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

On a busy north London street, plumber Ben Hume-Wright zipped through the heavy rush-hour traffic to his next job by bike.

Equities rallied Wednesday, following another record performance on Wall Street as traders continue to bet on the US Federal Reserve slashing interest rates several times next year.

Polling stations opened Wednesday in a high-stakes Democratic Republic of Congo general election pitting the incumbent President Felix Tshisekedi against a fragmented opposition, while much of the east of the country is mired in conflict.

A lengthy boycott of devolved government in Northern Ireland will stretch into 2024 after talks to end the impasse stalled Tuesday, with frustration mounting over political dysfunction and crumbling public services.

Ghana, the world's second biggest cocoa producer, faces a growing risk to its harvest -- and blow to its crisis-hit economy -- from illegal mining and smugglers, industry officials, farmers and activists warn.

Henry Nicholls fell agonisingly short of a century on Wednesday as New Zealand eased to a seven-wicket win and sealed victory in their one-day international series against Bangladesh.

Toyota subsidiary Daihatsu said Wednesday it will suspend shipments of all car models currently in production both in Japan and abroad, following new revelations about its rigging of safety tests.

Ja Morant made a scintillating return from a 25-game suspension Tuesday, driving for a game-winning layup as time expired to lift the Memphis Grizzlies to a 115-113 NBA victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Henry Nicholls fell agonisingly short of a century on Wednesday as New Zealand eased to a seven-wicket win and sealed victory in their one-day international series against Bangladesh.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that maintaining close ties with Russia is a "strategic choice", calling for deeper bilateral cooperation during a meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Beijing, state media reported.

The United Nations Security Council was due to vote Wednesday on a much-delayed resolution calling for a pause to the Israel-Hamas war after members wrangled over wording while aid efforts in the Gaza Strip neared collapse.

Survivors of China's deadliest earthquake in years huddled in aid tents on Wednesday after overnight temperatures plunged well below zero, with the death toll rising to 131.

Growing up, Mirai Kisaragi fled her abusive parents, survived homelessness and contemplated suicide. At 18, she met her "saviour" at one of Tokyo's hundreds of host clubs, where men entertain women.

Karachi's colonial-era prison is adorned with murals of rural Pakistani life, painted by convicted murderers and kidnappers locked away from the world but learning their craft inside its walls.

Narcotics police the world over are sprucing up their video game skills, as cartels go increasingly online to sell drugs and recruit dealers.

In an eastern Indonesian village, schoolchildren scrawl the distinctive circles and lines of Hangul script on a whiteboard, but the language they are learning is not Korean. It is their own Indigenous Cia-Cia tongue.

Despite slashing oil production for months on end and announcing new cuts in late November, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its ten allies have struggled to boost flagging prices.

The head of Hamas was due in Egypt on Wednesday for talks on a fresh ceasefire in Gaza, after Israel said it was willing to agree to another pause in exchange for more hostages.

Asian stocks rallied Wednesday, following another record performance on Wall Street as traders continue to bet on the US Federal Reserve slashing interest rates several times next year.

A French court on Wednesday sentenced former Rwandan doctor Sosthene Munyemana to 24 years in prison for his involvement in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in his native East African country.

Rescuers dug through rubble for a second freezing day on Wednesday after overnight temperatures plunged well below zero, with the death toll in China's deadliest earthquake in years rising to 131.

Opener Soumya Sarkar hit 169 off 151 balls Wednesday as his superb innings helped Bangladesh recover from losing early wickets to reach 291 all out in the second one-day international against New Zealand.

NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says he's recovering from hip replacement surgery after falling at a concert, but his Substack account of the incident showed his sense of humor is intact.

On the banks of the Susquehanna river in rural Pennsylvania, a quiet, unassuming plot of land is the unlikely backdrop for a simmering debate over chemical recycling, a controversial process for dealing with plastic waste.

The Democratic and Republican leaders of the US Senate said Tuesday that Washington will not be able to approve new aid for Ukraine before year's end, as the two sides continue to seek a compromise.

An appeals court in Colorado on Tuesday ruled Donald Trump cannot appear on the state's presidential primary ballot because of his involvement in the attack on the Capitol in January 2021.

New York state said on Tuesday that it would establish a commission to study reparations for slavery and victims of racism, following a similar undertaking in California, which pioneered the approach to such historical injustices in the United States.

Phil Salt smashed a superb 119 from just 57 balls as England beat West Indies by 75 runs to level their Twenty20 international series 2-2 and set up a decider on Thursday.

The French parliament on Tuesday passed an immigration bill backed by the government of President Emmanuel Macron after he faced a major rebellion within his own party over the support of the toughened-up legislation by the far right.

Pharmacy group Rite Aid was ordered Tuesday to stop using facial recognition for the next five years by a US regulator, which said the company falsely identified consumers as shoplifters using the technology.

Antoine Griezmann became Atletico Madrid's joint all-time leading scorer alongside Luis Aragones with 173 goals on Tuesday as he struck twice only for Getafe to snatch a stoppage-time equaliser in a 3-3 draw.

The Indianapolis Colts, fighting for an NFL playoff berth, suspended wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie and cornerback Tony Brown for the final three games of the regular season on Tuesday.