Il Nuovo Postiglione - News from Venice, Veneto, Venetia and Italy, as well as from around the world

Asian stocks sank in holiday-thinned trade Wednesday, tracking a sharp sell-off on Wall Street after fresh US data dealt another blow to hopes the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year.

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken urged Hamas to accept a truce in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to send troops into its far southern city of Rafah.

British and Irish Lions full-back Leigh Halfpenny will make his long-awaited Super Rugby debut on Saturday after Canterbury Crusaders named him in their starting line-up following three months out with a chest injury.

Bangladesh's weather bureau said Wednesday that last month was the hottest April on record, with the South Asian nation and much of the region still enduring a suffocating heatwave.

Lock Cameron Suafoa is to return for the Auckland Blues on Friday for the first time since finishing radiation treatment for cancer in early April.

Fresh from the high-profile success of "Barbie," Ryan Gosling used the Los Angeles premiere of his next movie "The Fall Guy" to cede the spotlight to Hollywood's unsung heroes -- stunt performers.

American author Paul Auster who made his name with noirish, existentialist novels about lonely writers, outsiders and down-and-outers that were a huge hit in Europe particularly, has died aged 77.

Paul Auster, the prolific American novelist whose works included "The New York Trilogy," has died of complications from lung cancer, a friend of the novelist told AFP. He was 77.

The US Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady for a sixth straight meeting Wednesday, with a summer start to cuts looking less likely owing to stubborn inflation.

After cutting away the loose woollen threads from his loom, 28-year-old Senegalese weaver Seydina Oumar Cisse turns the roll to watch the tapestry gradually take shape before his eyes.

Two Finnish towns near the Russian border plan to close schools offering Russian language and culture classes, upsetting parents and students who say cross-cultural understanding is needed more than ever.

Foreign tourists are flocking to Japan in record numbers and thanks to a sliding yen many are living like kings, splashing out on everything from kimonos to knives and slap-up meals.

Tyrese Maxey produced a 46-point gem as the Philadelphia 76ers stunned the New York Knicks 112-106 in overtime to keep their NBA Eastern Conference playoff hopes alive on Tuesday.

When Nepal suddenly announced a ban on TikTok last year, lawyer Sunil Rajan Singh was determined to fight what he said was a government effort to hide its wrongdoings.

An esteemed economist, Minouche Shafik was thrilled to become president of one of America's most prestigious colleges.

Dozens of helmeted police flooded Columbia University's campus in the heart of New York City on Tuesday to evict a building occupied by pro-Palestinian student protesters and detain demonstrators.

Former captain Steve Smith and rising talent Jake Fraser-McGurk were notable omissions as Australia named their T20 World Cup squad on Wednesday.

Asian stocks sank in holiday-thinned trade Wednesday, tracking a sharp sell-off on Wall Street after fresh US data dealt another blow to hopes the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year.

Tyrese Maxey produced a 46-point gem as the Philadelphia 76ers stunned the New York Knicks 112-106 in overtime to keep their NBA Eastern Conference playoff hopes alive on Tuesday.

Eruptions at a remote Indonesian volcano forced more than half a dozen airports to close with ash spreading as far as Malaysia, officials said Wednesday, while authorities rushed to evacuate thousands due to tsunami fears.

Le Tuan Binh keeps his Moroccan soldier father's tombstone at his village home north of Hanoi, a treasured reminder of a man whose community in Vietnam has been largely forgotten.

Dozens of helmeted police marched on to Columbia University's campus in the heart of New York City on Tuesday and began evicting a building that had been barricaded by pro-Palestinian student protesters.

Madonna's long-awaited free concert on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach has upended the neighborhood, with over a million fans expected -- but for retired resident Mario Renato Borges, it's the least the singer deserves.

Thirty years to the day since his death following a crash that sent shockwaves around the world, Brazilians will pay homage Wednesday to Formula One superstar Ayrton Senna -- a beloved symbol of national pride comparable only to compatriot Pele.

Florida braced for one of the strictest abortion bans in the United States to take effect Wednesday, with Vice President Kamala Harris visiting to hammer Donald Trump on a key issue in the 2024 election.

Pro-EU demonstrators in Georgia built barricades outside parliament on Wednesday after police used tear gas and rubber bullets against thousands of protesters rallying for a third week against a controversial "foreign influence" bill, an AFP reporter saw.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is enjoying a stunning late-career revival at Marseille, whose unlikely run to the semi-finals of the Europa League has been made possible largely thanks to the goals of the former Arsenal striker.

Aston Villa head into a first European semi-final for 42 years against Olympiakos on Thursday but have the experience of a proven winner at this stage of continental competition in manager Unai Emery.

A heavy police presence was seen at Columbia University on Tuesday, raising fears of a clash with student protesters as administrators struggle to contain pro-Palestinian demonstrations on dozens of campuses around the United States.

The Republican-majority US House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that would remove endangered species protections for the gray wolf across much of the country, sparking outrage among conservationists.

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior scored a double, including an 83rd-minute equalising penalty, to snatch a 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich on Tuesday that puts the Spanish side in the driving seat for the return leg of the Champions League semi-final.

Columbia University normally teems with students, but a "Free Palestine" banner now hangs from a building where young protesters have barricaded themselves and the few wandering through campus generally appear tense.