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

Morocco included injured captain Achraf Hakimi in a 26-man squad named on Thursday for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Steam still rises from the chimneys of Serbia's only oil refinery as it slowly grinds to a halt under US sanctions, fuelling fears of job losses and uncertainty.

Skier Michelle Gisin, a double Olympic champion, will undergo neck surgery after a fall in a downhill training session on Thursday in St. Moritz, the Swiss Ski Federation announced.

Bulgaria's prime minister announced Thursday that his government was resigning after less than a year in office following a series of anti-corruption protests, making fresh elections likely.

Time magazine named the "Architects of AI" as its Person of the Year on Thursday, highlighting the US tech titans whose work on cutting-edge artificial intelligence is transforming humanity.

A stone's throw from Athens' bustling Nea Filadelfia district, Tassos Sikoutris walks along a stream flanked by reeds and plane trees in a setting unchanged for centuries.

More than 600 items, including military medals and jewellery from a collection documenting the links between Britain and countries in the former British Empire, were stolen from a UK museum in September, police said Thursday.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the only candidate to succeed himself as president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), is expected to be re-elected on Friday in Tashkent following a contested election process.

Walt Disney and OpenAI announced a three-year licensing deal Thursday that will allow users to create short videos featuring beloved Disney characters through artificial intelligence.

The US trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in September to the smallest since 2020, delayed government data showed Thursday, with imports rising just slightly as President Donald Trump's new tariffs set in.

NATO chief Mark Rutte said Thursday that if the United States and Europeans could agree on a plan to end the war in Ukraine, this would be a "test" of whether Russia "really wants peace".

Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada said the latest financial results released on Thursday show "strong progress in our transformation of the club".

British six-time Olympic cycling champion Chris Hoy said he recently suffered the "worst" crash of his life as he receives treatment for cancer.

Nobel Peace laureate Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday that the United States helped her get to Norway from hiding in Venezuela, expressing support for US military action against her country and vowing to return home.

Leading German institutes on Thursday downgraded their 2026 growth forecasts, in another bad sign for Chancellor Friedrich Merz whose efforts to reboot Europe's biggest economy face mounting criticism.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Thursday recounted her "extraordinary" reunion with her three children in Oslo, where she emerged from months in hiding after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Stranded Thai and Cambodian evacuees were split Thursday over the expected intervention of US President Donald Trump to end a decades-long border dispute that has turned their lives upside down.

Bulgaria's prime minister announced Thursday that his government was resigning after less than a year in office following a series of anti-corruption protests.

Austrian lawmakers on Thursday voted by a large majority in favour of a law banning headscarves in schools for girls under 14, a move rights groups and experts say is discriminatory and could deepen societal division.

Europe's largest steelmaker Thyssenkrupp is to pause steel production at two sites for about two weeks because of Asian competition, the German firm said Thursday, as the European Union considers tightening its steel tariffs.

Yodelling, the traditional singing of herders in the Swiss Alps, was recognised by the United Nations on Thursday as part of the world's cultural heritage.

Stock markets diverged Thursday as optimism over the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate cut was dampened by disappointing earnings from software giant Oracle, which revived concerns over sky-high AI valuations.

Israel said on Thursday Hamas "will be disarmed" as part of the US-sponsored peace plan for Gaza, after a top leader from the Palestinian Islamist movement suggested a weapons freeze.

The European Central Bank proposed Thursday simplifying rules for the region's lenders to help them compete internationally, but insisted the move would not weaken guardrails aimed at preventing crises.

The death toll in Indonesia's devastating floods closed in on the 1,000 mark Thursday as hundreds of thousands more continued to face shortages, with frustration growing over relief efforts.

A Myanmar military air strike killed more than 30 people at a hospital, aid workers said Thursday, as the junta wages a withering offensive ahead of elections beginning this month.

Widespread disruption hit Portuguese air travel and trains, hospitals and schools Thursday as the unions called the biggest nationwide strike action for more than a decade against government labour reforms.

Nobel Peace laureate Maria Corina Machado will do her best to return to Venezuela to end the "tyranny" in the country, she said Thursday as she seized the spotlight in Oslo after nearly a year in hiding.

Toxic smog has blanketed Vietnam's capital for more than a week, blotting out the skyline and leaving residents wheezing as Hanoi's air quality dipped to among the world's worst on Thursday.

Asian markets were mixed Thursday as earlier gains fuelled by the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate cut were offset by indications the central bank will hold off from further reductions at the start of next year.

Mexico's Congress gave final approval on Wednesday to a bill establishing penalties of up to eight years in prison for selling electronic cigarettes and similar products.

On any Friday, when the Afghan weekend begins, dozens of drivers gather in the Kandahar desert to charge their SUVs up steep ochre dunes, kicking up rooster tails of sand to the delight of spectators.