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

The release of the latest image generator on OpenAI's ChatGPT has triggered an online flood of memes featuring images done in the style of Studio Ghibli, the Japanese studio behind classic animated films like "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Princess Mononoke."

UEFA opened an investigation into four Real Madrid stars including Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior on Thursday for alleged "indecent conduct" during their Champions League last 16 win over Atletico Madrid.

US retail giant Walmart said Thursday that it would invest more than $6 billion in Mexico this year, despite President Donald Trump's escalating trade wars with Washington's partners and competitors alike.

European countries agreed at a summit in Paris Thursday to ramp up rather than lift sanctions on Russia over its war against Ukraine, as Britain and France began sketching out plans to send a "reassurance" force after any peace.

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday announced plans to cut a quarter of his department's workforce as part of a sweeping restructuring, framed as a push to prioritize chronic disease prevention under his "Make America Healthy Again" agenda.

Turkey on Thursday stepped up a crackdown on media coverage of mass protests since the arrest of Istanbul's popular mayor, deporting a BBC journalist and imposing a 10-day broadcast ban on an opposition TV channel.

Israel's parliament on Thursday passed a law expanding the power of politicians over judge appointments in defiance of a years-long protest movement against the judicial reforms pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mohammed Hussein Mohammedie was just 19 when he left Iraq and attempted the perilous English Channel crossing in November 2021.

A fragile peace deal in South Sudan was collapsing on Thursday after the arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar, long-time rival to President Salva Kiir, threatened to throw the country back into war.

Myanmar's junta chief insisted Thursday that a planned election will go ahead despite the country's spiralling civil war, in a speech to thousands of soldiers and dignitaries at the annual Armed Forces Day parade.

World powers on Thursday blasted US President Donald Trump's steep tariffs on imported vehicles and parts, vowing retaliation as a widening trade war intensifies.

President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France and Britain were leading efforts to send a "reassurance force" to Ukraine after any end to the fighting with Russia, even if the idea was not approved by all European allies.

Somalia's Al-Shabaab jihadist militia shows signs of resurgence after making gains in strategic regions and coming close to assassinating the president with a roadside bomb last week.

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs and implement a major restructuring of his department, aiming to refocus efforts on chronic disease prevention as part of his "Make America Healthy Again" agenda.

Shares in automakers led stock market losses Thursday after US President Donald Trump announced painful tariffs on imported vehicles and parts as he presses hardball trade policies many fear will spark a recession.

Indonesian police fired water cannons Thursday to disperse hundreds of protesters in the capital Jakarta angry at a newly passed military law, AFP reporters said.

Six people died on Thursday, two of them minors, when a tourist submarine carrying dozens of Russian visitors sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast near a major resort town.

Prosecutors in the sexual abuse trial of Gerard Depardieu on Thursday recommended a suspended jail sentence of 18 months for the French star actor.

The Iran-backed Huthis said Thursday they targeted an Israeli airport and army site as well as a US warship, soon after Israel reported intercepting missiles launched from Yemen.

German rail operator Deutsche Bahn reported another massive annual loss Thursday as it battles a "serious crisis" but said government plans to ramp up infrastructure spending could get it back on track.

After more than a decade mapping out our home galaxy, the Gaia space telescope was powered down and sent into "retirement orbit" around the Sun on Thursday, the European Space Agency said.

Six people died on Thursday when a tourist submarine sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast, state media reported, with Russia's consulate saying 45 Russian citizens were aboard.

Chinese-owned British Steel confirmed Thursday plans to shut blast furnaces and other operations in England, saying US President Donald Trump's tariffs on the sector were partly to blame for a decision which could cost up to 2,700 jobs.

Bosnia issued an international arrest warrant Thursday for Milorad Dodik, the leader of the deeply divided country's Serb statelet who is accused of flouting the constitution.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun visits France on Friday, his first trip to a European country since his January election and as Paris pushes Beirut for long-demanded political and economic reforms.

Under the cover of darkness, the jihadists moved into Wulgo, where the shores of Lake Chad meet the arid countryside of northern Nigeria.

Deforestation, farming and climate-fuelled fires are driving increasing threats to fungi, the lifeblood of most plants on Earth, the International Union for Conservation of Nature warned on Thursday.

The United States cutting funding to Gavi, an organisation that provides vaccines to the world's poorest countries, could result in more than a million deaths and will endanger lives everywhere, the group's CEO warned on Thursday.

British environmental activist group Just Stop Oil said on Thursday it would halt its high-profile climate protest stunts after a final demonstration in London in April.

Chinese-owned British Steel confirmed Thursday plans to shut blast furnaces and other operations in England, blaming a decision that risks up to 2,700 job losses partly on US tariffs.

Israel's parliament on Thursday passed a law expanding elected officials' power to appoint judges, defying a years-long movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious judicial reforms that saw massive street protests.

President Donald Trump called on Congress on Thursday to "immediately" defund two public broadcasters as he and his supporters ratchet up their long-running battle with the US media.