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

Hamas was expected Friday to name three hostages it will release this weekend as part of a planned exchange for Palestinian prisoners, local media said, after days of uncertainty in which Israel threatened to scrap a nearly month-old Gaza ceasefire deal.

The short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves halted Oklahoma City's seven-game NBA winning streak, beating the Western Conference-leading Thunder 116-101 on Thursday on the eve of the All-Star break.

An Indonesian court has handed lengthy prison terms to poachers who killed dozens of rare Javan rhinos, court rulings seen by AFP Friday showed, drawing praise from conservationists who said it would help deter lucrative wildlife crime.

Philippines on Friday bagged a historic and unlikely gold medal by stunning South Korea 5-3 in men's curling at the Asian Winter Games in China's Harbin.

Two teenage figure skaters who died in the Washington plane crash that killed 67 people were poignantly remembered this week at the Asian Winter Games in China's Harbin.

The Associated Press said Thursday its reporter was barred from a White House event for the third day straight, in a mushrooming row over its refusal to call the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America."

President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet US Vice President JD Vance in Germany on Friday with a warning against trusting Russia's Vladimir Putin, as concerns mount in Kyiv and among its European allies that the Ukraine war will be settled over their heads.

Asian markets mostly rose Friday in line with a rally on Wall Street as traders were buoyed by news that Donald Trump's latest, sweeping reciprocal tariffs would not likely be implemented until April, giving time for negotiations.

From George Clooney to LeBron James, American celebrities have cashed in on tequila's soaring popularity. But in Mexico, producers of the agave plant used to make the country's most famous liquor are nursing a nasty hangover.

One victim was visiting Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue. Another hopped into an Uber for a night out in the seaside city.

Old-school gas stoves, generous showerheads, delicate light bulbs.

Two men convicted of murder, including one who spent more than 25 years on Death Row, were executed by lethal injection in the southern US states of Florida and Texas on Thursday.

In a century-old building in Tehran, Saeed Anvarinejad turned the dial of a vintage radio to tune into some of Iran's earliest recorded sounds, some serving as reminders of the seismic changes that shaped the country's history.

Denny McCarthy, chasing his first US PGA Tour triumph, closed with a seven-foot eagle putt to grab a one-stroke lead after Thursday's rainy first round of the Genesis Invitational.

President Donald Trump's plan for "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners are set to spark a flurry of negotiations that could bring reductions in levies -- but analysts warn that it also risks painful retaliation.

An inmate who spent more than 25 years on Death Row for murder was executed by lethal injection in the southern state of Florida on Thursday, with another convict due to be put to death within hours in Texas.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday offered to sell state-of-the-art fighter jets to India as he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to ramp up trade, rekindling a bond that defies the new US administration's punitive approach to much of the world.

Kanye West and his wife Bianca Censori have split, reports said Thursday, capping two weeks of controversy for the rapper whose once-stellar career has descended into chaos.

The United States has released Russian cryptocurrency kingpin Alexander Vinnik, as part of an exchange deal that saw Moscow free US teacher Marc Fogel, a senior US official said Thursday.

Porto and Roma drew 1-1 in the first leg of their Europa League knockout phase play-off Thursday, while Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce took a big step towards the last 16 with a 3-0 win over Anderlecht.

Major stock markets mostly rose Thursday on hopes for an end to the war in Ukraine and as US President Trump announced a trade policy shake-up but held off on specific new levies.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump -- and billionaire Elon Musk -- at the White House on Thursday, with the two national leaders hailing their close bond despite Trump's expanding global trade war.

Newly confirmed Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday accused US institutions of "stealing the health of our children" and suggested they should meet the same fate as USAID, which President Donald Trump's administration is working to slash.

Argentina's Diego Schwartzman, a former world number eight, ended his professional tennis career on Thursday with a bruising defeat by Spain's Pedro Martinez in the second round of the Argentina Open.

British movie star Tilda Swinton lashed out at the "state-operated" crimes of "greed-addicted governments" as she received a special award on the first day of the Berlin Film Festival on Thursday.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Donald Trump and Elon Musk in Washington Thursday, with the US president pressing the leader of the world's most populous nation on tariffs and trade.

Argentina recorded a monthly inflation rate of 2.2 percent in January, the lowest in 4.5 years, the INDEC national statistics agency said Thursday, in a boost for budget-slashing President Javier Milei.

Donald Trump unveiled an extraordinary vision of a shake-up to the world order Thursday, eyeing a three-way summit with the Russian and Chinese leaders just a day after saying he had agreed with Vladimir Putin to start Ukraine peace talks.

Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the reigning Olympic 5,000m champion, set a new indoor mile world record of 3min 45.14sec at a meet in northern France on Thursday.

Western nations joined key players in the Middle East on Thursday in a pledge of support for war-torn Syria's delicate transition after the fall of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad.

A monster rainstorm was drenching southern California on Thursday, with officials in Los Angeles readying for flooding and landslides in areas burned by last month's huge wildfires.

Chelsea women's manager Sonia Bompastor is "really happy" for Sam Kerr following her acquittal on charges of racially aggravated harassment and says there will be no disciplinary action taken against the Australia captain by the club.