” will happen “fairly soon.”
“No, I think we’re not negotiating,” Trump told reporters upon returning from a rally in South Carolina. “We are going to have something one way or the other that’ll happen fairly soon.”
“Most people seem to think it’s after the election, and we’re going to see what happens,” he added.
Earlier, during his remarks at the rally, Trump said the US could end its war with Iran now but wants to ensure that the outcome is lasting.
“It’ll end very soon. We could leave now, but we want to make sure it lasts for a long time,” he said.
Türkiye, Qatar, Indonesia and Pakistan have signed the Badr memorandum to strengthen defense cooperation and develop strategic partnerships, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The agreement was signed Wednesday in Doha, the capital of Qatar, by the defense ministers of the four countries.
The signatories were Turkish National Defense Minister Yasar Guler, Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman bin Hasan Al Thani, Indonesian Deputy Defense Minister Yusuf Jauhari and Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif.
One person was killed and eight others injured in an attack late Wednesday on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, eastern Saudi Arabia, the country’s civil aviation authority said.
The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said the injured were immediately taken to the hospital for treatment, with their conditions ranging from minor to severe.
The attack also caused material damage that authorities were still assessing, it added, saying further updates would follow.
The authority did not specify the nature of the attack.
Russia has released 73-year-old American citizen Stefan Hubbard, who was imprisoned in Russia for fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff said.
Speaking at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, Witkoff said he had met Hubbard's son, a church pastor, several days earlier. Hubbard's son had also thanked Putin for releasing his father.
"I would like to thank you on behalf of our president, and I thank you on behalf of the US. I do so because the Russian Federation has released Stefan Hubbard," he said.
Harry Kane scored and provided an assist as Bayern Munich came from behind before settling for a 2-2 draw against Arsenal on Wednesday, while Arda Guler helped Real Madrid maintain their perfect UEFA Champions League start with a 4-1 victory over RB Leipzig in Matchday 3.
The substitute opened the scoring in the 25th minute after controlling Martin Odegaard's long pass and finishing into the bottom-right corner past Manuel Neuer.
Bayern equalized 10 minutes later through Alphonso Davies, who latched onto an excellent through ball from Kane near the halfway line before finishing past David Raya.
The hosts completed their comeback in the 61st minute after Jurrien Timber was penalized for a handball while attempting to block Kane's shot. The England captain converted the resulting penalty, sending Raya the wrong way to give Bayern a 2-1 lead. However, Arsenal rescued a point in the 82nd minute when Declan Rice combined with Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres before driving a low shot past Neuer into the bottom-left corner.
Barcelona reported Paris Saint-Germain to UEFA for a controversial banner displayed by home supporters ahead of a Champions League match, saying the imagery incited violence and hatred in sport.
Before kickoff Tuesday at the Parc des Princes, PSG supporters unveiled a giant tifo depicting a masked figure wearing a PSG shirt attacking Barcelona's crest with a blood-covered chainsaw.
It featured the French words, "Massacre à la parisienne," meaning "Parisian-style massacre," while other banners carrying offensive messages were displayed during the match.
"The club strongly condemns the incidents that took place when the tifo was displayed in the stands, including the images of a blood-covered chainsaw attacking the Barca crest," Barcelona said in a statement.
Galatasaray secured their first UEFA Champions League victory of the season with a 4-2 win over Lille on Wednesday, while Como stunned Manchester United 4-1 with Nico Paz scoring twice..
The Turkish champions took the lead in the second minute through Yunus Akgun.
Baris Alper Yilmaz surged down the left and delivered an outside-of-the-boot cross into the penalty area. Lille defender Alexsandro failed to clear the ball, allowing Akgun to fire past goalkeeper Berke Ozer.
Lille responded five minutes later when Alexsandro played a through ball to Soriba Diaoune, who rounded Ugurcan Cakir before slotting into an empty net.
The French hosts took the lead in the 39th minute after Cakir parried Dilane Bakwa's effort into the path of Hakon Haraldsson, who set up Diaoune to score his second goal. Galatasaray equalized five minutes later when Roland Sallai crossed from the right, allowing Aleksei Batrakov to rise unmarked and head past Ozer.
Victor Osimhen extended the visitors' lead in the 61st minute following a counterattack initiated by Batrakov. The Nigerian striker exchanged passes with Yilmaz before firing past Ozer to make it 4-2, declining to celebrate against his former club.
Former Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have backed plans for a major new attraction celebrating the band's legacy in Liverpool, BBC reported Tuesday.
The development will see The Beatles Story move from Albert Dock to the former St John's Market site, while St John's Beacon, formerly known as the Radio City tower, will host a new Yellow Submarine experience.
McCartney said he was excited for fans to be able to "step into our story," while Starr welcomed plans to support emerging Liverpool artists through proceeds from ticket sales.
Canadian publishing house Editions du Boreal announced that it was ending its relationship with Haitian-Canadian author Thelyson Orelien after finding evidence that he used artificial intelligence to write his award-winning novel C’etait ca ou mourir.
The Quebec-based publisher said it would stop reprinting its edition of the novel and would not publish any future books by Orelien.
Boreal said in a statement that new information confirmed in recent days indicated that AI was used during the writing process, contradicting the author's previous assurances.
A US judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in penalties for Facebook's handling of user data, reducing an initial assessment of $219.5 billion in a case involving political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica nearly a decade ago, CNBC reported.
The ruling follows a September jury verdict in New Mexico that found the social media company liable for more than 43 million violations of the state's consumer protection law.
The case stems from the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the company improperly accessed personal information from 87 million Facebook users. Meta is Facebook's parent company.
The European Commission on Wednesday opened formal proceedings against Booking.com to investigate whether the online travel platform breached the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to adequately address fraudulent listings, phishing scams and advertising transparency.
The investigation will assess whether Booking.com properly identified and mitigated risks associated with fake accommodation listings, including non-existent properties, impersonation fraud and non-compliant offers, according to a statement.
The EU executive will also examine whether the platform took sufficient measures to prevent fraudulent listings from appearing on its service and protect consumers from potential scams.
US artificial intelligence company Anthropic introduced Claude Duet on Wednesday, a proactive AI agent designed to independently manage tasks on behalf of users.
Powered by Claude Opus 5.5, the assistant targets professionals and small business owners, offering daily briefings and handling tasks ranging from scheduling meetings to preparing financial forecasts and building web applications.
"Claude Duet comes to you with what needs your attention, completes tasks you ask of it, keeps working even when you step away, and checks with you before it acts on your behalf," Anthropic said in its announcement.
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