- Brazil lifts ban on Musk's X, ending standoff over disinformation
- Harris holds slight edge nationally over Trump: poll
- Chelsea edge Real Madrid in Women's Champions League, Lyon win
- Japan PM to dissolve parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- 'Diego Lives': Immersive Maradona exhibit hits Barcelona
- Brazil Supreme Court lifts ban on Musk's X
- Scientists sound AI alarm after winning physics Nobel
- Six-year-old girl among missing after Brazil landslide
- Nobel-winning physicist 'unnerved' by AI technology he helped create
- Mexico president rules out new 'war on drugs'
- Israeli defense minister postpones trip to Washington: Pentagon
- Europe skipper Donald in talks with Garcia over Ryder return
- Kenya MPs vote to impeach deputy president in historic move
- Former US coach Berhalter named Chicago Fire head coach
- New York Jets fire head coach Saleh: team
- Australia crush New Zealand in Women's T20 World Cup
- US states accuse TikTok of harming young users
- 'Evacuate now, now, now': Florida braces for next hurricane
- US Supreme Court skeptical of challenge to 'ghost guns' regulation
- Sparks fly as Orban berates EU 'elites' in parliament trip
- US finalizes rule to remove lead pipes within a decade
- Solanke hungry for second England cap after seven-year wait
- Gilded canopy restored at Vatican basilica
- Zverev scrapes through, Djokovic cruises to Shanghai Masters last 16
- Trump secretly sent Covid tests to Putin: Bob Woodward book
- Gauff answers critics: 'It's hard to win all the time'
- Neural networks, machine learning? Nobel-winning AI science explained
- China says raised 'serious concerns' with US over trade curbs
- Boeing delivers 27 MAX jets in September despite strike
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of other sex crimes
- Italy seek Nations League consistency as Germany continue rebuild
- From boom to budgeting as reality bites for Saudi football
- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- England 96-1 after Salman's century lifts Pakistan to 556
- Hollywood star Idris Elba champions African cinema in Ghana
- Djokovic rolls Cobolli to make Shanghai Masters last 16
- Milan's Hernandez receives two-game suspension after referee rant
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Ex-Barcelona and Spain great Iniesta retires aged 40
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Ex-skipper Skelton eyes Wallabies November return
- Spanish great Iniesta leaves indelible legacy after retirement
- Indian Kashmir elects first regional government in a decade
- Hong Kong stocks crash, oil prices retreat on fading China boost
- Man City accuse Premier League of 'misleading' claims after legal case
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
'Messi' the border collie crowned top dog actor at Cannes
Following the glorious path of his footballer namesake, a border collie named "Messi" was awarded the Palm Dog for his crucial role in solving a crime in Cannes favourite "Anatomy of a Fall."
Hailed as the "pawmost" award in doggy cinema, the Palm Dog has become the hottest ticket of the French Riviera film festival, drawing influencers, dog lovers, and journalists happy to get their microphones drooled on.
This year it was standing room only in the crammed seaside awards venue, as long-time host and founder Toby Rose drew groans for his traditional barrage of pooch puns, and scolded furry attendees for yapping and barking throughout the presentation.
The border collie "Messi" was hailed by the jury for "one of the best performances we have ever seen" in the film by French director Justine Triet.
In the role of "Snoop," he "plays an essential role in the plot and particularly impressed the jury with a dramatic scene where he convincingly simulated an illness."
The Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw -- a member of the jury -- quipped that "the Palm Dog is much more important than the Ballon d'Or" -- won multiple times by Argentine footballer Lionel Messi, who recently led his team to World Cup victory.
An honorary grand Palm Dog prize was awarded to British film director Ken Loach -- whose latest film "The Old Oak" premieres Friday -- for a lifetime of giving key roles to dogs in cinema.
His new movie "features what I can only describe as a Socialist dog, a dog of the left," joked Bradshaw, a reference to Loach's famously politically engaged movies.
The leading actors from "Fallen Leaves", a bittersweet romance by director Aki Kaurismaki, 66, appeared at the event to bark in Finnish, as they received the award for the Grand Jury Prize, awarded to the dog "Chaplin."
As always, what Rose dubbed "a look-alikey-ish" dog, is brought on stage to pose for photos.
"This year's dogs hit multiple notes in a huge variety of genres ... from horror to romcom to thriller, and set in places as different as Sudan, South America and the deepest bucolic French countryside," said Rose.
The world's leading film festival wraps up Saturday with the awarding of the top prize Palme d'Or, with 21 movies in the running this year.
P.Silva--AMWN