The T-shirt on sale at Doha's main market declares "Our blood is Arab", and that is the mood buoying Morocco as it prepares to become on Saturday the first Arab nation to play a World Cup quarter-final.

Regional rivalries are being forgotten. Morocco's red flag with a green star is becoming a best-seller seen across Doha ahead of their clash with Portugal.

The flag -- along with those of Qatar, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia -- features on the "Our blood is Arab" T-shirt selling at Doha's Souq Waqif market.

Lebanese authorities on Friday briefly detained a well-known actor for questioning as a witness in a corruption probe involving the country's central bank governor, a judicial source and her agent told AFP.

Actor Stephanie Saliba was detained after failing to appear for previous summons in the case and was subsequently "questioned as a witness" in the investigation into money laundering and illicit enrichment, the source said.

Britain on Friday announced wide-ranging sanctions against 30 targets worldwide, including officials in Iran accused of pursuing "egregious sentences" against anti-regime protesters.

The sanctions against the 10 people connected to Iran's judicial and prison systems came after the clerical regime's first execution of one such protester, which has triggered global condemnation.

Iran was slapped with new sanctions Friday and activists called for fresh protests after the Islamic republic carried out its first execution over demonstrations that have shaken the regime for nearly three months.

Mohsen Shekari, 23, was hanged Thursday after being convicted of "moharebeh" -- or "enmity against God" -- after what rights groups denounced as a show trial.

The judiciary said Shekari was arrested after blocking a Tehran street and wounding a member of the Basij, a paramilitary force linked to Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday touted close security and energy ties with Gulf nations during summits in Saudi Arabia that have highlighted tensions with Washington.

On the third and final day of his visit, Xi attended a gathering of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council and a broader China-Arab leaders' meeting.

It was only Xi's third journey outside China since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Taxi driver Youssef Daher has languished for months in prison without charge, one of scores stuck after Lebanese judges launched an open-ended strike in August to demand better wages in a collapsed economy.

Judges have suspended their work as rampant inflation eats away at their salaries, paralysing the judiciary and leaving detainees in limbo -- the latest outcome of Lebanon's years-long financial crisis.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince met Thursday on an Arab outreach visit that has earned a rebuke from Washington, reaching deals in areas including energy and infrastructure.

Agreements worth about $30 billion were to be signed, Saudi state media said, as China seeks to shore up its Covid-hit economy and as the Saudis, long-term US allies, push to diversify their economic and political alliances.

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

Mohsen Shekari, 23, had been convicted and sentenced to death for blocking a street and wounding a paramilitary during the early phase of the protests, after a legal process denounced as a show trial by rights groups.

Israel's prime-minister designate Benjamin Netanyahu asked Thursday for a two-week extension in forming a coalition government with his ultra-Orthodox and extreme-right allies, days before the initial time frame elapses.

The November 1 election put former premier Netanyahu in a position to form a stable, right-wing government, ending an unprecedented period of political deadlock that forced five elections in less than four years.

Israeli troops on Thursday killed three Palestinians during a firefight in a West Bank city, and another in a separate incident, Palestinian officials said.

The gunfire came during the latest in scores of near-daily raids the army has carried out through much of this year in the occupied West Bank following a series of deadly attacks on Israelis.

The surging violence has sparked global alarm.

Israeli forces said no troops were hurt in the exchange of fire with militants in the city of Jenin, a stronghold of hardline factions.