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Iran carried out its first known execution Thursday over the protests that have shaken the regime since September, sparking international condemnation and warnings from rights groups that more hangings are imminent.

Brazil were gearing up for a showdown with Croatia while Argentina prepared to face the Netherlands as anticipation mounted on Thursday on the eve the World Cup quarter-finals.

Iran carried out its first known execution Thursday over the protests that have shaken the regime since September, sparking international condemnation and warnings from rights groups that more hangings are imminent.

From the Netherlands to Suriname, pride is swelling at the number of Dutch players in Friday's World Cup quarter-final who trace their roots to the South American former colony.

The first coins bearing the likeness of Britain's King Charles III entered circulation Thursday, The Royal Mint announced.

Hong Kong soared but other stock markets mostly fell Thursday as investors weighed worries about a US recession against China's shift away from strict Covid restrictions.

Former England batsman Gary Ballance is to leave Yorkshire in search of a "fresh start" following his part in the Azeem Rafiq racism row that sent shock waves through the English game.

Spain sacked coach Luis Enrique on Thursday after the 2010 champions were dumped out of the World Cup by Morocco at the last-16 stage earlier this week.

Iran carried out its first known execution Thursday over the protests that have shaken the regime since September, hanging a 23-year-old man after a legal process denounced as a show trial by rights groups.

Prince Harry slammed the media "feeding frenzy" over his relationship with Meghan in an explosive Netflix docuseries aired Thursday, also criticising his family for failing to protect her and his mother Diana.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince on Thursday on an Arab outreach visit that will yield billions of dollars in deals and has earned a rebuke from Washington.

China is finally beating a retreat from its strict zero-Covid policy, but low vaccination rates among its elderly have seeded fears that the coronavirus could kill as many as 2.1 million people.

The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) on Thursday denied Cristiano Ronaldo threatened to abandon the World Cup squad after being benched against Switzerland.

England forward Raheem Sterling is to return to the World Cup in Qatar on Friday after spending time in England following a robbery at his home, England's Football Association said on Thursday.

Peru's new President Dina Boluarte was scrambling to form a government on Thursday, a day after the country was thrown into political chaos by the dramatic arrest of her predecessor following a failed coup.

Iran carried out its first known execution Thursday over protests sparked by Mahsa Amini's death, hanging a man convicted of blocking a street and wounding a paramilitary member in what human rights activists condemned as "show trials".

Asian and European markets were mixed Thursday as sentiment was pulled in opposite directions by worries about a US recession and China's shift away from strict Covid restrictions.

Bulgaria and Romania fear further disappointment when EU ministers meet Thursday to review their elusive decade-plus long bid to join Europe's passport-free Schengen travel region.

"Two executives" laid the foundations for the infamous 2018 ball-tampering scandal that shook Australian cricket, batsman David Warner's manager claimed Thursday.

As a child, Hopwood DePree heard stories about the family owning an ancestral country home in England but always thought it was the stuff of legends.

When short seller Matthew Earl anonymously co-authored a report detailing explosive allegations of wrongdoing at German fintech champion Wirecard, his life was turned upside down.

After more than two decades in a cage at an Albanian restaurant for diners to look at, brown bear Mark is heading towards a better life in an Austrian sanctuary.

Hundreds of Chinese internet users have paid tribute to "martyr" doctor Li Wenliang, who first blew the whistle on the coronavirus outbreak, in the wake of a dramatic reversal of strict Covid rules by the government.

The Chinese capital showed tentative signs of a return to normal Thursday after a sudden reversal of a hardline pandemic policy that hammered the world's second-biggest economy and ignited rare protests.

Boston's Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum turned a matchup of NBA conference leaders into a rout on Wednesday while Ja Morant's triple double sparked the Memphis Grizzlies over Oklahoma City.

Indonesia's legislation banning sex outside marriage represents a major new threat to the LGBTQ community's rights in the conservative country, where same-sex unions are not recognised.

Rugby World Cup-winning former Springboks coach Jake White has compared the Champions Cup to Test matches, as South African clubs debut in the competition on Saturday.

The first three episodes of a docuseries on Prince Harry and his wife Meghan air on Thursday, with expectations of more damaging claims about British royal family life.

Germany's mammoth Wirecard fraud trial opens on Thursday, with ex-CEO Markus Braun and two former executives in the dock over their roles in the country's biggest-ever accounting scandal.

A Guatemalan court on Wednesday sentenced former president Otto Perez to 16 years in prison, finding him guilty of leading a massive customs fraud scheme while in office.

As the mercury drops to minus 20 Celsius, a research rocket lifts off from one of the world's northernmost space centres, its burner aglow in the twilight of Sweden's snowy Arctic forests.

Asian markets were mixed Thursday as sentiment was pulled in opposite directions by worries about a US recession and China's shift away from strict Covid restrictions.