Pallade Veneta - News from Venice, Veneto, Venetia and Italy, as well as from around the world

An outbreak of a highly contagious cattle disease has left France, the world's top exporter of live animals, struggling since June to prevent devastating impacts on its industry, amid growing protests by farmers.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy may have mounting legal problems but his status as a top-selling author is not in doubt: his hastily written book about his recent prison experience has sold 100,000 copies in less than a week, according to his publisher.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday warned former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich "the clock is ticking" over the frozen £2.5 billion ($3.4 billion) generated from the sale of the club, which has been earmarked to help Ukraine's war victims.

Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday rejected a hostile takeover bid by Paramount launched last week to trump plans by streaming giant Netflix to acquire the Hollywood giant and owner of CNN.

The winners of the 2026 World Cup will receive $50 million in prize money as part of a record financial contribution for the tournament from FIFA, world football's governing body announced on Wednesday.

Men's tennis world number one Carlos Alcaraz announced on Wednesday he is splitting from his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero after seven hugely successful years together with assistant coach Samuel Lopez taking over.

Men's tennis world number one Carlos Alcaraz announced on Wednesday he is splitting from his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero after seven hugely successful years together.

An Iranian boxer sentenced to death on charges of membership of an outlawed group is at imminent risk of execution after his request for a retrial was rejected, rights groups and the exiled opposition said on Wednesday.

The operator of the Snicko technology being used in the Ashes has admitted an error led to a reprieve for Australia's Alex Carey on the first day of the third Test in Adelaide on Wednesday.

Finland's prime minister apologised on Wednesday to citizens of Japan, China and South Korea after MPs sparked outrage by posting pictures of themselves making derogatory squinting gestures.

Doctors in England walked out for the 14th time in less than three years Wednesday in a dispute with the government over pay and jobs.

Dozens of Romanian journalists and several NGOs signed an open letter on Wednesday backing an under-pressure media outlet whose investigation sparked nationwide anti-corruption protests.

The son of famed Hollywood director Rob Reiner could be medically cleared to appear in court as soon as Wednesday to face charges over the killing of his parents, the man's lawyer said.

On a humid Tuesday night in Accra, Zen Garden is alive with sound, movement and memory as Highlife melodies spill into the open air, drawing families, friends and office workers who sway long past midnight as if the weekend has come early.

London's stock market rallied Wednesday as the pound faltered on expectations of cuts to Bank of England interest rates, after data showed UK inflation falling faster than forecast.

France is probing possible foreign interference after a Latvian national was arrested and charged over the discovery on a passenger ferry of malware capable of allowing the vessel's operating systems to be be controlled remotely, the interior minister said Wednesday.

Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket successfully placed two satellites into orbit to join the EU's rival to the GPS navigation system on Wednesday after the mission blasted off from French Guiana.

German business sentiment fell to its lowest level in seven months in December, a survey showed Wednesday, with Europe's beleaguered top economy set to end the year on a gloomy note.

Hundreds of tourists lined up outside the Louvre Museum on Wednesday as its opening was delayed while unions voted on continuing a strike over working conditions at the Paris landmark.

Near the sun-soaked Sydney beach where father-and-son gunmen allegedly killed 15 people by firing into crowds at a Hanukkah festival, Jewish Australians say they feel unsafe and angry.

Equities mostly rose Wednesday even as US jobs data did little to boost expectations for another interest rate cut next month, while oil rallied after President Donald Trump ordered the blockade of "sanctioned" Venezuelan tankers.

Senegal talisman and striker Sadio Mane could have missed out on a glittering football career had he agreed with a wish of his late father.

An emotional Alex Carey called his 106 on home soil in front of family and friends in the third Ashes Test a "special moment" Wednesday, with the century coming just months after his father died.

Johan Eliasch, president of the most powerful winter sports federation, has told AFP that less than two months before the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics there are "many, many lessons to be learned".

An emotional Alex Carey slammed a majestic 106 on his home ground and Usman Khawaja hit a defiant 82 Wednesday to put Australia in the driving seat of the third Ashes Test against England.

Asian equities were mixed on Wednesday as US jobs data did little to boost expectations for another interest rate cut next month, while oil rallied after Donald Trump ordered the blockade of "sanctioned" Venezuelan tankers.

A composed Alex Carey slammed a majestic 106 on his home ground and Usman Khawaja hit a defiant 82 Wednesday to put Australia in the driving seat of the third Ashes Test against England.

Australian police charged one of the alleged Bondi Beach gunmen with murder and terrorism on Wednesday, as grief-stricken mourners buried the first of 15 people slain in the attack.

A young girl and Holocaust survivors were among 15 people allegedly shot and killed by a father and his son at a Jewish Hanukkah festival gathering on Australia's Bondi Beach.

Near the iconic, sun-soaked Sydney beach where father-and-son gunmen killed 15 people as they fired into crowds at a Hanukkah festival, Jewish Australians say they feel unsafe and angry.

Myanmar's junta said Wednesday it was seeking to prosecute more than 200 people for "disruption" of upcoming military-run elections, wielding new legislation rights monitors say aims to crush dissent.

The son of famed Hollywood director Rob Reiner was charged with two counts of first-degree murder over the brutal slaying of his parents, the chief prosecutor of Los Angeles said Tuesday.

Captain Roston Chase hopes that a bonding session over an early Christmas dinner will give the West Indies the festive spirit to beat New Zealand in the must-win third and final Test starting Thursday at Mount Maunganui.

OG Anunoby scored 28 points as the New York Knicks ended their 52-year trophy drought with a 124-113 NBA Cup final victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.

Usman Khawaja hit a defiant 82 Wednesday after being thrown a lifeline at the third Ashes Test in Adelaide as England fought hard in searing heat to stay in the contest at tea on day one.

Wails rang through a packed synagogue on Wednesday as Sydney's Jewish community laid to rest beloved local rabbi Eli Schlanger, gunned down on Bondi Beach in Australia's worst mass shooting in decades.

US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday a blockade of "sanctioned oil vessels" heading to and leaving Venezuela, sharply escalating his pressure campaign against Caracas while issuing new demands for access to the country's crude.

Brazil's Senate will on Wednesday begin debating a bill passed by the lower house of Congress that could slash the jail term of former president Jair Bolsonaro, a move that sparked nationwide protests over the weekend.

A New Zealand court sentenced the country's former deputy police commissioner to nine months of home detention on Wednesday, after he admitted to possessing child sexual exploitation and bestiality material.