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

Swiss postmodernist novelist Christian Kracht and Australia's Gerald Murnane and Alexis Wright are among the favourites for the Nobel literature prize, experts told AFP ahead of the Swedish Academy's much-anticipated announcement on Thursday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers held off a late rally from the Philadelphia Phillies to snatch a 4-3 victory and take a commanding 2-0 lead in their Major League Baseball playoff series on Monday.

With tears rolling down his cheeks, detained Chinese political exile Zhou Junyi struggles to make his voice heard over dozens of families visiting Bangkok's main immigration detention centre.

Israel marks the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attack on Tuesday, as Hamas and Israeli negotiators hold indirect talks to end the two-year war in Gaza under a US proposed peace plan.

The United States issued nearly one-fifth fewer student visas in August following a crackdown by President Donald Trump, led by a steep drop for India which was overtaken by China as top country of origin, data showed Monday.

Colombia's once-weakened armed groups are growing their power again, the country's ombudswoman told AFP Monday, as the country heads toward its most violent year in a decade.

Noisy TV commericials were banned in California on Monday, with a new law that demands pitchmen turn the volume down.

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President Donald Trump said Monday he would be "happy" to negotiate a deal on health programs with Democrats, but demanded the federal government first be re-opened, as a crippling shutdown entered its second week.

President Donald Trump threatened Monday to use emergency powers against rebellion to deploy more troops into Democratic-led US cities, intensifying his rhetoric as his attempts to mobilize the military face legal challenges.

UNESCO executives voted Monday to make an Egyptian ex-antiquities minister the UN culture body's next leader, as it grapples with accusations of pro-Israel bias that prompted the United States to say it would quit the organisation.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg landed in Greece on Monday alongside scores of fellow campaigners expelled from Israel after trying to ship aid to Gaza, AFP journalists saw.

One of this year's Nobel winners is a leading medical researcher who also offers a shining example of work-life balance -- so much so that he might not know he won.

A cryptic video shared by LeBron James set the Internet abuzz on Monday, with fans wondering if the NBA superstar was preparing to announce his retirement or simply another commercial venture.

African football boss Patrice Motsepe said on Monday he is "absolutely confident" the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations will go ahead in Morocco, the scene of daily anti-government protests for more than a week.

Stock markets were mixed Monday as a deepening political crisis in France sent Paris into a tailspin while a new Japanese ruling party leader boosted Tokyo and the AI investment boom lifted US stock indices to fresh heights.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday he wants the EU to scrap its planned 2035 deadline for ending new combustion-engine vehicle sales as his country looks for ways to help its ailing car industry.

The US government shutdown entered its second week on Monday, with no sign of a deal between President Donald Trump's Republicans and Democrats to end the crisis.

Newly-crowned world champion Marc Marquez was on Monday ruled out of the next two races after suffering a fracture and ligament injury to his right shoulder in the Indonesia MotoGP race.

New Chanel designer Matthieu Blazy unveiled his first sumptuous collection on Monday in front of a crowd of admirers and stars sitting beneath giant glowing planets during Paris Fashion Week.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday gave Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu two days to salvage his administration, after the premier resigned following less than a month in office in a move that plunged the country further into a political crisis.

The Democratic-led US state of Illinois filed suit on Monday to block President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago.

Exiled England flanker Jack Willis succeeded France scrum-half Antoine Dupont as the French Top 14's player of the season for 2024/2025 on Monday.

Delegations from Hamas and Israel on Monday began indirect talks in Egypt's Sharm El-Sheikh on ending the nearly two-year war in Gaza, under a plan put forward by US President Donald Trump.

Kylian Mbappe is receiving treatment for a "small niggle" in his right ankle after meeting up with his international team-mates ahead of the latest round of 2026 World Cup qualifiers, France coach Didier Deschamps said Monday.

The inhalers people depend on to breathe are also warming the planet, producing annual emissions equivalent to more than half a million cars in the United States alone, researchers said Monday in a major new study.

Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina on Monday appointed General Ruphin Fortunat Dimbisoa Zafisambo as prime minister, hoping to quell surging protests against his leadership that have plunged the country into crisis.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg landed in Greece on Monday alongside scores of fellow campaigners expelled from Israel after trying to ship aid to Gaza, AFP journalists saw.

UEFA on Monday said it had "reluctantly" approved the staging of a La Liga and a Serie A match in the United States and Australia respectively despite fan protests.

Security forces dispersed hundreds of protesters with tear gas in Madagascar's capital Monday, injuring at least one, AFP reporters saw, while President Andry Rajoelina was expected to name a new premier in a bid to defuse the crisis.

Greta Thunberg landed in Athens on Monday alongside 160 other nationals from 16 European countries expelled to Greece by Israel for taking part in a Gaza aid flotilla, AFP journalists saw.

The UN culture agency's executive board on Monday voted to appoint a former Egyptian minister as the agency's next chief, the board's chair said, as UNESCO grapples with accusations of bias and the United States' withdrawal from the organisation.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called for unity Monday as she warned lawmakers that confidence votes she faces this week in the European Parliament played into the hands of the bloc's foes.

The United Nations refugee agency has shed nearly 5,000 jobs this year following swingeing cuts in international aid, its chief said Monday, decrying the "disastrous" political choices behind the crisis.

Kylian Mbappe will undergo medical examinations on his right ankle when he meets up with his international team-mates ahead of the latest round of 2026 World Cup qualifiers, France coach Didier Deschamps said on Monday.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday urged US President Donald Trump to remove punitive tariffs on Brazil in the first-ever official talks between the two leaders.