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

Tuberculosis remains the world's leading infectious killer, claiming an estimated 1.23 million lives last year, the UN health organisation said Wednesday as it warned that recent gains made against the disease were fragile.

New Zealand coach Scott Robertson cannot wait to face England at Twickenham on Saturday as the All Blacks continue their quest for a tour 'grand slam'.

Stock markets fluctuated Wednesday as optimism that the US government shutdown was nearing an end and another Federal Reserve interest rate cut was on the horizon failed to sustain a rally.

The US Justice Department on Wednesday defended lethal military strikes on suspected drug traffickers, brushing aside charges they may amount to extrajudicial killings that merit legal prosecution.

Jailed French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal was on his way to Germany for medical treatment on Wednesday after Algiers agreed to a German request that he be pardoned.

Ukraine's energy and justice ministers resigned on Wednesday over their alleged involvement in a sweeping corruption scandal in the country's energy sector.

Congress looked set Wednesday to end the longest government shutdown in US history -- 43 days that paralyzed Washington and left hundreds of thousands of workers unpaid while Donald Trump's Republicans and Democrats played a high-stakes blame game.

California Governor Gavin Newsom says his Democratic party is "back on its feet" after a string of election wins -- and the way to make Americans care about global warming is to show how it affects their wallets.

Astronomers revealed Wednesday they have detected a storm on a star other than our Sun for the first time, discovering an explosion so violent it could have stripped away the atmosphere of any planets unlucky enough to be nearby.

G7 foreign ministers held talks Wednesday focused on bolstering Ukraine's war effort, as meeting host Canada unveiled new sanctions targeting Russian drone and energy production.

Democrats released emails Wednesday in which Jeffrey Epstein suggested Donald Trump was aware of the disgraced financier's sexual abuse and had "spent hours" with one of his victims at his house.

Wales winger Louis Rees-Zammit said on Wednesday he had been back to his "happy place" after ending his 18-month exile from international rugby in Cardiff a "heavier and quicker" player following a spell in American football.

Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling and his family were at home when burglars broke into the property last weekend.

Felix Auger-Aliassime got his ATP Finals bid up and running on Wednesday by beating Ben Shelton 4-6, 7-6 (9/7), 7-5 ahead of Jannik Sinner's clash with Alexander Zverev.

Argentinian President Javier Milei will not attend the G20 summit in South Africa later this month, his spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.

Railway fans devastated by the scrapping of a much-heralded Berlin to Paris night train can breathe again after a Belgian-Dutch cooperative stepped in Wednesday to keep the service going.

The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics competition schedule was unveiled on Wednesday by organizers, including a showcase spot for the women's 100 meters and a Super Saturday session.

Premier League strugglers Wolves confirmed the appointment of Rob Edwards as their new head coach on a three-and-a-half year contract on Wednesday.

Britain's music industry contributed £8 billion ($10.5 billion) to the UK economy in 2024, but the effects of Brexit and AI have clouded the sector's outlook, an industry report showed Wednesday.

Democrats released emails Wednesday in which Jeffrey Epstein suggested that Donald Trump was aware of the financier's sexual abuse and definitely "knew about the girls."

Germany is using a massive fund for the wrong purposes and it risks providing just a minor boost to the struggling economy, experts warned Wednesday, as they cut their 2026 growth forecast.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said Wednesday the United States boycott of the G20 summit in South Africa later this month would not prevent the meeting of the world's leading economies from going ahead.

Algeria has pardoned French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal after a request from Germany, to where he will be transferred for medical treatment after a year in detention, it was announced Wednesday.

Thomas Tuchel has warned Jude Bellingham that the Real Madrid midfielder faces a fight to earn a place in England's starting line-up at the World Cup.

France captain Kylian Mbappe said the national football team wished to remember all the victims of the 2015 Paris terror attacks as they prepare to play on the 10th anniversary of the atrocity.

A decision on whether former world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua will fight in 2025 will be made later this week, promoter Eddie Hearn said Wednesday.

Cambodia and Thailand traded accusations of fresh clashes along their border on Wednesday, with Phnom Penh reporting one civilian shot dead in hostilities flaring after Bangkok paused implementation of a US-backed peace deal.

Aggressive seagulls have long terrorised British holidaymakers trying to enjoy fish and chips or an ice cream on a day at the seaside.

Pope Leo XIV has revealed his four favourite films ahead of a special audience with Hollywood celebrities and Oscar-winning directors at the Vatican.

When engineer Tarek Mazraani started campaigning for the reconstruction of war-battered southern Lebanon, Israeli drones hovered ominously overhead -- their loudspeakers sometimes calling him out by name.

Stock markets mostly rose on Wednesday on optimism that the US government shutdown was nearing an end and on hopes of another Federal Reserve interest rate cut.

Germany's Bayer said Wednesday it had set aside more money to deal with long-running legal woes related to weedkillers, even as investors cheered better-than-expected quarterly earnings.