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

A painting by Irish-born British artist Francis Bacon of fellow UK painter Lucian Freud sold on Wednesday for £43.3 million ($52.5 million, 50.2 million euros), according to Sotheby's auction house.

Novak Djokovic said the family of jailed former coach Boris Becker "can always count on me" after he invited the tennis great's girlfriend and son to watch him at Wimbledon.

India will make a last-minute decision on Covid-hit captain Rohit Sharma's availability for Friday's Test against England.

US Open champion Emma Raducanu crashed out of Wimbledon on Wednesday, losing her second-round match against Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-3 to the disappointment of the British home crowd.

President Joe Biden thanked his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday for dropping opposition to the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO, with the US also signalling support for Turkey's plan to buy F-16 warplanes.

A Mexican reporter was shot dead on Wednesday in the violence-plagued northeastern state of Tamaulipas, according to the newspaper Expreso where he worked.

Canada said Wednesday it would boost its diplomatic presence in central and eastern Europe as well as the Caucasus, opening four new embassies to "help counter Russia's destabilizing activities" in the region, as the war in Ukraine drags on.

Anthony Joshua insists he is "hungry" to regain the world heavyweight title as the dethroned champion sets his sights on knocking out Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch in Saudi Arabia.

Ukrainian tennis player Lesia Tsurenko on Wednesday criticised Russian "lies" over a missile strike on a shopping mall, saying she knew people affected by the attack after reaching the third round of Wimbledon.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic reached the Wimbledon third round for the 16th time on Wednesday as potential semi-final opponent Casper Ruud crashed out.

He has spent years protesting outside Britain's parliament with his trademark yellow ribbon hat, "Stop Brexit" shouts and blaring music.

US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi received Communion at St. Peter's Basilica Wednesday, according to a local news report, after being barred from the sacrament in her home city of San Francisco.

The husband of slain Kenyan distance runner Agnes Tirop is seeking a plea bargain after initially denying a charge of murder, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

England pace bowler James Anderson hopes to prove his fitness in time for Friday's Test against India after missing the conclusion of the clean sweep of New Zealand.

For nearly 90 years, anyone in France needing to know what time it is down-to-the-second could ring up the Paris Observatory and get an automated, astronomy-based response.

The United States vowed on Wednesday to shore up Europe's defences in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as NATO declared Moscow the West's greatest threat.

Regional leaders voiced alarm Wednesday over escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Sudan in a disputed border area and appealed for dialogue to stem the crisis.

Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs makes his Diamond League return from injury in Stockholm on Thursday, seeking to find a competitive rhythm a little more than two weeks out from the world championships.

Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday met Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the day after the politician put her government on collision course with London by announcing plans to hold another independence referendum.

France captain Charles Ollivon said on Wednesday his focus is on this weekend's first Test with Japan and not returning as skipper.

Harmony Tan pulled out of the Wimbledon doubles tournament on Wednesday, just hours after she had stunned Serena Williams, leaving her partner "sad, disappointed and angry".

Australia's Nathan Lyon on Wednesday said the first Test is in the balance after his five-wicket haul helped bowl out Sri Lanka for 212 but the hosts hit back with three wickets on day one.

Asian and European stock markets mostly nursed losses Wednesday on resurgent fear that sharp interest rate hikes, aimed at tackling runaway inflation, could spark recession, dealers said.

Britain has extended steel tariffs for another two years to protect its ailing industry, the government said Wednesday, breaching World Trade Organization obligations.

A French appeals court on Wednesday turned down Italy's request to extradite 10 former members of left-wing Italian extremist groups exiled in France for their involvement in violence decades ago.

Three-time Formula One world champion Nelson Piquet on Wednesday apologised "wholeheartedly" to Lewis Hamilton after using a racially offensive term to describe the Mercedes star.

It could be the world's most powerful telephone.

Dozens of people held a vigil for 51 migrants who died when they were abandoned in a suffocatingly hot tractor-trailer in Texas near the border with Mexico.

Madrid will offer "total collaboration" with the Spanish and Moroccan investigations into the deaths of 23 migrants during a mass attempt to enter Spain's Melilla enclave, Pedro Sanchez said Wednesday.

Nathan Lyon's five-for helped Australia bowl out Sri Lanka for 212, before the hosts hit back with three wickets in a fast-moving opening Test on Wednesday.

With her 41st birthday just months away and without a Grand Slam title since 2017, Serena Williams faces searching questions over her future after a painful first-round Wimbledon exit.

Global stock markets nursed steep losses Wednesday on resurgent fear that sharp interest rate hikes, aimed at tackling runaway inflation, could spark recession, dealers said.