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

England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bat in the third Test against India at Lord's on Thursday.

When 19-year-old unknown South African Caster Semenya pulled off a stunning 800 metres final triumph at the 2009 world championships in Berlin, she could never have imagined the drama that would follow.

Amsterdam, 1941. Every day, young Anne Frank and her sister Margot walked 2.5 kilometres to school, as Nazi anti-Jewish laws barred them from using public transport or bicycles.

Kyiv was shrouded in dark smoke early Thursday after Russia hammered Ukraine's capital with its second large-scale drone and missile barrage in as many nights, killing at least two people.

The halt to US foreign aid is a "ticking time bomb" that could reverse decades of hard-fought gains in the fight against AIDS, the United Nations warned Thursday.

Former Liverpool and England midfielder Jordan Henderson is leaving Dutch giants Ajax one year before his contract was due to expire, the club announced on Thursday.

Thailand's pygmy hippo Moo Deng marked her first birthday on Thursday, drawing crowds of diehard fans even as she left behind the cute animal infancy that earned her worldwide internet fame.

Owen Farrell was named Thursday on the bench for the British and Irish Lions side to face a combined Australia-New Zealand team in Adelaide.

The curtain finally fell on Real Madrid midfield maestro Luka Modric's superlative career at the club after a drubbing by Paris Saint-Germain in New Jersey, but in years to come that will be forgotten.

Aryna Sabalenka is closing in on a fourth straight Grand Slam final and a potential Wimbledon showdown with fierce rival Iga Swiatek as she gears up for Thursday's last-four clash against Amanda Anisimova.

London and Paris will on Thursday attempt to thrash out a deal on undocumented migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats on the last day of the French president's state visit to Britain.

London hit a record high Thursday as equity markets were boosted by optimism governments will hammer out deals to avoid the worst of US President Donald Trump's tariffs even after he broadened his range of measures.

France coach Fabien Galthie announced a major reshuffle Thursday for the second Test against New Zealand, with 10 changes to his starting side after the 31-27 defeat in Dunedin.

Russia hammered Ukraine with its second large-scale drone and missile barrage in as many nights Thursday, killing at least two people and sparking large blazes in Kyiv over the hours-long attack.

Asian markets mostly rose Thursday on optimism that governments will hammer out deals to avoid the worst of US President Donald Trump's tariffs even after he broadened his range of measures.

Wales interim head coach Matt Sherratt said Thursday that he had given his players "time to grieve" over their latest defeat as he named his team for their second Test against Japan.

Japan's undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya Inoue announced Thursday that he will defend his titles against Uzbekistan's Murodjon Akhmadaliev in Nagoya in September.

When successful artist Ai-Da unveiled a new portrait of King Charles this week, the humanoid robot described what inspired the layered and complex piece, and insisted it had no plans to "replace" humans.

Thailand's pygmy hippo Moo Deng marked her first birthday on Thursday, drawing crowds of diehard fans even as she left behind the cute animal infancy that earned her worldwide internet fame.

David Havili and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto were on Thursday named co-captains of a "powerful" Australia-New Zealand combined side stacked with All Blacks and Wallabies to face the British and Irish Lions in Adelaide.

The US Secretary of Agriculture has announced ports will be closed to the livestock trade at the southern border after Mexican cattle tested positive for the flesh-eating New World screwworm (NWS).

In a high-ceilinged room on the outskirts of eastern China's Hangzhou, workers use tongs to slide large blocks of frosty white ice along a metal track into a refrigerated truck.

Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine's capital Kyiv killed at least two people, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday, with around a dozen wounded.

Fly-half Dan Edwards will make his first start for Wales after interim head coach Matt Sherratt named his team Thursday for the second Test against Japan in Kobe.

In the basement of a Jakarta housing complex, surrounded by the silver piping of the air-conditioning system, Indonesian technician Ari Sobaruddin is doing his part to tackle climate change.

Donald Trump's insistence that "spoiled" Japan imports more US rice is adding to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's problems ahead of elections that could sink his premiership after less than a year in office.

A top European court will decide Thursday whether double Olympic champion Caster Semenya can be required to lower her testosterone levels to compete as a woman, in a key decision on contested gender testing.

Finnish holidaygoers are clamouring to shell out hundreds of euros to work as shepherds for a week as a vacation, seeking tranquility in nature and a chance to disconnect from their busy lives.

Head coach Eddie Jones said Japan had a "chance to create history" with back-to-back wins over Wales as he named his team on Thursday for their second Test in Kobe.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen faces a confidence vote Thursday that has little chance of succeeding but has exposed frictions between her backers and complaints about her leadership style.

Asian markets mostly rose Thursday on optimism that governments will hammer out deals to avoid the worst of US President Donald Trump's tariffs even after he broadened his range of measures.

Xabi Alonso is looking forward to "starting from scratch" with Real Madrid next season after being thrown in at the deep end as coach of the Spanish giants in the Club World Cup.