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

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.

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.

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Iranian women's football team, which competed in the Asian Cup in Australia, and one member of the backroom staff have withdrawn their requests for asylum in the country, Iranian state media said on Saturday.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

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.

The 19-year-old Italian Kimi Antonelli took pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday, becoming the youngest driver to achieve the feat in Formula One history.

World champion Lando Norris admitted Saturday that McLaren had a performance deficit to Mercedes and Ferrari after he and teammate Oscar Piastri qualified fifth and sixth for the Chinese Grand Prix.

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

Explosions rocked cities across the Middle East on Saturday as the US embassy in Baghdad was hit by a drone strike and Tehran warned Emiratis to stay away from ports as it targets the world's energy supply lines.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen cut a disconsolate figure Saturday after qualifying only eighth for the Chinese Grand Prix, saying every lap in his underperforming Red Bull was about "survival".

The 19-year-old Italian Kimi Antonelli took pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday, becoming the youngest driver to achieve the feat in Formula One history.

Defending champions China scored twice in extra-time to book a blockbuster semi-final with hosts Australia at the Women's Asian Cup after a tense 2-0 win over Taiwan on Saturday.

North Korea fired about 10 ballistic missiles toward the sea of Japan Saturday, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of "terrible consequences" over South Korea-US military drills.

An "Origami Deer" statue rescued from a Ukrainian city destroyed and occupied by Moscow's army is touring six European countries before featuring at the 61st Venice Biennale, which has sparked outrage over the inclusion of Russian artists.

On the outskirts of the town of God, not far from Budapest, white smoke rises from a Samsung electric vehicle battery factory accused of exposing workers to cancer-causing chemicals, with Hungary's government under attack for failing to shut it down.

Coach Nils Nielsen said Saturday Japan have the tools to take apart the Philippines in their Women's Asian Cup quarter-final as the ominous two-time champions bid to keep a fourth straight clean-sheet.