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

Canada is sending troops and coast guard personnel to its easternmost province on Thursday to confront wildfires that have forced hundreds to evacuate, as the country endures one of its worst fire seasons on record.

OpenAI on Thursday released a keenly awaited new generation of its hallmark ChatGPT, touting "significant" advancements in artificial intelligence capabilities, as a global race over the technology accelerates.

Negotiations on a global treaty on plastic pollution are being blocked by oil-producing countries and getting bogged down in a "dialogue of the deaf", sources at the talks told AFP on Thursday.

Simon Bernard's private war on plastic pollution began in 2016.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel plans to take full control of Gaza but does not intend to govern it, as his security cabinet convened on Thursday to discuss the country's war plans.

Former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey, facing five rape charges in England, on Thursday completed a move to Spanish club Villarreal.

New Wales rugby union head coach Steve Tandy believes he will have the talent at his disposal to meet the ambitious target of a return to the world's top five sides.

President Donald Trump's steeper global tariffs came into effect Thursday, leaving dozens of US trade partners scrambling to secure relief from soaring levies that are rewriting global trade practice.

Five of England's Euro 2025-winning squad were nominated for the women's Ballon d'Or award on Thursday.

For the second straight year, the 2025 Ballon d'Or will have a new winner after Rodri failed to make the list of 30 nominees dominated by Paris Saint-Germain released on Thursday

Americans still get most of their calories from ultra-processed foods, but consumption is trending down among both adults and children, official data showed Thursday.

Manchester United have agreed a deal worth up to 85 million euros ($99 million, £74 million) to sign striker Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig on Thursday, according to multiple reports in England.

France's top constitutional authority is set on Thursday to rule on the legality of a controversial bill to allow the reintroduction of a pesticide that is harmful to ecosystems but relied on by some European farmers.

German industrial production slumped in June to its lowest level since the pandemic in 2020, data showed Thursday, underlining the fragility of Europe's top economy even before US President Donald Trump's new tariffs kicked in.

The Swiss government said Thursday it would pursue more talks with the United States after a last-gasp mission to Washington failed to stop a 39-percent tariff blow that businesses described as a "horror scenario".

Barcelona on Thursday said they had stripped Marc-Andre ter Stegen of the captain's armband in a continuing dispute over the German goalkeeper's fitness status.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered officials to work on a new census excluding undocumented immigrants, as the White House presses Republican states to draw more favorable voter maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

"When will this nightmare end?" wonders Amal Hamada, a 20-year-old displaced woman who, like most Gazans, feels powerless before the threat of full Israeli occupation after 22 months of war.

French firefighters said Thursday they were hoping to halt the country's biggest wildfire this summer that has left one person dead and destroyed several thousand hectares of land and dozens of homes in the south.

Six months after claiming her first major title, Austrian skier Stephanie Venier announced her retirement on Thursday, aged 31.

Israel's security cabinet was set to meet on Thursday to discuss military plans in Gaza, as the families of hostages launched a desperate plea for help aboard a flotilla headed for the Palestinian territory.

A deadly wall of muddy water that swept away an Indian Himalayan town this week was likely caused by a rapidly melting glacier exacerbated by the rising effects of climate change, experts said on Thursday.

Pensioner Marji Mansfield never imagined she would end up suspected of terrorism for protesting against the banning of a pro-Palestinian group.

Israel's security cabinet was expected to meet on Thursday to discuss military plans in Gaza, local media reported, as the families of hostages launched a desperate plea for help aboard a flotilla headed for the Palestinian territory.

Michail Antonio's 10-year spell at West Ham is over after the club decided not to offer the 35-year-old a new contract.

The Kremlin said Thursday that a summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin was set for the "coming days", both sides having already agreed the venue "in principle".

The Bank of England on Thursday cut its key interest rate by a quarter point to four percent, the lowest level in 2.5 years, as it bids to boost a UK economy still threatened by US tariffs.

Tottenham midfielder James Maddison is expected to miss most of the upcoming Premier league season after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament.

Negotiations aimed at forging a global treaty on plastic pollution are being blocked by oil-producing countries and getting bogged down in a "dialogue of the deaf", sources in and around the talks told AFP.

Most stock markets gained Thursday even as President Donald Trump's new tariffs on dozens of countries took effect, with investors eyeing exemptions from his threatened 100-percent levy on semiconductors.

Siemens warned on Thursday that US tariffs were prompting its customers in key sectors to slow investment decisions, even as the German industrial giant reported forecast-beating quarterly profits.

Weeks after he was forced to return from Iran, Mohammad Mohsen Zaryab was still searching for somewhere to live in Kabul, where rental prices have soared along with an influx of Afghans expelled from neighbouring countries.