Cristiano Ronaldo was rested Wednesday but Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr kicked off its Asian campaign with a 5-0 victory over Istiklol of Tajikistan.

Israeli fighter jets over the Red Sea launched ballistic missiles to target Hamas leaders in Qatar last week, a U.S. defense official said, in what was a novel method likely designed to overcome the energy-rich country's air defenses and avoid entering any Mideast nation's airspace.

The Sept. 9 attack, which killed six people in Qatar's capital, Doha, upended months of diplomacy mediated by the Arabian Peninsula nation to reach a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war that has devastated the Gaza Strip over nearly two years. About a week after the missile launch, Israel began a ground offensive targeting Gaza City. That has reignited anger in the region over the war, while the Doha attack has raised fears in other countries that they, too, could be struck.

European officials told Iran on Wednesday it had yet to take the actions needed to stop the return of United Nations sanctions over its nuclear program, warning time was running out.

Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan have signed a mutual defense pact that defines any attack on either nation as an attack on both — a key accord in the wake of Israel's strike on Qatar last week.

The kingdom has long had close economic, religious and security ties to Pakistan, including reportedly providing funding for Islamabad's nuclear weapons program as it developed. Analysts — and Pakistani diplomats in at least one case — have suggested over the years that Saudi Arabia could be included under Islamabad's nuclear umbrella, particularly as tensions have risen over Iran's atomic program.

After the pomp, it's time for the politics.

President Donald Trump will meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, the final day of the U.S. leader's state visit to Britain, with tech investment, steel tariffs and potentially tricky topics on the agenda.

Spain said that summer 2025 was the hottest on record for the southern European nation, which like the entire Mediterranean region is being hard hit by climate change.

Lionel Messi had a goal and an assist as Inter Miami beat Seattle 3-1 on Tuesday night just over two weeks after losing to the Sounders in the Leagues Cup final.

Lamine Yamal will not play in Barcelona's Champions League opener at Newcastle on Thursday because of an injury.

Benfica fired coach Bruno Lage after the team's home loss to Qarabag in the Champions League on Tuesday, and José Mourinho was quickly touted as the top candidate to replace him.

Real Madrid defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to be sidelined for several weeks because of a hamstring injury sustained in Madrid's 2-1 win over Marseille in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Alexander-Arnold had to be substituted five minutes into the match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Madrid said tests carried out on Wednesday showed that the England international has a "muscle injury to the biceps femoris in his left leg."