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

Co-hosts New Zealand and Australia said Thursday they "urgently" want answers from FIFA over reports Saudi Arabia's tourist board will sponsor the 2023 Women's World Cup.

The European Central Bank is set to hike interest rates again Thursday as it pursues its inflation fight, despite tentative signs the eurozone has weathered shocks from the Ukraine war better than feared.

As Moscow's forces push to encircle the frontline hotspot of Bakhmut, the battle-scarred town's last residents say they will not budge if the Russians arrive.

The United States and the Philippines announced a deal Thursday to give US troops access to another four bases in the Southeast Asian nation, as the longtime allies seek to counter China's military rise.

Israel launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip early Thursday, which Palestinian fighters reacted to by firing rockets in the latest bout of unrest in the region.

President Vladimir Putin is set to preside Thursday over commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory at the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest in World War II.

Jayson Tatum scored 31 points as the Boston Celtics put the depleted Brooklyn Nets firmly in their place with a brutal 139-96 mauling on Wednesday.

South Korea said Thursday it had staged joint air drills with the United States featuring strategic bombers and stealth fighters, prompting Pyongyang to warn that such exercises could "ignite an all-out showdown".

A choreographed ballet of massive trucks, snowplows and snowblowers takes over the streets of Montreal whenever it snows, an enormous logistical effort with a significant environmental cost.

Warren Gatland is unlikely to produce an instant Six Nations Grand Slam in his second stint as Wales head coach as he did the first time but former back-rower Alix Popham said the team "will kick on in the right direction."

The Six Nations gets under way on Saturday, with players hoping to impress ahead of the World Cup which starts in September.

Ange Capuozzo is ready to give rugby's big boys a bloody nose as Italy prepare to take on holders France in their Six Nations opener in Rome on Sunday.

Most Asian markets rose Thursday and the dollar weakened further on hopes the Federal Reserve's campaign of interest rate hikes could be close to an end after it acknowledged progress in its long-running battle against inflation.

Australia will erase the British-based monarch from its banknotes, replacing the late Queen Elizabeth II's image on its $5 note with a design honouring Indigenous culture, the central bank said Thursday.

Peru's congress on Wednesday voted down another bid to advance elections from April 2024 to this year, a move sought by President Dina Boluarte to calm unrest that has left dozens dead in seven weeks of anti-government protests.

After several years of Grammy ceremonies with clear frontrunners for Best New Artist, Sunday's race is wide open -- but no matter who wins, many of the nominees have TikTok to thank.

Chatbots spouting falsehoods, face-swapping apps crafting porn videos and cloned voices defrauding companies of millions -- the scramble is on to rein in AI deepfakes that have become a misinformation super spreader.

Civil rights leaders, family and friends came together in a Memphis church Wednesday to bid farewell to Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old African American whose fatal beating by police shocked the nation -- and triggered urgent calls for reform.

Australia announced Thursday it will erase the British monarch from its banknotes, replacing the late Queen Elizabeth II's image on its $5 note with a design honouring Indigenous culture.

This year's Six Nations Championship starts on Saturday -- and for officials confronting mutiple crises among Europe's elite, kick-off cannot come soon enough.

Protesters denounced late Australian cardinal George Pell for his "bigoted" views on Thursday, as the Catholic Church remembered his "remarkable legacy" with a grand funeral mass in Sydney.

The United States and the Philippines are expected to announce a deal Thursday that will give US troops access to another four military bases in the Southeast Asian nation, as the longtime allies seek to deter Chinese aggression in the region.

Peru's congress on Wednesday voted down another bid to advance elections from April 2024 to this year, a move sought by President Dina Boluarte to calm unrest that has left dozens dead in seven weeks of anti-government protests.

Former England captain Andrew Strauss forecast Wednesday the Indian Premier League would eclipse American football's NFL to become "the biggest domestic sporting event in the world" as he praised it for sparking one of cricket's "great steps forward".

Jamaica is ready to participate militarily in an international force in Haiti, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said, an intervention the UN has been calling for without success for months to counter record violence by criminal gangs.

Wall Street stocks rallied and the dollar retreated Wednesday after the Federal Reserve enacted a smaller interest rate hike while acknowledging progress in the fight against inflation.

A lawmaker backed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was reelected the leader of Brazil's Senate Wednesday, fending off a challenge from a rival supported by far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro.

A leading US maker of advanced military surveillance drones announced Wednesday that it was willing to sell two to Ukraine for just $1, and called on the US government to approve the deal.

Facebook and Instagram owner Meta on Wednesday reported its first annual sales drop since the company went public in 2012, but the fall was less brutal than expected, sending its share price soaring.

The United States took a small step back from the risk of a catastrophic debt default Wednesday after the new Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, said talks with President Joe Biden went well -- even if a deal has yet to be reached.

Paris Saint-Germain extended their lead at the top of Ligue 1 with a 3-1 win at Montpellier on Wednesday but their evening was overshadowed by an injury to Kylian Mbappe, who had earlier missed a penalty.

California has submitted a rival plan for use of the Colorado River, after six other states accused it of refusing to cooperate in the battle over usage of a dwindling major US watercourse.