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Here's a rundown of all the news you need to start your Friday, including President Donald Trump saying US will not attack Iran before the midterm elections, the UK renaming its East Jerusalem consulate as a mission, and US defense secretary saying former Army major convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting will be publicly executed by firing squad.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that the US will not attack Iran before the midterm elections because the two sides are engaged in “productive discussions.”
“We will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
Trump said the US and Iran are having “productive discussions,” while maintaining that a blockade of Iran "will remain in full force and effect".
Trump also claimed that oil was flowing through the Strait of Hormuz at “record numbers,” claiming that 22 million barrels had passed through the waterway later Wednesday and that “not one barrel” came from or was going to Iran.
“Iran will not have a nuclear weapon!” he added.
Britain announced that its consulate in occupied East Jerusalem would remain open under a new name, the "UK Mission, Jerusalem," despite Israel's order to shut it down over a trade ban on illegal settlements.
In a statement shared on the US social media platform X, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said London does not recognize Israel's legal authority to close the nearly 200-year-old consulate.
"Following discussions with the Government of Israel, our Consulate General building will not be closing, and will be known as the UK Mission, Jerusalem from today," he said.
Miliband said the mission would remain operational and continue providing services and working with Palestinians, reaffirming Britain's position that East Jerusalem is occupied territory.
"The UK Mission, Jerusalem is independent, operational, and will continue to deliver vital services and our work with the Palestinian people," he said.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the former Army major convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting will be publicly executed by firing squad on Dec. 3.
Hegseth said Nidal Hasan, who was sentenced to death for killing 13 people and wounding 32 others, will be executed by soldiers with rifles at Fort Hood, Texas.
“No brainer, execution by firing squad. Army major betrays his country. Radical Islamist kills a bunch of Americans at Fort Hood,” Hegseth said in an interview with Real America's Voice when asked about the decision.
“Of course, we’re going to do it at Fort Hood. Going to do it on a Thursday. We’re going to do it at 1 o’clock, which is when he did it, and it’s going to be soldiers with rifles executing the firing squad,” he said.
Hegseth said the US military has not carried out such an execution since World War II.
A four-member international astronaut crew returned to Earth following an extensive mission aboard the International Space Station.
They completed a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
Splashdown was confirmed at 1534GMT as the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft landed in target waters, concluding a 237-day scientific expedition in orbit.
Three recently fired OpenAI researchers urged the company to preserve its ability to monitor how AI models reason and to cooperate with independent safety auditors, The Wall Street Journal reported.
In a letter to OpenAI's board and safety committees reviewed by the Journal, the former employees warned that AI developers risk losing visibility into the reasoning processes of increasingly advanced models.
“As an industry, we do not yet know how to safely develop and deploy models that we cannot monitor,” the letter said.
The World Trade Organization raised its forecast for global goods trade growth this year to 3.9% from 1.9% as strong demand linked to artificial intelligence investment helped offset disruptions caused by the Middle East war.
The organization lowered its services trade growth projection to 3.3% from 4.8% forecast in March, according to its Global Trade Outlook and Statistics report.
Global merchandise trade volumes expanded 3.5% in the first half of 2026, exceeding expectations despite shocks to energy, fertilizer and transport markets.
Canadian author Anne Carson won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature for her innovative work drawing on the classical tradition.
The Swedish Academy awarded Carson the prize “for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature.”
Born in Toronto in 1950, Carson has combined poetry, translation and university teaching throughout her career, producing works that cross the boundaries between verse, fiction, essays and visual art.
Veteran Indian actor Nana Patekar, known for his intense performances in Hindi and Marathi cinema, died at the age of 75, according to local media.
Patekar was found unconscious at his residence in Goa after suffering a cardiac arrest.
He was taken to Manipal Hospital, where doctors attempted to revive him with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for about 45 minutes, The Indian Express reported, citing hospital officials.
The NBA and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) reaffirmed their commitment to launching a new professional men's basketball league in Europe despite EuroLeague clubs rejecting a proposal to join forces.
The two organizations said in a statement that a partnership with EuroLeague would help unify European basketball and benefit clubs, players and fans.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin announced that he will seek a fourth and final term in 2027, reversing his earlier decision not to stand for reelection.
Ceferin confirmed his decision during a meeting in Berlin with the presidents and general secretaries of UEFA's 55 national associations, which unanimously had urged him to reconsider his previous stance.
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