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

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.

US President Donald Trump inked plans Thursday for sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" that could hit both allies and competitors, in a dramatic escalation of an international trade war that economists warn could fuel inflation at home.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday warned against trusting Vladimir Putin, as US President Donald Trump insisted he believed the Russian leader "wants peace".

Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce won 3-0 at home to Anderlecht in the first leg of their Europa League knockout phase play-off tie Thursday, while Real Sociedad triumphed 2-1 away to Midtjylland.

Former world number one Daniil Medvedev reached his first quarter-final of 2025 in Marseille on Thursday as China's Zhang Zhizhen stunned fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz.

Police arrested an Afghan asylum seeker at the scene of what German leaders labelled a car ramming "attack" Thursday that wounded 30 people, some seriously, in the southern city of Munich.

Could restoring the environment in one place -- say by turning farmland in Europe into a nature reserve -- harm plants and animals on the other side of the planet?

On Ecuador's lawless southwest coast, drug gangs operate with impunity and terrified residents ask if their president's "iron fist" security policies are just words.

Two Estonian nationals have pleaded guilty to defrauding hundreds of thousands of people around the world in a $577 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, the Justice Department said Thursday.

An Oslo court on Thursday rejected a legal challenge by the WWF environmental group against Norway's bid to mine its seabed for minerals crucial to the green energy transition.

Former Olympic champion Edgar Grospiron will be named next week as president of the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps, an official said Thursday.

Lebanon's parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri said on Thursday that Beirut rejected Israel's demand to remain in five southern locations after a February 18 deadline for fully implementing a ceasefire deal.

US President Donald Trump announced plans Thursday for sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" hitting both allies and competitors, in a dramatic escalation of an international trade war that economists warn could fuel inflation at home.

The Republican-controlled US Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary Thursday, ignoring dire warnings from the medical community and elevating his anti-vaccine advocacy into the highest levels of government.

Olympic 800 metres champion Keely Hodgkinson has been forced to abandon a world record attempt this weekend after the British middle-distance star withdrew from her own event, the Keely Klassic, with a hamstring injury.

Three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek advanced to the semi-finals of the Qatar Open on Thursday with a straight-sets win over last year's runner-up Elena Rybakina.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan says reunification talks with Saudi backers of LIV Golf are progressing and he is comfortable, despite delays, that a good deal will be forthcoming.

Rwanda is set to stage cycling's world championships in September, but fears over an escalation in the conflict with neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo have led to concerns that the showpiece may be shifted to Europe.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday urged Syria's new leaders to ensure "governance that is representative and respectful of all" at a Paris conference on the transition in the war-torn country after Bashar al-Assad's fall.

Reindeer apparently slain in a grisly manner and a conflict between local Sami reindeer herders and organisers have cast a shadow over the Swedish Rally which began Thursday.

The LPGA announced a new pace of play policy on Thursday with lower time thresholds for stroke penalties that will begin next month.

Mexico on Thursday threatened to sue Google over its changing the Gulf of Mexico's name to "Gulf of America" for Maps users in the United States to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order.

Swedish-Lebanese filmmaker-turned-game-developer Josef Fares is on a mission to put storytelling first in video games, slamming money-driven designs for stifling creativity.

The New York Jets and quarterback Aaron Rodgers have parted ways, the club said on Thursday.

Police have arrested an Afghan asylum seeker at the scene of what German leaders labelled a car ramming "attack" that wounded 28 people, some seriously, in the southern city of Munich on Thursday.

The US State Department backtracked Thursday on a document saying it would award $400 million for electric armored cars by Tesla, whose chief Elon Musk has been aggressively slashing government spending on behalf of President Donald Trump.

A run of new-release flops and the delay of the latest “Assassin’s Creed” instalment sent revenue at French games giant Ubisoft plunging in its third quarter, the company reported Thursday as it continues to weigh its future.

Turkey has hit German sporting equipment giant Adidas with a fine of more than $15,000 for failing to inform customers that one of its flagship shoe models contained pigskin.

Three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek advanced to the semi-finals of the WTA Qatar Open on Thursday with a straight sets win over last year's runner-up Elena Rybakina.

The lower division United Soccer League (USL) says it plans to create a top-flight rival to Major League Soccer by launching a new division in 2027-28.

Honda and Nissan on Thursday announced the scrapping of merger talks that would have created the world's third-biggest auto company by unit sales behind Toyota and Volkswagen.