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

Andriy Kharlamov, a baritone at Odessa's famed opera house, fills sandbags and is learning how to handle weapons, while Inga Kordynovska, a lawyer, supervises the distribution of aid to thousands of people in a converted food court.

The British government said Thursday it expected to see "clear and lasting evidence of positive progress" across English cricket after a damaging racism scandal rocked the sport.

Cricket World Cups have caused more heartache for South African supporters than any other format of the game.

The Moscow Stock Exchange resumed trading of some shares Thursday, the second stage in a phased re-opening after being suspended for a month due to Russia's military operation in Ukraine.

A month since Russia launched its shock invasion, Ukraine's leader pleaded Thursday for NATO to "save" his shattered country with unrestricted military aid, so its armed forces could transform their dogged defence into attack.

Oil prices and stock markets steadied Thursday, as Western leaders gathered for emergency summits in Brussels triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Queen Elizabeth II may miss Britain's traditional state opening of parliament for only the third time during her 70-year reign after the government on Thursday set its date for May 10.

A wide-ranging draft security pact between the Solomon Islands and China was leaked online Thursday, prompting Australia to voice concern about actions that would "destabilise" the South Pacific.

Former Tottenham and England striker Jermain Defoe on Thursday announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 39.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded Thursday with NATO leaders to send weapons "without restrictions" as the alliance sought to bolster Kyiv and strengthen its eastern flank in the face of Russia's war.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has raised the spectre of something considered almost unthinkable until recently: the use of a small nuclear weapon during a conflict in Europe.

The Indian Premier League returns for its biggest season on Saturday, with a galaxy of top names and two new franchises expanding the world's richest cricket competition to 10 teams for its 15th edition.

Substitute Kaoru Mitoma scored twice in the dying minutes as Japan beat Australia 2-0 on Thursday to book their place at a seventh straight World Cup and in doing so also helped Saudi Arabia qualify.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has stepped down as captain of Indian Premier League holders Chennai Super Kings two days before the new season and handed the leadership to Ravindra Jadeja, the club said Thursday.

A month on since Russia launched its shock invasion, Ukraine's leader pleaded for global street protests and for US-led allies meeting in Brussels Thursday to dramatically raise their arms supplies.

In-form opener Usman Khawaja hit a century and Steve Smith became the fastest man to 8,000 Test runs Thursday as Australia scented a series-clinching victory against Pakistan in Lahore.

Former women's world footballer of the year Ada Hegerberg said Thursday she was returning to the Norway squad after refusing to play for the national team for nearly five years.

NATO leaders pushed Thursday to raise the cost for Russian President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine by bolstering weapons supplies to Kyiv and strengthening the alliance's eastern flank.

More than half of all children in Ukraine have been displaced from their homes since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, the United Nations said Thursday.

North Korea fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday, Tokyo and Seoul said as they voiced outrage at Pyongyang's most powerful launch since 2017.

Equity markets were mixed Thursday as investors contemplate the impact of surging inflation and central bank plans to sharply hike interest rates, while oil prices dipped but remain elevated on fears of further Russia sanctions that could hit already thin supplies.

A top doctor in China's pandemic fight who came under pressure last year for questioning the country’s zero-Covid policy has called again for balancing anti-virus measures with maintenance of normal life as China struggles with an Omicron surge.

Equity markets were mixed Thursday as investors contemplate the impact of surging inflation and central bank plans to sharply hike interest rates, while oil prices dipped though remain elevated on fears of further Russia sanctions that could hit already thin supplies.

David Warner was bowled after a quickfire half-century and embroiled in a pitch row as Australia reached 97-1 at lunch Thursday on the fourth day of the third and decisive final Test in Lahore.

Manchester United's Paul Pogba, fresh from a haircut, rhythmically juts out his chin to the catchy sounds of amapiano -- the South African music that has catapulted across the world.

Malta votes Saturday in elections expected to result in a landslide victory for the current government, after a campaign overshadowed by the Ukraine war and the legacy of corruption.

Jamaica is "moving on" and embracing its destiny as an independent country, its leader told Britain's Prince William on Wednesday, later calling the Caribbean nation's switch to a republican model "inevitable".

North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile Thursday, Seoul and Tokyo said, apparently continuing a weapons testing blitz that could culminate with a major, long-range missile launch.

Clutching her baby to her breast, Alona Shevchenko's eyes well up with tears as the plane lifts off from Krakow.

When 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a recent border clash with China, the military hardware New Delhi sent to bolster its Himalayan frontier was mostly Russian-origin, showing not for the first time its closeness to "longstanding and time-tested friend" Moscow.

Recovery teams deployed drones and thermal imaging equipment Thursday across a mountainous area where a China Eastern plane inexplicably crashed with 132 people on board.

With a shaved head and an empty stomach, artist Ujay Bajracharya dips his brush to line the eyes of the deity Tara as a soothing Buddhist hymn warbles in the background.