Monaco Journal - News from Monaco, Monte-Carlo and the world

Form and fitness concerns are hanging over some of football's biggest names just three weeks before the World Cup kicks off.

India's power producers have set a record for electricity generation as swathes of the world's most populous nation swelters in an intense heatwave, the ministry of power said.

Asian markets rose Friday as optimism over US-Iran talks buoyed equities, though higher oil prices kept inflation concerns in focus.

Japan's inflation slowed more than expected in April, government data showed Friday, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi considers further measures to drive down costs linked to the Middle East war.

The New York Knicks used an explosive third-quarter to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93 on Thursday and take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Eastern Conference finals.

NATO's European members will look to sound out US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on troop cuts by Washington Friday, as they seek to smooth over President Donald Trump's ire ahead of a July summit.

Unearthing small boats from under the sand at dawn before launching them towards Britain packed with people, migrant smugglers are increasingly operating from Belgium -- to the concern of local authorities.

The season-opening Tour Down Under will next year become the first WorldTour race to hold men's and women's stages on the same course, on the same day, and over the same distance, organisers said Friday.

Forecasters say a potentially "super" El Nino is rapidly taking shape in the Pacific -- but whether it evolves into a history-making event could hinge on fickle winds and other volatile atmospheric shifts.

French giants Paris Saint-Germain secured a 14th league title last week to continue their recent Ligue 1 domination.

Holders Bordeaux-Begles are aiming to establish themselves as one of club rugby's dynasties when they face four-time winners Leinster in the Champions Cup final on Saturday in Bilbao, Spain.

In 1970 it was the introduction of yellow and red cards. In 2018 VAR made its World Cup debut, while in Qatar in 2022 a FIFA directive to referees led to huge extensions to the amount of stoppage time played in games.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope of progress on ending the war with Iran, as he looked to Pakistani mediators to help advance efforts to strike an agreement.

The arrival of a potentially powerful El Nino weather system this year could devastate coral reefs around the world already weakened by back-to-back rounds of bleaching, scientists warn.

Samsung labour union members will begin voting Friday on a tentative wage deal that averted what would have been a major strike at the South Korean chip giant this week.

A colony of macaques that gorge on snacks offered by tourists in the British territory of Gibraltar swallow soil to recover from their junk food binges, a study has found.

As a teenager struggling to fit into life in rural Sicily, psychiatrist Francesco Panto found refuge in anime, where he discovered characters that resembled the kind of man he wanted to be.

Incoming Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh will be sworn in at the White House on Friday, taking the reins of the US central bank as it faces unprecedented pressure from President Donald Trump to cut interest rates.

Lebanese mother-of-two Hala Farah is collecting photos and videos to preserve the memory of her hometown which, like many others along the southern border, has been completely destroyed by Israeli forces.

Larry Graves pulled up to a home tucked into a Colorado mountainside. His radio was crackling, as was the wildfire burning beyond the trees -- it was time to move.

Critics of US President Donald Trump are pointing to a series of recent windfalls for the 79-year-old billionaire and his family as evidence of "brazen," historic corruption.

Like many Moroccan farmers, Mehdi el-Maazi was hopeful that rare heavy rains would yield an abundant harvest this year -- but those hopes were quickly shattered as the Middle East war sent fuel and fertiliser costs soaring.

The first-ever Enhanced Games -- widely dubbed the "Steroid Olympics" -- take place Sunday in Las Vegas, where elite sprinters, swimmers and weightlifters will vie for world records while taking banned performance-enhancing drugs.

Kurtley Beale says he still has "fire in the belly" as the veteran Australian back readies to move past All Blacks great Aaron Smith and become the third most-capped Super Rugby player.

Middlesbrough and Hull will meet in the richest game in world football at Wembley on Saturday, competing for a place in the Premier League in a match overshadowed by Southampton's "spygate" saga.

The biggest and most lucrative ever World Cup this summer will also set a record for the most-polluting sporting event in history, environmental experts say.

Juan Mata has been voted Australia's A-League player of the year as the veteran Spanish World Cup winner enjoys a late career resurgence.

An arts commission stacked with allies of US President Donald Trump gave the greenlight on Thursday to designs for his massive triumphal arch, as several lawsuits seek to halt the project.

Elon Musk's SpaceX postponed the highly anticipated launch of its upgraded Starship megarocket, calling off Thursday's test after multiple countdown stops-and-starts.

Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard headline Norway's World Cup squad, which was announced in a video by the country's King Harald V on Thursday.

When Leo Woodall first read the script for "Tuner" -- the dramatic debut from Oscar-winning documentary director Daniel Roher -- he couldn't wait to start filming.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered officials to start work on a plan to mitigate the job-destroying impact of artificial intelligence, the first US state to do so.