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

With a bent back and bare feet in the black soil, Ruben Gutierrez Escobar, 63, uses a hoe to plow his fields in Bella Vista, a hamlet near Cusco in southern Peru at an altitude of 3,500 meters.

Western allies on Friday pledged precision rockets and missile systems to Ukraine, after President Volodymyr Zelensky called for sophisticated weapons to help retain control of embattled eastern city of Bakhmut.

A new $2.2 billion US arms package for Ukraine includes a new rocket-propelled precision bomb that could nearly double Kyiv's strike range against the Russians, the Pentagon said Friday.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday held his first face-to-face meeting with Tigrayan leaders since a peace deal was agreed last year, officials and state media said.

Gibraltar on Friday accused Spain of a "gross violation of British sovereignty" after an incident on one of its beaches involving Spanish customs agents who were attacked by smugglers, during which shots were fired.

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira said on Friday it is difficult to understand why he is the only black manager in the top flight of English men's or women's football.

Cristiano Ronaldo got off the mark for his new Saudi paymasters Al Nassr on Friday with a stoppage-time penalty that rescued a 2-2 away draw against Al Fateh.

Afghanistan's Taliban authorities have "beaten and detained" an academic who voiced outrage on live television against their ban on women's university education, his aide said Friday.

Ex-England international bowler Matthew Hoggard has withdrawn from the disciplinary process involving allegations made by his former Yorkshire teammate Azeem Rafiq.

The cyclo-cross world championships, which opened on Friday with the Dutch winning the mixed relay, will culminate on Sunday with a showdown between two of the sport's biggest stars Mathieu van der Poel and Wout Van Aert.

Mexico's Abraham Ancer retained his one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Saudi International on Friday as a slew of big names from the rebel LIV Golf tour failed to make the cut.

War, budget cuts, a pandemic and a crash: For all its trials, Europe's ExoMars mission might be more deserving of the name Perseverance than NASA's Martian rover.

Mackenzie McDonald and Tommy Paul gave the United States a 2-0 lead in their Davis Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan on Thursday as the 123-year-old competition entered a new era.

Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has brushed off calls to step down from the national side, saying he's "sure" he will return from a serious leg injury to play international football again.

Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has been released on bail after starting a hunger strike to protest against his almost seven-month detention, supporters said on Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday his forces would hold out as long as possible in war-battered Bakhmut, as he hosted a summit with EU chiefs who praised Kyiv's push for reforms needed to join the bloc.

The body of Burkina Faso's revered revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara is to be buried alongside 12 comrades at the spot where in 1987 they were assassinated, the country's ruling junta said on Friday.

Chelsea have dropped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and left out new £36 million ($44 million) signing Benoit Badiashile from their Champions League squad for the rest of the season.

The Brazilian Football Confederation said Friday it had sent a letter to FIFA calling for a crackdown on racism in the sport, after a series of incidents targeting players including Brazil star Vinicius Junior.

The president of the 2024 Paris Olympics organising committee on Friday said athletes should not "suffer" from decisions they do not control amid an escalating row over allowing Russians and Belarusians to compete.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other government officials on Friday held their first meeting with Tigrayan leaders since a November peace deal, officials and state media said.

Jamie Ritchie said he would not take the Scotland captaincy for granted as he prepared to lead his side in their Six Nations opener against England on Saturday.

Ukraine said Friday it had started replacing millions of regular light bulbs with energy-saving LED lamps as part of an EU-funded project to help with energy shortages caused by Russian strikes.

Pope Francis on Friday urged the leaders of South Sudan to make "a new start" for peace, warning that history would remember them for their actions, as he began a three-day visit to the violence-wracked country.

A 24-year-old man has been arrested over the theft of two emperor tamarin monkeys from Dallas Zoo, police said Friday, adding he was detained after being spotted at the city aquarium.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp say they are bewildered by Chelsea's huge spending spree during the January transfer window.

Tottenham assistant manager Cristian Stellini said on Friday that Antonio Conte could be in charge for the clash with Manchester City just days after he had surgery to remove his gallbladder.

American car manufacturer Ford will return to Formula One in 2026 with a link-up with world champions Red Bull, the company said on Friday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday scrapped a long-planned Beijing trip aimed at easing escalating tensions between the two superpowers, after the Pentagon said that China sent a spy balloon over the United States.

The head of Ukraine's anti-corruption agency insisted Friday that the Russian invasion had triggered a substantial and "irreversible" fall in graft in what has long been one of Europe's most corrupt countries.

The head of Ukraine's anti-corruption agency insisted Friday that the Russian invasion had triggered a substantial and "irreversible" fall in graft in what has long been one of Europe's most corrupt countries.

French authorities on Friday started demolishing a seaside block of flats that has come to symbolise the country's battle against climate change-linked coastal erosion.