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

Twice a day, sirens sound at Cambodia's Chip Mong Insee cement kiln, warning limestone will soon be blasted from the karst mountain that overlooks the sprawling industrial site.

Equities rose in Asia on Wednesday as traders took in their stride a warning from Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell that the US central bank "did not need to be in a hurry" to cut interest rates again.

New US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrives for his first meetings at NATO headquarters Wednesday looking to push European nations over support for Ukraine and ramping up military spending.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to open new fronts in his tariffs war by announcing reciprocal levies on other countries as soon as Tuesday, branding this "the only fair way" to trade.

Animated Chinese blockbuster "Ne Zha 2", based on traditional mythology, has smashed multiple box office records on its way to becoming the country's most successful movie ever.

As peckish deer chase delighted tourists in Japan's temple-dotted Nara Park, a quiet but dedicated team of litter-pickers patrols the stone paths, collecting plastic waste that threatens the animals' health.

Israel threatened Tuesday to resume "intense fighting" in Gaza if hostages were not released this weekend, while Hamas insisted it remained committed to the ceasefire deal and accused Israel of violations.

When President Donald Trump froze nearly all US foreign aid, Cambodia was forced to suspend workers removing dangerous mines from the country -- until China stepped in with the necessary funding.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will try on a US visit to pick up where he left off four years ago in wooing Donald Trump, as he offered quick tariff concessions in hopes of avoiding the second-term president's wrath.

Florentina Loayza was 19 and mother to an infant when she was sterilized by agents of the Peruvian government, against her will.

Super Rugby champions Auckland Blues, strengthened by the return of Beauden Barrett, have high hopes of back-to-back titles as the club competition returns this week, but are wary of Australian sides bolstered by the collapse of the Melbourne Rebels.

Wildfires have consumed up to 250,000 hectares of land in northeast Argentina since January, local officials said Tuesday as firefighters continue to battle blazes in the remote southern region of Patagonia.

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Nottingham Forest survived a huge scare to beat 10-man Exeter on penalties after a 2-2 draw on Tuesday, setting up an all-Premier League FA Cup fifth-round clash against Ipswich.

Real Madrid once again twisted the knife into Pep Guardiola's Manchester City to compound a troubled season for the English champions and leave them on the brink of an early Champions League exit.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said his side lacks composure to defend a lead after Real Madrid struck twice late on to snatch a 3-2 win from the first leg of their Champions League play-off.

Samuel Mbangula blasted his own performance in Juventus' 2-1 win over PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League even though it was his late winner on Tuesday which boosted the Italians' chances of reaching the last 16 of the last 16.

Jude Bellingham snatched a stoppage-time winner as Real Madrid twice came from behind to beat Manchester City 3-2 in the first leg of their blockbuster Champions League play-off tie Tuesday, while Paris Saint-Germain took command of an all-French clash with Brest.

US tennis chiefs announced a radical overhaul of the US Open's mixed doubles on Tuesday, unveiling plans to stage the competition as a standalone event in the week before the main men's and women's singles draws get under way.

The Associated Press said Tuesday that its White House reporter was barred from an event with President Donald Trump over the top US news agency's refusal to follow his order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Jude Bellingham scored the winner in stoppage time as Real Madrid twice came from behind to inflict more misery on Manchester City with a 3-2 Champions League play-off, first leg win at the Etihad on Tuesday.

Samuel Mbangula boosted Juventus' chances of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League by netting the late winner in Tuesday's 2-1 success over PSV Eindhoven in Turin.

Serhou Guirassy inspired Borussia Dortmund to a 3-0 win at Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday to help the German side take control of the Champions League play-off round tie.

The feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman has become one of the bitterest rivalries in business history, with the Tesla tycoon bidding to buy Altman's OpenAI in an apparent attempt to derail the ChatGPT maker's ascent to becoming one of the world's most important companies.

An estimated 127.7 million television viewers watched Super Bowl 59, ratings service Nielsen said Tuesday, making Sunday's NFL championship spectacle the largest audience for a one-network telecast in TV history.

Sam Kerr will always be remembered as one of the greatest women's players to grace the game, but one drunken night out in London has cast a shadow over the Australian superstar's reputation.

The World Health Organization on Tuesday wrapped up its executive board meeting, held against the backdrop of the United States -- by far its largest donor -- heading for the exit.

Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky said he was ready to swap land in negotiations with Russia, which freed an American prisoner in a gesture President Donald Trump's administration described Tuesday as a goodwill gesture on ending the war.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday doubled down on his idea of exiling Palestinians and placing a rebuilt Gaza under "US authority" but faced pushback from visiting Jordanian King Abdullah II.

The US Federal Reserve is in a strong position to weather the "highly uncertain" economic outlook, but its inflation fight will take time to win, a senior US central bank official said Tuesday.

Adam Scott says his meeting with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and President Donald Trump last week was "positive" for getting a PGA-LIV deal to reunite men's golf stars.

Israel threatened on Tuesday to resume "intense fighting" in Gaza if hostages were not released this weekend, while Hamas insisted it remained committed to the ceasefire deal and accused Israel of violations.