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

On the balcony of his house in Indonesia, Muhammad Yusuf swayed to blaring music and waved a replica of the World Cup trophy as hundreds paraded past, many decked out in Argentina's colours.

A group of UN experts on Thursday denounced a crackdown on women in Afghanistan's western city of Herat, saying at least two people had been killed during a protest against the restrictions.

Rice farmer Mohammad Ismail Hossain fears violence could blight his quiet fields in southwestern Bangladesh, on the front line of a growing Indian push to expel undocumented migrants.

Thai Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, the king's eldest daughter, has died aged 47, the royal palace announced Friday, more than three years after she was hospitalised following a sudden illness.

A South Korean court sentenced ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison on Friday for sending military drones into North Korea, saying he planned the action as pretext for his disastrous martial law declaration in 2024.

In a blaring nightclub in wartime Myanmar, partied-out revellers doze until dawn by the dancefloor, wary of journeying home despite the end of a post-coup curfew.

Tehran said Friday it had not reached a final decision on a deal to end the Middle East war, despite US President Donald Trump claiming an agreement could be signed in days and cancelling threatened strikes on Iran.

South Korea got their World Cup campaign off to a winning start by beating the Czech Republic 2-1 Thursday after finally converting some of the many chances they created.

Shakira had the spectators out of their seats at the World Cup opening ceremony Thursday, but outside the Estadio Azteca fans and protesters clashed with police.

Elon Musk's SpaceX has made awe-inspiring achievements since its founding over two decades ago and has big ideas -- colonies on Mars, orbital AI data centers, rapidly reusable rockets -- for the future.

Asian stocks gained and oil dipped Friday after US President Donald Trump withdrew his threat of further strikes on Iran and said a deal could be signed in the coming days.

Elon Musk's SpaceX was set to begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange Friday with the biggest initial public offering in history expected to make the polarizing entrepreneur the world's first trillionaire.

When they get home, the residents of a small housing association on the outskirts of Hudiksvall, Sweden, plug in their electric vehicles to charge them or, intriguingly, power their homes.

As workers put final touches to a massive arena for Sunday's "cage fight" on the White House South Lawn, a few miles away, a professional pianist is learning how to choke someone unconscious.

It's the ultimate symbol of American politics under Donald Trump -- a blood-soaked cage match on the lawn of the White House for the US president's 80th birthday.

Auckland Blues coach Vern Cotter is confident his side can upset the Wellington Hurricanes on Saturday and book a spot in the Super Rugby final, but the odds are stacked against them.

In Nairobi's congested streets, the almost imperceptible hum of electric motorbikes is increasingly replacing the roar of their petrol-powered counterparts.

Pope Leo XIV will meet migrants and hold an open-air mass on the island of Tenerife on Friday to end a visit to Spain that has highlighted the plight of irregular arrivals.

Works by artists including Picasso, Magritte and Klimt, amassed by the ex-owner of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, head to auction this month with a total sales estimate of £200 million ($267 million).

At a cemetery in southern Lebanon, Ghada Hussein clutched images of her son, a Hezbollah fighter killed in an Israeli strike and buried in a temporary grave because the family cannot return to her border village.

Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player on Thursday, winning the award for the second time.

Canada coach Jesse Marsch said Thursday the chance to lead the team in a World Cup on home soil was the reason he took the job, hours before the co-hosts' opening match against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 in a drama-filled opening match of the World Cup at the Estadio Azteca Thursday, kicking off the biggest ever edition of the global footballing showpiece.

Taylor Swift on Thursday became the youngest woman ever inducted into the prestigious Songwriters Hall of Fame, another milestone in the 36-year-old US pop star's record-breaking career.

Mexico coach Javier Aguirre revealed his team had overcome a bout of stage fright before clinching their first victory in a World Cup opener with a 2-0 defeat of South Africa on Thursday.

Japan captain Wataru Endo was ruled out of the World Cup with injury and announced his international retirement on Thursday, three days before his team's opener against the Netherlands.

Police arrested 16 people during a second night of disorder in Northern Ireland sparked by a brutal Belfast stabbing, but there were no new clashes on Thursday evening.

Iran's footballers took to the training pitch in front of journalists Thursday at their base camp in Mexico, giving the world its first glimpse of a team whose participation in the World Cup has been clouded by war with the United States.

Britain's defence and armed forces ministers quit Thursday in a row over military spending, piling pressure on beleaguered Prime Minister Keir Starmer who is facing calls to step down.

Temperatures in the Antarctic Peninsula have reached a record-breaking high of 15.4C for June, and ice is melting at abnormal rates during the current winter, climate scientists told AFP on Thursday.

Mexico ignited their World Cup party with a dominant 2-0 victory over nine-man South Africa on Thursday as the biggest ever edition of the global footballing showpiece kicked off at the iconic Estadio Azteca.

Dozens of protesters clashed with police Thursday outside the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City as South Africa and Mexico played the first match of the World Cup before 80,000 fans.