Il Messaggiere - News from Rome, Modena, Reggio, Italy and the world

Juventus snapped an eight-match winless streak with Wednesday's 3-1 success over Udinese with Luciano Spalletti ready to replace the sacked Igor Tudor, as Roma stayed level with Serie A leaders Napoli thanks to a 2-1 win over Parma.

Dutch voters appeared to have shunned far-right leader Geert Wilders in favour of a centrist party, exit polls suggested Wednesday, after a snap election watched closely in Europe where extremists are gaining ground.

Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Sovereignty will be scratched from the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar on Saturday after developing a fever, trainer Bill Mott said Wednesday.

Paris Saint-Germain star Desire Doue was stretchered off injured in Wednesday's 1-1 Ligue 1 draw at Lorient just a week before the visit of Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Bayer Leverkusen scored two goals after the 120-minute mark to win 4-2 at a 10-man Paderborn in the German Cup second round on Wednesday, as fellow Bundesliga side and reigning champions Stuttgart eased through.

In Bamako's business district, hundreds of cars and motorcycles sit stranded day and night on a boulevard, waiting for one of three side-by-side petrol stations to finally have fuel.

Uber said Wednesday it will launch its own robotaxi service in San Francisco late next year, taking on Google-owned Waymo on the rideshare giant's home streets.

The head of the Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries vowed on Wednesday Sudan would be unified by "peace or through war" and expressed sympathy after reports of mass killings by his group in the newly captured El-Fasher.

Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will seek a truce in their tit-for-tat trade war on Thursday, with the US president predicting a "great meeting" but Beijing being more circumspect.

Cubans waded through flooded, debris-strewn streets Wednesday as Hurricane Melissa blasted across the Caribbean, leaving 30 dead or missing in Haiti and devastating swaths of Jamaica.

Residents of a Rio de Janeiro community lined up their dead in the street Wednesday after Brazil's bloodiest police raid killed at least 119 people, spotlighting the city's controversial war against drug gangs entrenched in poor neighborhoods.

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced its second consecutive quarter-point rate cut to bolster the flagging labor market, in a move that highlighted the growing division in its ranks.

Louis Rees-Zammit said it felt strange but good to be back on Wales duty this week as he returns to international rugby union after his NFL adventure.

Heavy-handed police raids like the one that claimed dozens of lives in Rio de Janeiro Tuesday have only ever bolstered the drug gangs they are meant to curtail, according to Brazilian organized crime expert Carolina Grillo.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Wednesday that his country has advanced to "text-based" negotiations with Washington towards securing a better tariff deal -- and hoped one would materialise "soon".

Jannik Sinner began his tilt at a Paris Masters crown which would return him to world number one with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Zizou Bergs on Wednesday, while reigning champion Alexander Zverev battled through a lengthy three-setter.

With 100 days to go until the 2026 Winter Olympics organisers are crossing their fingers that every venue will be ready for the athletes and fans who will descend on northern Italy come February.

Former New Zealand assistant coach John Plumtree will step down as head coach of the Sharks at the end of this season, the South African club announced on Wednesday.

Two men arrested over the jewel heist at France's Louvre museum this month will be charged with theft and criminal conspiracy, the Paris prosecutor said Wednesday.

Billionaire media and telecoms tycoon John Malone will step down as chairman of his multinational companies Liberty Global and Liberty Media after decades influencing the global communications landscape, the businesses announced Wednesday.

A demolished church, roofs blown off homes, shattered windows and debris-strewn, impassable roads: Hurricane Melissa dealt a direct hit to Jamaica's southwestern coastal communities that face a long haul picking up the pieces.

French lawmkers on Wednesday adopted a bill defining rape as any non-consensual sexual act, making the country the latest European nation to pass a consent-based law.

Israel said it struck an arms dump in Gaza on Wednesday, hours after the deadliest night of bombing since the start of a US-brokered truce, warning it would continue to operate to take out perceived threats.

Stock markets hit record highs Wednesday thanks to optimism over US trade deals, the AI sector and an expected interest-rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.

Reigning champion Alexander Zverev battled past Argentina's Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 7-5 at the Paris Masters on Wednesday to book his spot in the third round.

Moroccan capital Rabat will host the 2026 African World Cup qualifying play-offs involving Cameroon, Democratic of Congo, Gabon and Nigeria, the Confederation of African Football confirmed on Wednesday.

Laura Wolvaardt led from the front with a majestic 169 to help South Africa thrash England by 125 runs and reach their first-ever ODI Women's World Cup final on Wednesday.

The United States said Wednesday it will pull out some troops from NATO's eastern flank but denied the move amounted to an American withdrawal from Europe, as analysts warned it could embolden Russia.

Sudan's warring factions should halt fighting in which hundreds of civilians have been reported killed, including 460 in a hospital, since paramilitaries captured El-Fasher, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged Wednesday.

Tanzanian police declared an evening curfew in the country's largest city after hundreds protested on Wednesday, tearing down banners of President Samia Suluhu Hassan and burning a police station, as polls closed on an election where the main challengers have either been jailed or barred from standing.

The UK government said Wednesday it had forcibly deported an Ethiopian migrant and convicted sex offender, giving him £500 ($661) to leave, as it came under fire on multiple fronts over immigration.

AI chip juggernaut Nvidia became the world's first $5 trillion company on Wednesday, as investors remain confident that artificial intelligence will deliver a new wave of innovation and growth.

Bukayo Saka believes Arsenal's strength in depth can be the difference for the Gunners this season as they look to end a wait since 2003/04 to win the Premier League.

Startup Character.AI announced Wednesday it would eliminate chat capabilities for users under 18, a policy shift that follows the suicide of a 14-year-old who had become emotionally attached to one of its AI chatbots.

The Rio de Janeiro public defender's office on Wednesday said a total of 132 people died in the bloodiest police raid against drug gangs in the Brazilian city's history, as grieving residents laid out dozens of bodies in the street.

Barcelona midfielder Pedri will be sidelined for several weeks with the torn bicep leg injury he picked up in a 2-1 defeat at Real Madrid this weekend, his club announced.

Zambia have parted ways with former Chelsea manager Avram Grant after a disappointing 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, the national football association confirmed on Wednesday.

A Russian court sent an 18-year-old street musician who performed anti-war songs back to jail on Wednesday after finding her guilty of two more offences, her lawyer told AFP.

Cubans waded through flooded houses Wednesday and authorities in Haiti reported 10 dead as Hurricane Melissa blasted across the Caribbean after devastating swaths of Jamaica.