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South African amateur Christo Lamprecht took a surprise clubhouse lead on the first morning of the 151st British Open at Hoylake on Thursday.

An Australian side missing injured superstar Sam Kerr made a winning start to their home Women's World Cup on Thursday with a nervy 1-0 victory over debutants Ireland in front of a pulsating 75,000-strong Sydney crowd.

Russian President Vladimir Putin decided against attending an upcoming BRICS summit in Johannesburg in person because he did not want to "jeopardise" the talks, a top South African diplomat said Thursday.

New Zealand coach Jitka Klimkova described seeing her team claim the country's historic first World Cup win -- men or women -- as "an incredible feeling" on Thursday.

Vitaliy Bylenko looked ruefully at the mountains of grain in his barn, contemplating the growing obstacles to shifting the stockpiles after Russia this week exited a deal allowing Black Sea exports.

Russian missiles and drones hit the Ukrainian port of Odesa for a third "hellish" night in a row as Crimean authorities said a teenager had been killed in Kyiv's latest attack on the peninsula.

A body was found in central Johannesburg early Thursday after an unexplained blast ripped through a busy street at rush hour the previous evening, the emergency services said.

England's Chris Woakes took his first-five wicket haul against Australia as the Ashes holders were dismissed for 317 on the second day of the fourth Test at Old Trafford on Thursday.

Stock markets traded mixed Thursday as hopes that central banks are close to ending their interest rate hikes were offset by worries about a lack of action by Chinese leaders to kickstart the country's stuttering economy.

A Spanish court said Thursday it has opened a new probe into Colombian music superstar Shakira for alleged income tax fraud.

Cheikh Thiam passes the ball to one of his friends, a group of students and fellow football fans, and darts across an artificial pitch in Senegal's capital Dakar.

Chinese divers edged closer to another clean sweep at the world championships in Japan on Thursday with their 10th gold medal of the competition so far.

New Zealand celebrated a historic first Women's World Cup win in front of a crowd of more than 42,000 on Thursday as the co-hosts got the tournament off to a flying start, but Australia suffered a major injury blow.

AI will be the "defining mega-trend" for the global computing industry, the head of chip giant AMD said Thursday in Taiwan, where the majority of the world's semiconductors powering the technology is produced.

Iraq warned Sweden on Thursday that it would cut diplomatic relations if a Koran-burning protest is allowed to go ahead in Stockholm, after protesters stormed and torched the Swedish embassy in Baghdad overnight.

The Roald Dahl Museum in Britain has detailed work it is undertaking "towards combatting hate and prejudice," it said, acknowledging that the renowned children's writer's racism was "undeniable and indelible".

Karsten Warholm, Sydney McLaughlin Levrone and Faith Kipyegon headline a glittering line-up for Friday's Diamond League meeting in Monaco.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said on Thursday his team's latest Test hero Saud Shakeel had stepped up his game and showcased new shots in his match-winning unbeaten 208 against Sri Lanka.

Shops and schools in Kenya reopened on Thursday despite a fresh round of opposition protests that have led to deadly clashes and sparked appeals for dialogue to end the crisis.

Hong Kong national security police detained four people Thursday, including the brother of prominent activist Dennis Kwok -- one of eight fugitives with bounties on their heads for allegedly breaching national security.

Faith Kipyegon has made an astonishing return to the track after the "journey" of having her first child with the Kenyan bagging two world records and underlining her status as the world's best 1500m runner.

Co-hosts Australia suffered a major setback Thursday with captain and star striker Sam Kerr ruled out of at least their first two Women's World Cup games with a calf injury.

Hannah Wilkinson scored the only goal as co-hosts New Zealand recorded a historic 1-0 victory over Norway in the opening game of the Women's World Cup on Thursday.

A Hong Kong man was sentenced to three months in prison on Thursday for insulting China's national anthem by swapping it in an online sports video with a song from the city's 2019 democracy protests.

A moment's silence was held before the first game of the Women's World Cup on Thursday to mourn the two people shot dead in host city Auckland just hours earlier.

Hundreds of Iraqi protesters stormed and set fires inside Sweden's embassy compound in Baghdad early Thursday, angered by an expected burning of the Koran later in the day in Stockholm.

British airline EasyJet on Thursday said it expected record pre-tax profits during the current peak summer season despite strike action by air traffic controllers and other disruptions.

An Australian sailor rescued with a stray dog after more than two months adrift on the Pacific Ocean has decided to leave his canine companion in Mexico with the captain of the ship that saved them.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping hailed former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger as an "old friend" as the two met in Beijing on Thursday.

Markets were mixed Thursday as hopes that central banks are close to ending their interest rate hikes were offset by worries about a lack of action by Chinese leaders to kickstart the country's stuttering economy.

Thailand's caretaker prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha called for calm Thursday after a popular progressive candidate's bid to succeed him was thwarted by military and pro-royalist lawmakers.

Opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq hit an unbeaten 50 to steer Pakistan home in the first Test against Sri Lanka on Thursday, passing their tricky target of 131 with four wickets to spare.