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

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Iran's envoy to Ukraine, Shahriar Amouzegar, dismissed the support Kyiv has offered to the United States and its Gulf allies, after Ukraine advertised its expertise in destroying Iranian-designed drones launched by Russia.

Hours before strikes hit Iraq's capital, crowds milled in central Baghdad to the sound not of missiles but clinking coffee cups, children laughing and women filming TikToks.

Lens missed the chance to move top of Ligue 1 and put pressure on Paris Saint-Germain as they slipped to a 2-1 loss at Lorient on Saturday.

Leaders Bayern Munich held on for a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen despite finishing with nine men in an eventful Bundesliga clash on Saturday.

Atletico Madrid scraped a 1-0 win over Getafe in La Liga on Saturday, with the visitors reduced to 10 men when Abdel Abqar was sent off for touching Alexander Sorloth in a sensitive area.

"Hoodlums," muttered 80-year-old village chief Joseph Batangouna as he walked past a group of young people sitting by the side of road in Mayitoukou, Congo-Brazzaville.

Nahuel Molina scored a spectacular long-range strike as Atletico Madrid scraped a 1-0 win over Getafe in La Liga on Saturday to cut the gap to the top two.

Russian sports minister Mikhail Degtyarev on Saturday defended the return of the Russian flag and anthem to the Paralympics for the first time since 2014, amid a backlash from Ukraine and some European countries.

Ireland captain Caelan Doris said the senior players had "stood up" when it mattered after the Irish kept their Six Nations title hopes alive with an impressive 43-21 win over title rivals Scotland on Saturday in the final round of matches.

Alexis Pinturault, France's most successful alpine skier with 34 victories on the World Cup circuit, announced Saturday that he will retire at the end of this season.

Leaders Bayern Munich held on for a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen despite finishing with nine men in an eventful Bundesliga clash on Saturday.

Diogo Carmona has worn many hats in his young life, from his beginnings as a child actor to becoming a skateboarder before a train accident cost him his leg, now he's a history-maker after becoming the first Portuguese Winter Paralympian.

Ten months after taking office, Pope Leo XIV on Saturday finally moved into his apartments in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, a historic papal residence that his predecessor had eschewed.

Ireland beat Scotland 43-21 on Saturday to keep their Six Nations title hopes alive and win the Triple Crown for the fourth time in five years.

US President Donald Trump urged other nations to help secure a vital shipping lane choked off by the war with Iran that showed no signs of slowing on Saturday as strikes hit the US embassy in Baghdad and a major Emirati energy facility.

Inter Milan suffered another wobble in their bid to reclaim the Serie A title after Saturday's 1-1 draw with Atalanta, who bounced back from Champions League humiliation against Bayern Munich.

France's Dorian Godon won Saturday's shortened seventh and penultimate stage of the Paris-Nice with Dane Jonas Vingegaard poised for overall victory in a race thrown into chaos because of bad weather.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday urged other nations to send ships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, the critical chokepoint for global oil supplies disrupted by the Mideast war.

As Hollywood grapples with existential questions and fickle audiences, one of its top stars, Ryan Gosling, has a simple credo.

Two more players of the Iranian women's football team, which competed in the Asian Cup in Australia, and one member of the backroom staff have withdrawn their requests for asylum in the country, Iranian state media said on Saturday.

Austrian Julia Scheib won her fifth giant slalom of the season in Are on Saturday to secure the discipline globe for the first time with US star Mikaela Shiffrin finishing fifth after a scare to remain on track for the overall World Cup title.

Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine, who has been in hiding since a January presidential election he alleged was stolen, announced Saturday that he has left the country.

France's Dorian Godon won Saturday's shortened seventh and penultimate stage of the Paris-Nice cycling race with Dane Jonas Vingegaard poised for overall victory.

Kharg Island, targeted in US air strikes on Saturday, is a scrubby stretch of land in the Gulf that handles almost all of Iran's crude exports.

Russian skier Varvara Voronchikhina secured her second gold medal of the Milan-Cortina Paralympics on Saturday as she won the women's slalom standing, securing her nation's fifth gold under its own flag at the 2026 Games.

An overnight blast against an exterior wall of a Jewish school in Amsterdam did not cause any injuries, Mayor Femke Halsema said Saturday, denouncing "a cowardly act of aggression".

Israel said the war against Iran was entering its "decisive phase" on Saturday, as explosions rocked cities across the Middle East, with strikes on the US embassy in Baghdad and a major Emirati energy facility.

Defending champions China scored twice in extra-time to book a blockbuster semi-final against hosts Australia at the Women's Asian Cup Saturday with a dominant South Korea joining them in the last four.

Hezbollah suffered heavy losses in a war with Israel more than a year ago, but the Shia movement has now regrouped only to end up fighting what it has called an "existential battle" and which some warn could be its last.

India on Saturday ended the preventive detention of prominent Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk, freeing him six months after he was held over protests in the Himalayan region.

The men's world cup super-G event at Courchevel has been cancelled due to heavy snow and fog, the International Ski Federation said on Saturday.