Sawt Falasteen - News from Ramallah, the political, economic and cultural centre of Palestine, as well as the West Bank and the whole world

British warplanes have begun "defensive air sorties" in support of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and taken out drones elsewhere in the Middle East amid the ongoing war, the UK defence ministry said Monday.

Australia has granted asylum to some of Iran's visiting women's football team over fears they faced persecution at home for not singing the national anthem before a match, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Tuesday.

Rory McIlroy cast a shadow over his defense of this week's Players Championship on Monday after revealing that the back problem which forced his withdrawal from the Arnold Palmer Invitational needed more treatment.

Arne Slot hopes Liverpool can cope with the hostile Champions League atmosphere at Galatasaray on Tuesday after being shocked by the raucous crowd in Istanbul earlier this season.

Hansi Flick has warned Barcelona that Newcastle pose a serious threat to their Champions League ambitions as a product of "the best league in the world".

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday accused Hezbollah of working to "collapse" the state and expressed Beirut's readiness for "direct negotiations" with Israel, drawing the backing of his Syrian counterpart for his goal of disarming the Iran-backed group.

Tottenham coach Igor Tudor said Monday trying to climb up the Premier League table was his team's true priority on the eve of their Champions League last 16 clash against Atletico Madrid.

EU lawmakers on Monday gave preliminary backing to a tightening of Europe's immigration policy, paving the way for so-called "return hubs" for failed asylum-seekers, after centre-right and far-right deputies saw it through.

US President Donald Trump is under pressure to curb oil prices sent skyrocketing by the war with Iran, but has only limited tools to fix a problem that is shaking the world economy and is politically toxic at home.

President Gustavo Petro's left-wing coalition was on track to be the largest bloc in Colombia's next Congress on Monday, after a better-than-expected showing in legislative elections.

American skier Patrick Halgren lit up the Milan-Cortina Paralympics as he swept to a shock silver medal in the men's super-G but, to the self-proclaimed "rock star", it was just another Monday.

Four years after world sport rushed to ban Russia for invading Ukraine, the leading governing bodies are reacting guardedly to the US-led attack on Iran, raising accusations of double standards.

UK finance minister Rachel Reeves warned on Monday the country could face rising inflation due to the fallout of the US and Israel's war.

Iraq coach Graham Arnold pleaded with FIFA on Monday to postpone his team's intercontinental playoff for the World Cup because many of his players and backroom staff are stranded by the growing Iran war.

German Max Kanter sprinted to victory in the Paris-Nice second stage at Montargis on Monday as American Luke Lamperti kept the leader's yellow jersey.

France and its allies are preparing a "defensive" mission to reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, President Emmanuel Macron said Monday as the Middle East war entered its second week.

A woman alleged to have fired an assault rifle at the luxury Los Angeles home of Rihanna -- while the pop superstar was inside -- was being held by police on Monday.

Anthropic filed suit Monday against the Trump administration, alleging the US government retaliated against the AI company for refusing to let its Claude AI model be used for autonomous lethal warfare and mass surveillance of Americans.

Antarctic sea ice coverage has likely rebounded this year, coming closer to its annual summer average after four years of extreme lows, US scientists said Monday.

Eddie Howe has urged his players to become Newcastle legends by emulating the club's famous 1997 Champions League win over Barcelona when they face the Spanish giants in the last-16 first leg.

The Iran war sent oil prices soaring on Monday after Tehran, under new leader Mojtaba Khamanei, fired a new barrage of missiles at its Gulf neighbours and signalled that the strategic Strait of Hormuz would likely remain shut.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that 11 countries had tapped Kyiv for help in how to counter Iranian drones being fired by Tehran in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes.

France and its allies are preparing a "defensive" mission to reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, President Emmanuel Macron said Monday as the Middle East war entered its second week.

Ships anchored in the Gulf or transiting the Strait of Hormuz are changing their tracking data to boast links to China in an attempt to evade Iranian attacks, according to data from shipping tracker Marine Traffic analysed by AFP.

US President Donald Trump said Monday that Australia had agreed to grant asylum to some of Iran's visiting women's football team, amid fears they could face retaliation back home for not singing the national anthem before a match.

NATO said it shot down a second ballistic missile from Iran in Turkish airspace on Monday, prompting a stern warning from Turkey to Tehran, which told its neighbour not to take "provocative steps".

Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war on Monday:

Hundreds of thousands of people are at imminent risk from a government offensive in a South Sudan town, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Monday, after NGOs were ordered to evacuate.

France's finance minister said Monday the G7 was "not there yet" in terms of any release of strategic oil reserves as the world's leading industrialised nations held crisis talks on the economic fallout of the Middle East war.

Live Nation reached a tentative settlement with the US Justice Department on Monday in the federal antitrust case brought against the entertainment giant, a senior official said.

A tightening of Europe's immigration policy paving the way for so-called "return hubs" for failed asylum-seekers is expected to gain the backing of EU lawmakers this week, with centre-right and far-right deputies joining hands to see it through.

President Emmanuel Macron on Monday warned that an attack on Cyprus was an attack on all of Europe and said France and its allies were preparing a "defensive" mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as the Middle East war entered its second week.