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

Fourth-seeded German Alexander Zverev breezed into the third round of the Indian Wells ATP and WTA Masters 1000 on Friday with a brisk 6-3, 6-4 victory over Matteo Berrettini.

Four years ago, NASA purposely smashed a spacecraft into a small asteroid to see if they could deflect it -- a test to prove humanity could protect Earth from threatening space rocks.

Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei has said the company has "no choice" but to challenge in court the Pentagon's formal designation of the artificial intelligence firm as a risk to US national security.

Former US president Barack Obama lashed out at President Donald Trump for conducting an "assault on our democratic institutions" as he paid tribute to the late civil rights activist Jesse Jackson on Friday.

Team USA figure skater Amber Glenn has said she will not visit Donald Trump's White House to celebrate winning gold at the Winter Olympics.

Russian athletes were booed by some spectators as they paraded under their own flag at the Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics opening ceremony on Friday.

US President Donald Trump is to attend the dignified transfer on Saturday of six soldiers killed in an Iranian attack on Kuwait, the White House said Friday, as the escalating war with Tehran brings home its first American dead.

A flag football tournament starring Tom Brady is being moved from Saudi Arabia to Los Angeles due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, US media reported Friday.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Friday "unlawful attacks" across the Middle East and warned that the situation could spiral out of control as the conflict spreads to multiple countries.

The outbreak of war in the Middle East has sent shockwaves through financial markets, with energy prices soaring and stocks sliding, just a year after US President Donald Trump's tariff onslaught rattled investors.

Only nine oil tankers, cargo and container ships, some of which at times concealed their position, have been recorded crossing the Strait of Hormuz since Monday, according to MarineTraffic data analysed by AFP.

Mexico said Friday it would deploy nearly 100,000 security personnel to protect fans at the football World Cup in three host cities, one of which, Guadalajara, has been plagued by cartel violence.

The United States insists it attacked Iran to curb "direct threats" from the Islamic republic, but legal experts say the dangers cited by Washington do not justify war under international law.

Switzerland announced Friday it wanted to buy 30 US F-35A fighter jets rather than 36 after Washington hiked the price, and said its broader defence set-up needed repurposing to face current threats.

British detectives investigating sexual assault claims against late business magnate Mohamed Al-Fayed said Friday they had questioned three women on suspicion of "aiding and abetting rape" and "human trafficking for sexual exploitation".

Crude prices surged higher Friday as oil fields in Iraq came under attack and US Donald Trump demanded Iran's unconditional surrender, while stocks slumped after data showed a surprise drop in jobs in the United States.

Antoine Dupont on Friday urged France to stay focused on beating Scotland at Murrayfield rather than become distracted by thoughts of another Six Nations title.

From Kurdistan in western Iran to the shores of the Gulf and in Tehran, AFP reporters have spoken to Iranians throughout the week to build a picture of their lives under daily US and Israeli bombardment.

Barcelona swept to a domestic treble last season but fell agonisingly short in the Champions League, beaten in the semi-finals by Inter Milan, making it their clear priority this year.

Ukraine is preparing to despatch military drone specialists to Gulf states to help them fend off Iranian-designed drones -- something the Ukrainian army has been doing since the start of Russia's invasion.

Roma, battling for a Champions League spot in Serie A, will be without Argentine striker Paulo Dybala for over six weeks with a knee injury, Italian media reported on Friday.

As US and Israeli war planes pummel Iran with daily strikes, witnesses say that civilian deaths, damage to infrastructure and anxiety are mounting while security forces remain an intimidating presence on the streets.

Maro Itoje has called on England to "take the game to Italy" as they seek to salvage some pride in Rome on Saturday after the collapse of their Six Nations campaign.

Planet Labs PBC, a leading provider of high resolution images taken from space, said Friday it would hold back for 96 hours images of Gulf states targeted by Iranian drone attacks.

Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu has urged his team to rise to a "massive" challenge when they host champions France at Murrayfield on Saturday as they seek to stay in the Six Nations title race.

President Donald Trump said Friday that only Iran's "unconditional surrender" would bring an end to the Middle East war, as Tehran was rocked by some of the heaviest US-Israeli strikes of the spiralling, week-long conflict.

The US Justice Department released additional files Thursday related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including previously withheld FBI interview summaries containing uncorroborated allegations that President Donald Trump sexually assaulted a minor decades ago.

The United States and France have promised to secure oil shipping threatened by the Middle East war, but experts warn warship availability and Iran's wide range of weaponry could make this complicated.

Captain Michele Lamaro said on Friday that if Italy really want to be competitive in the Six Nations, they have to start beating the best teams.

New Zealand will be ready to pounce if India's bowling star Jasprit Bumrah falters in the T20 World Cup final said all-rounder Glenn Phillips on Friday.

Crude prices surged higher Friday as oil fields in Iraq came under attack and US Donald Trump demanded Iran's unconditional surrender, while stocks slumped after data showed a surprise drop in jobs in the United States.

US retail sales declined by 0.2 percent in January, according to delayed government data released on Friday, missing some analysts' expectations amid persistent concerns that consumption in the world's biggest economy is slowing.