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

Wellington Hurricanes head coach Clark Laidlaw anticipates a back-row battle royal when his team faces a trio of All Blacks loose forwards in Saturday's Super Rugby top-of-the-table clash with the Auckland Blues.

One of China's wealthiest cities said Thursday it would lift all restrictions on buying homes, joining a growing list of urban areas rolling back curbs as they look to prop up the faltering property market.

Harry Kewell and Hernan Crespo, who once opposed each other in a UEFA Champions League final, will square up again in the Asian equivalent on Saturday.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday that Seoul would keep strong ties with Ukraine and a "smooth" relationship with Russia, while ruling out direct weapon shipments to Kyiv.

Japan's two-time world figure skating champion Shoma Uno announced his retirement on Thursday at the age of 26, saying his years on the ice had been "wonderful".

Jalen Brunson shrugged off injury to spark a sensational second-half fightback as the New York Knicks battled past the Indiana Pacers 130-121 to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven NBA playoff series on Wednesday.

Asian traders fought to get a recent rally back on course Thursday following a tepid lead from Wall Street but record performance in Europe highlighted optimism that central banks were on course to cut interest rates.

After a run-up in the shadow of the war in Gaza, the Eurovision Song Contest final gets underway on Saturday in Sweden's Malmo, where representatives from 26 countries will compete.

Marc Marquez approaches the French MotoGP emboldened by his impressive display in Spain where he finished second after a thrilling duel with two-time defending champion Francesco Bagnaia.

The Bank of England was set Thursday to keep its main interest rate at a 16-year high, resisting a cut as UK inflation cools at a slower pace than forecast.

Russia's plan to host a rival event to the Paris Olympics in September proves "it disregards the principles of Olympism" and just wants to use sport as propaganda, Ukraine's Acting Sports Minister Matviy Bidnyi has told AFP.

Sudanese shop owner Ishaq Mohammed has been trapped in his home for a month, sheltering from violence in El-Fasher, the last major city in the country's vast Darfur region not under paramilitary control.

Record-breaking heat last month that prompted governments in Asia to close schools offers fresh evidence of how climate change is threatening the education of millions of children.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will address the annual Victory Day parade in Moscow on Thursday, an event he hopes will rally patriotism as his forces advance in Ukraine.

Former Fiji prime minister Frank Bainimarama was sentenced Thursday to one year in prison for perverting the course of justice, with a judge finding he used his political clout to shut down a police investigation.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will host Chinese President Xi Jinping in Budapest on Thursday in a bid to strengthen already flourishing ties between Beijing and its closest EU ally.

One of Malaysia's top football clubs has pulled out of Friday's season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country.

Canada offered hope for thousands of undocumented migrants with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promising a major regularization program. But in just a few months, political winds changed, leaving dreams of residency in jeopardy.

Growing up, Devante Cuthbertson assumed he might have to leave his North Carolina hometown to pursue a career, but a new multi-billion-dollar Toyota battery plant is offering him a reason to stay put.

President Joe Biden said Wednesday he would stop US weapons supplies to Israel if it attacks Rafah in southern Gaza, his most direct warning to date over the prosecution of the war against Hamas.

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was named NBA Most valuable Player for the third time in four seasons on Wednesday.

A Mexican court on Wednesday ordered the alleged murderer of two Australians and an American killed during a surfing trip to be prosecuted, as grieving relatives awaited the repatriation of their bodies.

President Joe Biden said Wednesday he would stop US weapons supplies to Israel if it attacks Rafah in southern Gaza, his most direct warning to date over the prosecution of the war against Hamas.

If you're a woman alone in a forest, would you rather be approached by a random man or... a bear?

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said his late Champions League semi-final howler against Real Madrid was "extremely bitter" as his side were knocked out of the tournament.

Real Madrid produced a spectacular comeback with "heart" against Bayern Munich to reach the Champions League final on Wednesday with Joselu striking twice in the dying minutes, earning them a 2-1 win to progress 4-3 on aggregate.

Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel slammed a late offside call, calling the decision an "absolute disaster" as Real Madrid eliminated his side in the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday.

Real Madrid came from behind in the dying minutes of their semi-final second leg tie to stun Bayern Munich and reach the Champions League final on Wednesday.

North Macedonia appeared to be on a collision course with its EU neighbours Greece and Bulgaria, as the nationalist opposition swept parliamentary and presidential elections on Wednesday.

Real Madrid produced a spectacular comeback against Bayern Munich to reach the Champions League final with Joselu striking twice late on, earning them a 2-1 win on Wednesday to progress 4-3 on aggregate.

Israeli authorities destroyed around 50 homes belonging to Bedouins in the Negev desert on Wednesday, an AFP journalist reported, with Israel's far-right national security minister saying they were "illegal constructions".

The death toll from devastating floods that have ravaged southern Brazil for days surpassed 100 on Wednesday, authorities said, as the search for dozens of missing people was interrupted by fresh storms.